Excavating Ancient Cities of Petra & Hegra (Full Episode) | Lost Treasures of Arabia | Nat Geo

The Nabataeans, it's unparalleled monuments tell the story of a civilization that flourished in the harsh desert of what is now Jordan and Saudi Arabia over 2,000 years ago. They were desert people that turned stones into cities and sand into thriving trade routes. Masters of water engineering and architects of the stunning Petra. Their civilization became a vital link between east and west. Recently, archaeologists are uncovering the mysteries of Hegra in Saudi Arabia, the Nabataeans' most important southern city. This thriving hub of commerce connected Arabia, the Mediterranean, and beyond. Why did Cleopatra and the Roman Empire try to conquer them? And what secrets lie still etched into the very stone of their ancient cities? 500 kilometers from Petra, the Nabataean capital, lies Hegra in what is now Saudi Arabia. This city, cradled within an oasis amidst desert and mountains, captivates archaeologists' attention. Over two decades, Lebanese-French archaeologist Leila Nemeh has led multiple field seasons of excavations, aiming to uncover insights into this ancient civilization's history and legacy. If I have to compare my job to another job, I would probably use the profession of detective. A team of meticulously chosen experts assembled in the heart of the Saudi desert, embarking on excavations. Their findings uncover deeper insights into Hegra and the Nabataeans. They ruled from the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD during the time of Cleopatra, Herod, and the Caesars. In the Nabataean capital, Petra, Greek archaeologist Konstantinos Politis has engaged in numerous excavations throughout the years, striving to unravel the lifestyle of the Nabataeans. As you're coming from the Sikh, and you catch the first glimpse of this monument cut into the rock, the natural rock, it's certainly impressive. This rocket structure here was built originally as a tomb in around the 1st century AD. But today, they call it al-Khazneh, which means the treasury in Arabic. These columns here, built out of the natural red sandstone of Petra, and the various other architectural features that I can see here, were actually covered, or a lot of them were covered in white plaster. And this white plaster would have imitated marble, which was much more expensive material. This, in turn, would have been painted in red and possibly other colors like blue and yellow. This is not uncommon in the ancient world, where you get them in many temples, bright colors. We would see this today as kitsch, but in fact, they saw it as beautiful. The Nabataeans boasted a kingdom that stretched across vast distances, thrived on prosperous trade routes, mastered water management, and crafted awe-inspiring tombs. How did they achieve the remarkable feat of carving these rocks into tombs? In Petra, Konstantinos delves deeper. This is a stonemason today who is chiseling this stone. And this craft is the same as it was 2,000 years ago during the Nabataean period. The basic building material in Petra is sandstone. It's not the strongest material. And even the most skilled stonemasons might sometimes made a small mistake because it's so fragile. In Hegra, Leila's team has collected insights into Nabataean construction techniques. We should not think in terms of building, because anything which is building would start from the ground and go up. The Nabataeans did not use scaffoldings because they started from the top and they carved their way down. And so at each level, they would create their own platform on which they could safely stand. The Nabataeans were skilled craftsmen showcased in their exceptional carving seen across their kingdom. And one tomb in Hegra stands apart, one that allows Leila to not only decipher the Nabataean carving style, but also to understand their inspiration. We are now in front of a tomb, which is the largest of the site. And the local people call it Kasr el-Farid, which means the lonely castle. If we look at this tomb, we can say that it is a mixture of various influences. The first motive from the top is made of two half crow steps, which face each other. And so the crow step itself is a motive of Mesopotamian origin. Further down, there are four pilasters carved on the facade at regular intervals. And on top of each of these pilasters, there is a simplified version of the Corinthian capital. But whenever one sees that sort of capital, one is certain that we are dealing with Nabataean architecture. From Arabia to the Mediterranean and beyond, the Nabataeans turned their arid landscape into an international hub of commerce, showing their exceptional skill in business and receptiveness to diverse influences. The Nabataean kingdom extended from present day Jordan to Northwestern Saudi Arabia, playing a crucial role in the ancient incense trade routes that connected the Mediterranean world with South Arabia and the Far East. Petra was very much the major city in Arabia. It was here that the traders would come from Arabia to bring their products, and the Westerners would come here and buy them. So it was the major trading city. The products which were traded were mainly two kinds, myrrh and frankincense. Frankincense was burned in significant quantities during religious or funerary ceremonies, and supply was limited because frankincense and myrrh were only grown in Southern Arabia, rendering it an immensely valuable commodity in antiquity that needed to pass through these vital trade routes. All the Greeks and the Romans were using it in great quantities. It represented huge amounts of money because it was very expensive. And that's what made them wealthy. While digging in Hegra, Leila's team uncovers a significant clue that could enhance their understanding of Nabataean trade relationships, a coin bearing the likeness of Cleopatra's