By Cinatra Fernandes

Empire. From 106 CE, the Romans overtook the kingdom and created in the limits of its territory, the Roman province of Arabia. There is no doubt that the Hegra and the Hijaz were part of the Roman empire and the southernmost Roman military camp where legionaries were stationed is being excavated since 2015 by a Polish archeologist, she informed.

Many Greek and Latin inscriptions which shed light on the role and importance of the Roman presence in these desert margins were discovered recently including two extremely beautiful painted Latin inscriptions which mention the Roman legion stationed in Hegra. Painted in black and in a very well preserved state, the inscription is dedicated to Jupiter for the well-being of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the centurions of the third legion Cyrenaica S. It dates between AD 169 and 177.

The Nabataeans did not arrive in Hegra at the end of the 4th Century BC, which is the date when they first appear in the ancient sources in Petra as is known from the first century Greek geographer Diodorus of Sicily. Dr Nehmé shared that they arrived at Hegra around the middle of the first century BC led by a movement southward possibly due to the development of the maritime route through the Red Sea and the existence of harbours on its Arabian shores north of Jeddah.

Whether the main harbour, Leuke Kome, where a 25% tax on the transit goods were taken by the probably Nabataean centurion was at the latitude of Al Wajah or further north at that of Ayanunah is debated. It is certain that from the end of the first century BC, there was a caravan route from Hegra to Petra.

Along this route, both men and camels are known to have circulated. Since surveys and excavations began in 2002, the results obtained by the project team members are extremely numerous. These include evidence of a funerary tradition of the late bronze age proper to northwest Arabia and also attested in Taima, 200-km north of Hegra, the determining of the existence of a 52 hectares ancient city strongly urbanized and surrounded by a rampart built in the first century AD, determining the layout and chronology of the rampart as well as the excavation of one of the main gates that gave access to the ancient city bringing to light in the area of Jabal Ithlib, several banqueting installations which were used during the Nabataean period by the members of the Nabataean fraternal societies abandoned in the early second century AD soon after the Roman annexation.

They also discovered the southernmost Roman fort of the empire in Jordan, recorded hundreds of inscriptions written in imperial Aramaic, Nabataean, Nabataean Arabic, Greek, and others, discovered in the areas of the Roman fort between 2014 and 2017, an important group of Greek and Latin inscriptions which allow to reassess the role and investment of Rome in these marginal areas of the Roman Empire after AD 106.

They excavated six monumental Nabataean tombs which have yielded a large quantity of human bones, leather and vegetal remains. These have allowed for the first time to reproduce a Nabataean funerary ritual, from the death of the individual to his burial in the tomb. Finally, closing this nonexhaustive to excavate what is probably the largest Nabataean sanctuary at the site which was possibly devoted to the cult of the God not known elsewhere in the Nabataean realm and who bears the name ‘the God of the sky’ or ‘the God of heaven’.

Dr Nehmé shared that it was not possible to present all the findings of the team over sixteen years as the field work is combined with a huge work of studying the artefacts brought to light which include pottery, almost 1,000 coins, one hundred metal, bone and wooden objects, animal bones and vegetal remains.

She instead focused her talk on the tombs during the Nabataean funerary rituals. “Thanks to the excavation of six Nabataean tombs since 2008, one of which was previously looted and totally invisible before it’s clearance, it is possible to explain for the first time how the ceremonies were performed – who was buried in the tombs, what kind of treatment did the deceased receive, these being also enlightened by the content of the Nabataean inscriptions and by the fact that some mention the name of those who were buried and of at least one person involved in the preparation of the deceased before burial.”

She presented a video of the excavation in Petra and Hegra and described the work of the archeologists. One of the tombs excavated, IGN 117, located south east of the ancient city, is a small tomb, the only decoration of which is two rows of crow-steps. The Nabataean inscriptions written above the door says that it belongs to a woman named Heenat who had it carved is 60-61 CE, she informed.

The excavations showed that 80 individuals were buried inside the tomb between the first and third century CE either directly on the rocky floor of the tomb or in the unique cyst tomb, a simple pit carved inside the funerary chamber. The artefacts collected during the excavations include huge amounts of textile and leather fragments as well as vegetal remains. The latter turned out to belong to a necklace made of dates strung on date palm leaflets, slightly twisted to link them to each other. Because of the vacuum around the desiccated fruit, it is probable that the date were fresher when they were arranged around the neck of the deceased as a vegetal offering.

Dr Nehmé shared that the dead body, naked and wearing only jewellery, both metallic and vegetal, like the date necklace, was coated with a blackish organic substance, the body was then wrapped into three successive layers of textile of decreasing fineness, one made of animal hair dyed in red with vegetable dyes such as rhubarb roots and two of un-dyed linen, separated by layers of the same black substance. After the textile, it was wrapped in a leather shroud closed with leather straps. In some cases the leather mortuary veil was carefully placed over the face of the deceased. This veil itself was not coated with resins which show the desire to preserve this part of the body. The latter which was thus prepared in the family house was finally carried from the city to the tomb using decorated leather transportation shroud equipped with handles and carried by four men.

The analysis of the blackish substance revealed it to be made of vegetable oil and resins which contributed to better preservation of the body. She pointed out that contrary to the Egyptian mummies, however, the organs were not removed. Other tombs yielded a large number of artefacts which confirmed that the burial practices evidenced in IGN 117 are not an isolated phenomenon but common in other tombs as well.

A series of DNA analysis of 40 bone samples belonging to 40 different individuals in the Madain Salih tombs are currently being performed at the Harvard Medical School.

“From the excavations, we learnt that the funerary chambers of the tombs were used intensively, there was no selection by gender or age. Some individuals at least were part of the same family. There were only primary and not secondary burials in coffins, wooden boxes, or on the floor. Resins were used to delay the decomposition of bodies and the latter were wrapped in textile and leather shrouds and were sometimes provided with bronze shell and glass bead jewellery, and at least once with necklace made of dates”, she stated.

She shared that the new findings have also been able to demonstrate the special care brought by the Nabataeans to the treatment of the deceased, “This contradicts the statement given by the first century CE Greek Geographer’s travel, according to which the Nabataean treated the deceased like dung. The misconception based on the linguistic confusion between Aramaic and Greek words for tomb and dung respectively.”

She noted that the materials used such as textiles and leather were of a high technical quality and some leather panels used for the shrouds were carefully repaired. Honouring the dead was also important to the Nabataeans, remembrance ceremonies were organized, small commemorative monuments were raised, funerary assemblies met in large rooms where banquets were performed and offerings were put in pottery vessels in front of the tomb’s door.