“I feel like I’m fixing to die…” (and other “Country Joe & the Fish” rags)

Royal Tombs

I received a quick and unexpected reminder of being a semi-high profile public servant in a foreign land this afternoon. Though here strictly in an advisory capacity (vice operational), I couldn’t help but think of the many travelers that came here and ended up calling Petra home for their final worldly act. An older visitor from Poland died at her hotel the other night; I hope she got to see Petra earlier in the day

Haroon's Tomb

Early funerary traditions practiced by locals during their transition from Neolithic hunter-gather to seasonal occupants of what became villages were burials beneath the floors of their circular pit-houses (so familiar in various locales). Later they evolved to rectangular above-ground rooms and blocks (ditto). One of the more famous burials here is Haroon’s, or Aaron’s tomb. As the older brother of Moses (“The Prophet Brothers”) he is often credited with being his younger brother’s mouthpiece (unlike Charlton Heston  it has been rumored that the younger was slow-of-speech: I bet after the “Burning Bush Incident” anyone would need prolonged critical incident stress counseling). Both brother’s final resting place is in Jordan, though not available for archaeological research.

Nabataen burial cave

Later the Nabataens became famous for their elaborate burial practices. It appears that the Romans adopted the local custom as several Roman tombs dot the landscape (vice ashes being sent back to Rome).  There are about 1,000 Nabataen tombs in PAP, and some believe that in addition to it being on a major trade caravan route, Petra was a religious destination for many Nabataen. In fact, it may have been a highly prestigious burial city. Of course, there is evidence of local treatment of human remains.

funerary prep area

Being along a vital trade route from Africa, myrrh was a commodity available for treatment of the deceased. The body would be wrapped, treated and placed in exposed pits excavated from rock benches in high places. Here the bodies would be dehydrated & mummified at an accelerated rate (it would also help mitigate certain odors from public areas). Later the human remains would be placed in burial vaults/chambers often having highly stylized facades that we see in the monuments around PAP today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron

http://nabataea.net/burial.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrh

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/deathafterlife/a/RomanBurial.htm

Roman Soldier tomb

Add’l Note: I asked an archaeologist on the staff here for information on coprolite research that has been done here. He said that it indicates many interesting factors: eating fish from Red Sea, etc. He’ll be getting me a copy sometime (Inshallah).