head. And so it's when we get to this point where we can find things that is exciting. Egypt wielded significant power in antiquity. With Cleopatra emerging as one of the most prominent figures of the time. Cleopatra was the strongest leader in the East Mediterranean. Undoubtedly, she would have had good trade relations with the Nabataean world, and of course, here at Petra. Cleopatra's aim was to cultivate a strong relationship with the Romans, to ally with them in the event of a civil war. This strategy led her to engage in romantic relationships with two of the most renowned Roman leaders. First, Julius Caesar, and later, Mark Antony. Cleopatra was a very clever statesman, and she used these personal amorous relationships to further her political, and consequently, her economic gains. Cleopatra sought to claim Judea and the Nabataean kingdom as gifts from Mark Antony. While he resisted most of her demands, he potentially conceded a small part of the Nabataean territory near the Red Sea. However, Mark Antony's authority in Rome waned, leading to his eventual defeat by Octavian at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Cleopatra's fleet was also cornered by the Nabataeans in the Red Sea. Her ships were burned and destroyed. Cleopatra lost a lot of her power. And she felt trapped, and she couldn't escape. Cleopatra's despair led her to extreme measures. After this victory, the Nabataeans reclaimed their territory at the Red Sea, and became even more powerful, but soon faced strong and dangerous enemies. French archeologist, Jerome Romer, has discovered interesting new evidence at a residential area within a dig site in Hegra. So when we opened this area, we're looking for an ancient neighborhood, and we could identify the function of several rooms. And inside the courtyard, we found coins, which people would just forget in the rooms, and which are very useful for dating the archeological layers. So a lot of domestic activities would take place in this courtyard. But more interestingly, Jerome found clues of how the Nabataeans used water in daily life. So we have several water management devices pouring down into the streets. Here we have a sink, which is encased in a wall. And this was probably the place where people would wash the dishes. And the water was pouring down into the streets through this spout here. Okay, so that means that the water would just go onto the street, and so that the street would get a little bit dirty? Yeah, probably. The Nabataeans mastered the desert through the development of sophisticated water technologies, enabling them to establish and sustain thriving desert cities. Leila and local guide Atif are exploring how they collected fresh water for nearby Hegra. The Nabataeans were very good at taking advantage of the environment in which they lived. So what they did here is use all the mountain which is behind us, and all the mountain which is in front of us as a vast catchment area for collecting the runoff water. So all the water which would fall on these mountains pours into this canal, which is actually man-made, and they had to close part of it here so that it didn't go direct into the valley. So they forced the water to get into the channel, which made the water go to wherever they wanted it to go. Water is absolutely essential for a living community, and particularly a large city like Petra. Keeping water as clean as possible is essential. One of the first ways, of course, is having a closed kind of system, such as the terracotta pipes, which are sealed. These terracotta pipes here are part of a seven kilometer long system. There's a section of them here, you can see the pottery, but you have to imagine the complete pipes coming around like this, and here one is fitting into the other. So they were sealed with lime mortar all around, keeping the water clean and pure all the way down. They have a slight four degrees inclination to allow the water to flow without it being too strong that might damage or disconnect. This is really great water management, showing you how the Nebataeans valued this precious commodity of water and how it was piped into the city of Petra. In Petra, rainfall is typically scarce, but occasional heavy rains persist for days, leading to flash floods in the ancient city. When it does rain, you have very fast running water, and because it's coming from this very steep inclination from the mountains here, there's a huge amount of pressure which moves large boulders and can cause damage to the buildings. So a flash flood can be dangerous, but it can also be managed. One of the ways to protect your settlements is building of dams. The dam that was built here at the entrance of the Sikh, and then a canal was built here to divert this water, even with huge pressure, and go around the buildings beyond them, thereby protecting the city centre. The Nebataeans also devised an advanced system of reservoirs and cisterns to store water during the dry seasons, exemplified by this well in Hegra, one of 130 recorded by Leila's team. So by digging wells, they were certain to obtain huge amounts of water, which they would then use to get some good crops. The whole mountain above it is used as a catchment area, and so the water flows from the crack which is above it, and so it received water from both below and above. The Nebataeans' mastery of desert conditions led to prosperity and wealth, but also drew attention. One of history's mightiest empires was targeting the prosperous Nebataean kingdom. The Romans had control over large areas of the Middle East. They conquered Anatolia, Syria, Judea, and Egypt, but there was this big hole in the middle, which was Nebataea. The Romans were gearing up for their next conquest, seeking to expand their territory. They wanted to get to the kingdom of Saba in southern Arabia, which would also take them through Nebataea. The Roman