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 press
clips
summer academy
currently
on
workshops
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Organised
in five themes - survey; excavation; new technology,
conservation; preservation, training and forthcoming
projects; Petra region - the exhibition offers a wealth
of information and is graced by exquisite finds, some
impeccably preserved. It talks about ancient civilizations
and traditions, about efforts to bring them to light
and conserve them for future generations.
Whether an "aerial survey undertaken since 1997", "the
Shawbak hinterland survey", a Neolithic regional study
project in the "greater Petra area" or "farming the
desert: irrigation and elite settlement in early Islamic
Ma'an", historical ages are reviewed, their impact on
the civilization of the day explained and the educational
value is undisputable. |
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Carved Stucco window frame - Umayyad period, Qasr
Hallabat |
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Dolmens,
for example, are testimony to "the pastoral funerary practices
in the south Levant in the 4th and 3rd millennium BC".
The Petra space has breathtaking exhibits on display. From
flint arrows, beads made of shell, stone and copper ore, dating
back 10,000 years, Ammonite terracotta figurines and an inscribed
clay tablet "found in the vicinity of the Late Bronze Age
temple (ca. 1200 BC)", incense burners, seals, cooking pots,
to last year's finds under the Treasury: a lion head and the
muzzle of a horse, the pieces are as interesting as their
history.
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square marble stone almost childishly stylized is that
of the "Eye Idol" Nabataean goddess Al Uzza; later the
goddess gets more shapely, probably due to the technical
advancement of the artists. Nabataean pottery, delicate
and of a beautiful brick colour attests to an incense-burning
tradition and the ritual of breaking the earthenware.
Innovative and arresting in this display room are two
video films, one done by France 3, Modom Productions
and UNESCO, "Petra, the red silence", one by "young
Wadi Musa artist", Sabri Fudul. His film, a demonstration
of the power of water, so vital yet so destructive,
should also serve as a lesson: we need to conserve what's
left of Petra, heritage of the entire humanity whose
custodians we are blessed to be. Fudul's film is accompanied
by the photographs of another Wadi Musa talent, Qais
Tweisi. Already this juxtaposition speaks of collaboration,
of meeting on common ground and interest. |
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| Across
the room from the tumultuous flow of water in the film
is a still photograph of Petra taken by Suha Shoman,
inviting to meditation, giving a moment of respite from
the massive bombardment with information in the room. |
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