Ed-Deir (, ), also spelled el-Deir and ad-Deir/ad-Dayr, is a monumental building carved out of rock in the ancient city of

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

in southern

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. The Deir was probably carved in the mid-first century AD. Arguably one of the most iconic ancient Arab monuments in the Petra Archaeological Park, the monastery is located high in the hills northwest of the Petra city center. It is the second most commonly visited monument in Petra, after the Khazneh or "Treasury". The huge façade, the inner chamber and the other structures next to it or in the wider area around the Deir probably originally served a complex religious purpose, and was possibly repurposed as a church in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

period.

Location

The monastery can be reached by ascending a nearly 800-step path (40-minute walking time) from the Basin. The Wadi Kharrubeh, the Lion's tomb, and small biclinia and grottos can be seen en route to the monastery. From the monastery, one can view the valleys of

Wadi Araba The Arabah/Araba () or Aravah/Arava () is a loosely defined geographic area in the Negev Desert, south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. The old meaning, which was in use ...

and the gorges along with the semi-arid territory immediately around Petra.

Exterior design

Scholars believe that the flat area in front of the monastery was levelled through human action in order to make the area suitable for social gatherings or religious occasions. Near the entrance of the structure are the remains of a wall and a colonnade. The rock-cut

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

of the monastery, high and wide, has a

broken pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In ancient ...

, the two sides of which flank a central tholos-shaped element. This element has a conical roof that is topped by an

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

Interior plan

The interior layout of the monastery consists of a single square chamber with a broad niche in the back wall. Each end of this niche contains four steps, and the niche itself is framed by pillars and a

segmental arch A segmental arch is a type of arch with a circular arc of less than 180 degrees. It is sometimes also called a scheme arch. The segmental arch is one of the strongest arches because it is able to resist Arch#Basic concepts, thrust. To prevent fai ...

. The room is thought to have been painted and plastered, even though none of these decorations have survived into the modern day.

Architectural style

The monastery is an example of

Nabataean architecture Nabatean architecture (Arabic: اَلْعِمَارَةُ النَّبَطِيَّةُ; al-ʿimarah al-nabatiyyah) refers to the building traditions of the Nabateans ( /ˌnæbəˈtiːənz/; Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢕𐢃𐢋𐢈 ''Nabāṭū''; Ar ...

. Its blending of architectural styles is a hallmark of the dynamic and hybridised nature of Petra as a whole. Architecturally, the monastery follows classical Nabataean style, which is represented by a mixture of

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary o ...

styles of construction. The Hellenistic influence can be seen in the columns of the monastery, which are constructed in an abstracted

Corinthian style The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

. These columns are thought to have been included for aesthetic purposes, as the entire structure is carved directly into the sandstone cliff and does not require the support that columns would traditionally provide in freestanding Hellenistic structures. The façade as a whole boasts a Doric

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

(superstructure containing moldings and bands lying above the capitals), but does not have figures in the

metope A metope (; ) is a rectangular architectural element of the Doric order, filling the space between triglyphs in a frieze , a decorative band above an architrave. In earlier wooden buildings the spaces between triglyphs were first open, and ...

, only simple roundels. Mesopotamian style is evident in the single, large entrance and the plain, window-like depressions of the facade. The door to the main chamber of the monastery is 8 metres high and provides the sole portal for the entry of light into the structure. The presence of square-topped tower structures on either side of the monastery also demonstrate the Mesopotamian influence present in the structure.

Purpose

Nabataean

The role of the Deir, which has been probably built in the mid-1st century CE, cannot be assessed with certainty, with hopes that further excavations could offer an answer. The suggestion that it served as a Nabataean royal tomb, based on external similarities with the Khazneh and the

Tomb of the Roman Soldier The Tomb of the Roman Soldier, also called the Tomb of the Soldier, is one of the best-preserved tombs in the ancient city of Petra, in what is now Jordan. Although its façade is its most recognizable feature — with three carved figures inset b ...

is contradicted by the layout of the inner chamber and the apparently related structures in front of the Deir. The interior design does not contain any obvious burial, like in many tombs of Petra. However, the rock-cut chamber has a large central recess, a

cella In Classical architecture, a or naos () is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings: of a hermit's or monk's cell, and (since the 17th century) of a biological cell ...

or ''

adyton In Classical architecture, the ''adyton'' ( , 'innermost sanctuary, shrine', ) or (Latin) was a restricted area within the ''cella'' of a Greek temple, Greek or Roman temple. The ''adyton'' was frequently a small area at the farthest end of ...

