Shrine Complex in Insula E125

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

1st century CE, mid-2nd to 3rd century CE

Garden Description

A few decades after a Nabataean shrine (Fig. 2) at Hauarra had been severely damaged during the Roman conquest of Arabia Petraea, the site's inhabitants built another shrine at the same location. The Roman-period shrine occupied the southeast corner of a multi-unit insula (E125), but could only be accessed from outside the complex. This shrine consisted of a square naos (containing a central Nabataean baetyl and legionary altar, bins, shelves, and votive offerings) enclosed in a rectangular open-air temenos (Fig. 3). Upon entering the temenos, worshippers walked to the naos along a 12.7 m long paved processional way that was flanked by two long raised planters. An aqueduct-fed basin next to the door of the naos appears to have supplied the shrine with so much fresh water that it must have been intended not just for ritual cleansing, but for supplying the planters as well. Given the relatively shallow depth of the planters, and that no root balls or pots were found within, they probably contained shrubs and/or flowers rather than trees. Although the architect clearly tried to make the planters symmetrical in size, shape, and location, their design (and that of the whole Roman shrine) was constrained by the reuse of some Nabataean walls as foundations.

Maps

Fig. 1: Map showing the location of ancient Hawara (Hauarra) in Arabia Petraea.

Credit: Map by L.-A. Bedal, based on Andrein, with the assistance of EraNavigator

Plans

Fig. 2: Plan of Shrine Complex in the southeast corner of Insula E125

Credit: Plan by S. Fraser and D. Skinner

Images

Fig. 3: Shrine Complex in Insula E125

Credit: Reconstruction by C. Kanellopoulos and P. Konstandopoulos

Bibliography

Oleson, J. P., M. B. Reeves, G. S. Baker, E. de Bruijn, Y. Gerber, M. Nikolic, and A. N. Sherwood. 2008. "Preliminary Report on Excavations at Al-Humayma, Ancient Hawara, 2004 and 2005." Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 52: 309-42. (Stable URL).
Reeves, M. B. 2019. "A Nabataean and Roman Shrine with Civic and Military Gods at Humayma, Jordan." Arabian Archaeology & Epigraphy 30 (1): 134-55. (DOI).

Hauarra on Gardens of the Roman Empire