emperor Augustus wanted to extend his control over Arabia, so he commanded his governor of Egypt, Aelius Gallius, to launch a campaign into Arabia against the kingdom of Saba. As the Roman troops moved into Arabia, they were confronted with sands and heat. They began to run out of water. Under the care of a cunning Nebataean guide, the Romans were led along an extended and predominantly waterless path, strategically diminishing their strength throughout the journey. The Romans were defeated. In fact, they hardly even got near the south, and those few soldiers that survived scrambled back to Egypt. The result of the Roman expedition led by Aelius Gallius was a disaster. This was a military humiliation. Due to the Nebataeans' clever thinking, the Romans were unable to reach them in this particular conquest. The Nebataeans increased their trade, and the Romans had no other choice but to trade with them. Consequently, the Nebataeans prospered even more. Over years of excavating in Hegra, Leila and her team have studied the city's unique layout. To assist them, they've collaborated with the Paris-based 3D company, Iconum. It might take a bit of time because of the- Calculations. Yes. This joint effort took more than a year and a half to create a 3D representation of the ancient city of Hegra. During the excavations, we found streets, and one of the questions we asked ourselves is whether the streets were at right angles to each other in a very Greek and Roman way, or whether there were only winding streets with smaller streets. And the city of ancient Hegra was much more typical of what we call an oriental city, okay? In the sense that it was not organized according to orthogonal axis, but there were winding streets. Yes. You can see the different textures. We can see the plaster on them, and from the other houses, we can see the bricks on them. Okay, as far as I can see, I mean, it's already quite nice. And the roofs were also flat, exactly like the way you did them, and built with trunks, wooden trunks, possibly of palm tree. You can use the leaves as building material to give protection to the inhabitants from the sun. The Nabataean kingdom demonstrated remarkable advancements in social structures and urban planning. A clear reflection of this can be seen in the capital of their empire. We are standing now in the center of Petra. We have the most important buildings right here around us, and the most luxurious of these was the pool complex. So what we have in this complex is a reflecting pool with lots of water, lush plants and trees, and all at a very big expense, where water is brought in at a great cost. I don't think that these pools, as we call them, were used for swimming, as we might think of them today. They were basically for reflecting on the architecture and making the area more luxurious and more beautiful. Konstantinos takes local tour guide Habu up to the mountains to show him a remarkable construction. This is a fantastic location. We're actually standing in a bathhouse with several rooms, an obvious visible entranceway. On either side, there seem to be collecting pools for water. And here underneath the floor, they would boil water and it would rise up, the heat would rise up and have steam. We know that because we have these terracotta tiles from here and these are round and they would have been piled one up against each other under the floor and you have steam coming up. What's fantastic here is that it's up in this location overlooking the city of Petra. It's really a big effort to have this up here on the top of Petra. Imagine that about 10 people, they were coming here to take a bath in this beautiful location and to have a glass of wine and look to the view. Stunning. The bathhouses here were probably the upper classes. It wasn't something that was normal for people living in the desert to take hot baths, but it was a way of showing their wealth. The Nabataeans' mastery of the desert, sustaining themselves in such an arid environment while enjoying luxuries like baths, exemplified their thriving civilization. In Hegra, Leila walks through a corridor that offers insights into Nabataean urban planning and architectural design. This passageway is the exact equivalent of the Sikh in Petra. So it's a narrow corridor. Here it's about 50 meters. In Petra, it's more than two kilometers. And so this one at the end of the passage, it opens up into a very quiet and serene place. And a very special building was carved out near the corridor. So we know that this is not a tomb because there's no facade. It is wide open and a tomb would never be wide open because the burls would not be visible. The second thing is that a tomb would have fillery structures in them. But what we have here is three benches. And this plan, we find it still now inside Arabia in the rooms called the Mejlis. And that's the place where men actually gather. And the people who gathered here belonged to fraternal societies. The first thing the Nabataeans would do is actually wash their hands. And so this is a basin. And you have to imagine that water would have come to that. So they would just wash their hands and then move here and get in. I imagine this place being made comfortable. That means having a lot of carpets and cushions. And I don't know why I have a color in mind, which is red. And they would lie half lying down like this on their right hand. And they would be given drinks and food. And this would be put here so that it doesn't come on the upper part and enjoying their time. People would be part of the fraternal society to do some networking. Very simply, human nature was not very different from what it is now. There's a Greek author named Strabo who wrote a geography in which he describes the Nabataean fraternal societies. So he says that they were made of 13 persons among whom there were two musicians and they would drink wine, but