Petra Great Temple, a structure that dates back to the first century B.C., is rich in history and has become one of the largest attractions in the Middle East. Professor Emerita of Archaeology Martha Joukowsky '58 P'87 and her team of Brown University students have led the excavation of the Temple for the past 14 years.
Petra was the principal city of the ancient Nabateans and is located in present-day Jordan. "We have the largest freestanding structure in Petra," Joukowsky said. The site measures 7,560 square meters, but only one or two percent of the city - the temple site - will be excavated.
In uncovering Petra Great Temple, Joukowsky and her team of archaeologists hope to determine the chronology of the Temple's different architectural phases and from that, to determine what it originally looked like.
The excavation of the ancient temple is sponsored by the University and other international and interdisciplinary groups, including the American Center of Oriental Research. Joukowsky's research team consists of herself; her husband Artemis Joukowsky '55 P'87, University chancellor emeritus; and current and former University undergraduate and graduate students. "I have had the same team for 14 years," Joukowsky said. "Brown students stay with you until you say, 'Buzz off.' "
Marshall Agnew '07 got to know the Joukowskys and the Jordanian locals very well last summer when he worked on the project. "What Martha and Artie have done is an amazing thing," Agnew said. There are few projects as ambitious and large in the archaeology world, he said.
Joukowsky said she selects her team based on students' academic performance and, more importantly, on the level of interest a student shows toward the project. "Martha's attitude toward students is something that's special about Brown," Agnew said.
Joukowsky also employed help from Jordanians. "A lot of the local Bedouin grew up with Martha. Almost all of the people in the town know Martha and have worked for her," Agnew said. Joukowsky prefers to keep a small team around her that she knows well. Because the project was spaced over the course of 15 years, many of the Jordanians who worked for her began when they were 16 years old and continue to work for her now that they are 30.
The project has produced 387,000 artifacts. Recently, Joukowsky's team discovered a roman bath complex at the site, evidence of the influence of Roman rule over Petra during the first century B.C. The complex has semicircular bathrooms with a cooling room. The baths are accessed through a marble-covered vestibule with semicircular features at each of its corners. "They are the most beautiful bathrooms I've ever seen," Joukowsky said.
Of particular interest are hundreds of elephant-headed capitals recently discovered by Joukowsky and her team. "They were the first of their kind ever discovered. They are important because they show very original architectural style on the part of the Nabateans and show that the Nabateans were in contact with elephants," Agnew said.
Next summer will be the last that Joukowsky and her archaeology team spend excavating Petra Great Temple. Originally, they were supposed to end their work in the summer of 2005, but Joukowsky said, "We keep finding interesting things." Although the project and Joukowsky's role in it will end in the coming year, it may not be the end of the University's involvement. "They are interested in continuing Brown students' involvement in Petra," Agnew said.
The excavation of Petra Great Temple has garnered worldwide attention, including an exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in 2004. "We have gained quite a bit of notoriety," Joukowsky said. "Our findings are circulating all over the world in museums."
Joukowsky's efforts have helped to revitalize the modern town of Petra. According to Agnew, "It has given the Jordanians something to be proud of."
