ABSTRACT
For much of the 20th century, a large area of central Petra, capital of the Nabataean kingdom, was commonly believed to have been the site of the city’s ancient markets. This identification was based primarily on the presence of large, open terraces within the city center, and the expectation that a major entrepôt such as Petra would have had an extensive, centralized marketplace. With the hopes of gaining valuable information about the city’s economic activities, a preliminary investigation of the so-called Lower Market was carried out in the summer of 1998, resulting in the reinterpretation of the site as an ornamental garden, or paradeisos. Since 1998, excavations at the site, now known as the Petra Garden and Pool Complex, 1 have revealed a number of architectural, hydraulic and earthen features that illustrate the Nabataeans’ use of monumental structure, landscaping, and water display to convey a message of wealth and power.