they would not drink more than 11 cups each. So 11 cups is already quite a lot. So they must have finished in a strange state. The Nabataean society prospered as evident in their rich social life, complex cities and busy trade routes. Yet the enigma of what ultimately happened to them remains unsolved. At Hegra, Leila and her team have made a remarkable discovery in a tomb. Leila, along with manager of collections, Jonathan Wilson, discuss its importance. You see, Jonathan, this is the spine and the spine is still attached to the skin. The skin is still under it. Okay, that's very impressive. Following the forensic analysis of the remains, the Hegra team gained insights into the burial practices of the Nabataeans. They discovered that the Nabataeans prepared the deceased by wrapping the nude body in layers of textiles infused with a mixture of resin and fatty acids, akin to the embalming techniques of the ancient Egyptians. But a notable difference arose. Unlike the Egyptians, the Nabataeans left the organs in place and covered the face with a specially crafted funerary mask made of leather. After the body was fully prepared, a ceremonial procession would transport it to the tomb for burying. Back at the treasury in Petra and following on Nabataean burial rituals and customs, Konstantinos gains exclusive access to the tomb's interior. We're now inside of the mausoleum. You can see three niches or chambers which would have been for three individuals to be buried here also in addition to the king. So it seems as if these are all part of a family tomb. Even though the Hasne was built during the reign of King Aretas IV, there is no hard evidence that he commissioned this tomb. We don't know who this tomb was commissioned for, but there is this reasonable theory that it was unfinished. And you can see on either side of the entrance, there's rectangular plaques which would have had the inscription naming the people who were buried here. And they're blank. Michael McDonald, an honorary fellow at Oxford University, has dedicated over four decades to investigating Arabian inscriptions in the region. His studies help to clarify who these tombs were intended for. Tomb was commissioned by a doctor called Kahlan. And we can see this from the inscription in that small box above the remains of the eagle there. He has these snakes above the doorway. And the snake was a symbol of medicine, both in Greek mythology and then it was taken over into Nabataean mythology. We find a doctor, which is actually quite a surprise because one wouldn't have expected a doctor to be so rich as to be able to do this. And it's the only tomb commissioned by somebody who wasn't a governor or a general in the army. We can conclude from these grand tombs that they were showing off their wealth and importance. They are obviously the top people in society. And they wanted to be remembered as that. Usually the tombs have been associated with men of significant status. But Saudi professor, Suleyman al-Tib's study of their inscriptions has revealed it was not just men these tombs were for. The tomb is built by Kamkam, daughter of Wailat and her daughter, Kulibat. She didn't name her father. She said that I am Kamkam daughter of and she mentioned her mother. She refused to say that I am the daughter of my father. Actually, this is a good example, indicate that women could own their own tombs and engrave it in this area. This was one of seven tombs bearing similar inscriptions indicating that women either owned or commissioned them. This is also pertinent to a new generation of women. Saudi archeologist, Munira al-Mushawa has been meticulously studying the inscriptions at Hegra. We have found various inscriptions of women owning properties and performing ceremonies reflecting their wealth and prosperity. And I think this transformative pattern of social change and women empowerment is actually very inspiring for me and for other women within Saudi Arabia. With all of the discoveries made about the role of women in Nabataean society, Leila Nemeh was asked to participate in a rather unique project. Today, a special package has arrived. Here she is. Containing the results of a very singular project. So she wouldn't look out of place in Hegra during the time of the Nabataean. For the first time, Leila will witness the culmination of her efforts, bringing a Nabataean woman back to life. When it was decided to make a restitution of a Nabataean lady, we had to find the proper skull, so a skull which would be complete. And once this was found and chosen and et cetera, there was a 3D model of the skull made. And from that, they determined the shape of the face actually. As archaeologists, our contribution was to try to think of the way this Nabataean woman looked like in real life. And one aspect was the earrings. And these earrings are not fake. They are based on earrings that we really did find in the excavations. Working out how she would wear the veil was very important because you can wear a veil in many different ways. The only comparison we had came from the coins because on the coins, you have the portrait of the king on one side and the portrait of the queen on the other side. And on some of these, the queen clearly wears a veil which comes down like this, very simple. And so that's why she appeals like that too. How did you decide on the hairstyling? Well, the simplest is the best. It's just presumably long hair and just a long hair black. Of course, there's always a part of interpretation. I think we're pretty close to reality. We took objects from one place and objects from another place to make something, to make them all together. But I think it's quite realistic. From the evidence uncovered by archaeologists, it can be inferred that women held significant positions within Nabataean society. However, not all women had significant power. One notable figure