RECENT DISCOVERIES IN CITY CENTER OF PETRA, JORDAN: A PRELIMINARY EXCAVATION REPORT

Abstract

Despite previous and continued excavations at Petra, many questions regarding the city center are still ambiguous for the archaeologists. The ruins on the side of the valley raised many questions about the nature, the function and the dating of these structures. For these reasons an excavation has been conducted at this site. The excavation uncovered an important public building which contained a public bath, used in the Nabataean, Roman and Byzantine periods, an apse and, in front of it, a platform and a structure with marble floor. The connection among these structures is not completely clear. Further investigation and analyses is required.