petra

Despite accounts of classical writers such as Diodorus of Sicily, Eusebius, Pliny, Strabo, and Josephus, most scholars of the following era viewed Petra’s existence as little additional than a legend. Consequently, it wasn’t till understanding Petra’s rediscovery in 1812 by Swiss explorer John L. Burckhardt that the myth of “a rose-red city half as old as Time” 1 became a reality. Archaeological excavations of the huge facade revealed the funerary halls and the tomb facades of the city. A handful of tombs had been abandoned mid-construction for unclear reasons. The deserted perform at Tomb 46 shows most clearly how the...