'' (innermost sanctuary), accessed by two short staircases, similar to those leading up to the cult podium of the

Temple of the Winged Lions The Temple of the Winged Lions is a large Nabatean temple complex located in Petra, Jordan, and dated to the reign of King Aretas IV (9 BCE–40 CE). The temple is located in Petra's so-called Sacred Quarter, an area situated at the end of Petra' ...

, which would be unusual for a tomb, as well as two low benches along the side walls, which suggest that the chamber was built to serve as a biclinium. Outside there are remains of a colonnade, a possible

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, and a round enclosure, possibly offering the frame for ritual performances which could be observed from a platform up on the plateau opposite the facade. The Deir can be interpreted as a private palatial complex with mixed residential, funerary and religious function, similar to the Tomb of the Roman Soldier complex. It could also have been, maybe together with the structures on the hill opposite the Deir, the site of large public religious events. An inscription that was found on the wall of a nearby structure while it was being cleaned in 1991, mentioned "the ''mrzh' '' of Obodat the god". ''Mrzh is interpreted as a private religious group with a limited number of members. The inscription is located too far from the Deir, but may possibly indicate that the entire Deir complex was dedicated to the Nabataean king,

Obodas I Obodas I (Nabataean Aramaic: ''ʿŌbōdaṯ''; ) was king of the Nabataeans from 96 to 85 BC. After his death, Obodas was worshiped as a deity. The king's name as transcribed in Arabic is ', which means "submission, obedience or worship (of god ...

, who was deified posthumously.

Christian

The interior chamber of ed-Deir has several incised crosses carved into the wall, which may indicate that the space might have been used as a church or hermitage. After the abandonment of Byzantine Petra with its main churches near the city center, a Christian presence in the form of

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

s and

cenobite Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of prece ...

s living in

lavra A lavra or laura (; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. Lavra monasteries operate within the Orthodox and other Eastern Chri ...

- or coenobium-type communities of among the ruins of the wider ancient metropolis and its necropoles continued all until the late 19th century. Also availabl
here
The area around ed-Deir shows a particular density of such communities, who even left an epigraph on the

of the monumental facade, observed by

Burckhardt The Burckhardt family alternatively also (de) Bourcard (in French) is a family of the Basel patriciate, descended from Christoph (Stoffel) Burckhardt (1490–1578), a merchant in cloth and silk originally from Münstertal, Black Forest, who rece ...

in 1812, but which had already disappeared by 1865. Magister Thetmarus (Thietmar) documented in 1217 that two Greek monks were living near Petra, but their abode was at the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

on the summit of Mount Aaron ('Jabal an-Nabi Harûn', lit. the mountain of the Prophet Aaron, some 5 km SW of Petra), not at ed-Deir (see original Latin tex
here
and its German translatio
here
.

3D documentation with laser-scanning

The monastery was spatially documented in 2013 by the non-profit research group

Zamani Project The Zamani Project is part of the African Cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Database. Zamani is a research group at the University of Cape Town, which acquires, models, presents and manages spatial and other data from cultu ...

, which specialises in 3D digital documentation of tangible cultural heritage. A 3D model can be viewe
here
The data generated by the Zamani Project creates a permanent record that can be used for research, education, restoration, and conservation.

In popular culture

The monastery has appeared in several Hollywood movies, such as the 2009 film '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen''.

References

External links

{{Commons category, El Deir
Documentary about its construction
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Photos of ed-Deir
at the

Manar al-Athar Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Em ...

photo archive Nabataean architecture Monuments and memorials in Jordan Rock-cut tombs Petra