was Phaesalus, a Nabataean princess who became a pawn in a political chess game orchestrated by her father in the neighboring kingdom of Judea. Herod Antipas was the son of the great King Herod of Judea. He was married to Phaesalus, who was the daughter of the Nabataean king Aretas IV. So we have good relations cemented by royal family ties. However, Antipas fell in love with his niece Herodias, who was the wife of one of his half-brothers. He wanted to marry her and reject his former wife, Phaesalus. Another prominent figure witnessed these events in the Jewish kingdom, John the Baptist, who garnered considerable public attention. John the Baptist was an outspoken person of morality, and he opened his mouth a bit too much because he spoke out against Antipas and this relationship he had with Herodias and calling it adulterous. And as a consequence, John the Baptist was put in jail by Antipas. Herodias sought vengeance against John the Baptist, leveraging her daughter Salome from her previous marriage to carry out her scheme. So Salome danced in front of Antipas, and he was pleased. And as a favor, she said, I want you to cut the head of John the Baptist and bring him to me. Phaesalus had to escape, fearing for her life. Aretas, offended by Herod Antipas' treatment of his daughter, invaded the territory and defeated his army. Herod Antipas was forced to escape and took refuge and seek support from the Romans with whom they were allied. Following their intervention in the Jewish conflict in 36 AD, the Romans perceived another opportunity to expand their territory into the Arabian Peninsula. But it took some 70 years for the Romans to eventually take control of the Nabataean kingdom. It is possible that this integration into the Roman empire was carried out quite peacefully. When the Romans annexed the Nabataean kingdom and transformed it into the Roman province of Arabia, well, we don't have evidence for an armed conflict at that time. Instead of fighting, they would just pay off the enemy, which was much more sensible. And they had all this money, they might as well use it. It was a win-win solution because the Nabataeans kept some kind of autonomy. And for the Romans, well, they could also do management of the trade while obviously taking a share from the trade benefits. The Nabataeans solidified their alliance with the Romans and maintained trade routes in Arabia. Yet the destiny of this once-thriving civilization remains shrouded in mystery. If the Nabataean civilization had wealth, water, trade, and agriculture, what led to its decline? Archeozoologist Jacqueline Studer has made an unexpected discovery while studying the Nabataean diet in Hegra. I found tuna, parrotfish, as well as grouper in the Nabataean levels. It's quite surprising to find fish in the middle of the desert. Actually, it has to be imported and from very far away from the sea because it's marine fish. Located over 200 kilometers from the Red Sea, Hegra's finding of fish bones suggests that food, along with spices and aromatics, was transported along the caravan trade route from a port. There was also a sea route for the trade of aromatics, but this sea route started to develop only by the end of the second century BCE. We knew from navigation treaties that sailing on the Red Sea is very difficult for many reasons, including the winds. The winds are different in summer and in winter. In summer, they always blow from the north. In winter, the moonstone winds which blow from the Indian Ocean, they would go up about halfway the Red Sea. And so the boats could navigate up very easily because they would have the wind in the back. But the Romans introduced a new technology that would revolutionize sailing and trade. If you have an ordinary sailing ship with a square sail, it's very difficult, the wind is against you. The Romans discovered that if you use a triangular sail, you can tack and therefore you can actually go against the prevailing wind. And that meant that they could take the aromatics all the way up to the north. Michael McDonald believes that the sea trade has significant implications for Hegra's strategic position along the incense route. Comparing the sea route versus the land route, the sea route should be much safer and easier. The land route is subject to being raided by robbers and so on. But beyond that, you have to stop every so often, whereas with the sea route, you just go direct. It's also probably quicker by sea. I think the development of the tacking by the Romans must have been a severe blow and had a disastrous effect for Hegra. It gradually became a small oasis and there were still people living there, but it was no longer a very rich and commercial center. Not all scholars seem to agree that sea trade was the primary reason for the decline of the Nabataeans. Former Hegra site director, Daifallah Al Thali, believes other forces were at play. I think all Arabian kingdoms went to decline around third century AD. A greater forces to the east was the Persian and to the west were the Roman. And they get in strong conflicts and this affected all the trade routes passing through Arabia. People went back to semi-nomadic status. The whole area went to completely darkness in political point of view. Even today, archeologists continue to debate the fortune of the once great Nabataean kingdom during the fourth century AD. As my work goes along, there are always new questions which come and arise and it is this permanent game of answers questions which come from curiosity, which is important and which makes my job the nicest job in the world. The quest for answers continues as the ancient city of Hegra unveils its secrets about the mighty Nabataean kingdom that extended across the region. Future research holds the promise of unraveling these enigmatic mysteries as experts have barely scratched the surface of this hidden treasure of Arabia.