Niches are common features in the Nabataean landscape (Healey 2001; Starcky 1966: cols. 1008-10; Patrich 1990:50-113). From their frequent appearance in the archeological record, it is evident that the Nabataeans placed great importance on these cultic features. However, very little is known about them. The purpose of this study was to find and record Nabataean cultic niches in a field survey and then to interpret these niches as part of a research design that proposed purposes of niche variation in construction, orientation, and placement of niches on the landscape. My research addresses several neglected issues in the study of cultic niches in Nabataean religion. Robert Wenning has stated there is a need "to research the elements and details of niches in order to understand which detail or combination of elements indicates a specific function or points to an individual deity or certain divine aspect" (Wenning 2001:88). With this research, I hope to determine whether or not certain characteristics of niches can show preferred orientations, indicate a specific function, determine how sanctuaries containing niches were organized, show preferred niche façade ornamentation, or aid in the potential identification of deities.

In this dissertation, I investigate the function of the Roman army in the Negev. Evidence from archaeological survey and excavations of thirty-nine structures reveals that for 700 years Roman sites were situated to serve trade networks. Negev trade goods included frankincense, myrrh, spices, cassia, and silk - the epitome of luxury items in the Roman world. The importation, distribution, and taxation of these goods provided the imperial treasury with a steady revenue stream. Military units monitored road systems, secured supply lines, and performed local policing duties functioning, in effect, as agents of imperial administration. I begin with the period immediately prior to Roman annexation, when the Negev was home to Nabataean traders. This phase (1st c. BCE-1st c. CE) ended with the formation of the province of Arabia, a move likely inspired by the need for new revenue on account of the enormous outlays required by Trajan's Dacian wars. For the next 200 years, the Romans maintained the preexisting Nabataean network. In the early fourth century C.E., about half of the established Roman sites were abandoned and new ones were built along a new route - not as a reaction to localized threats but instead to support more efficient sea-borne trade via Aila, on the Red Sea. In the fifth century nomadic tribes began to cause serious security problems. In response new infantry and cavalry units were posted to the region, but were stationed in existing forts so as to maintain the continued security of the trade networks. In the Negev, the Roman military acted as an extension of imperial administration to support the smooth functioning of trade. The results clarify ancient historical references to the Limes Palaestinae, a term that modern scholars have understood to refer to a militarized defensive line on the Negev frontier. The distribution patterns that I found do not support a military interpretation, either of a defensive strategy or an internal frontier. Rather, the region remained structured around long established Nabataean-era road networks that were used to transport luxury commodities. In the Negev, the Roman army facilitated imperial interests for economic, rather than military, security. / 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Nabataean people controlled the Petra region of modern-day Jordan from sometime before 300 BCE until the Roman Annexation of the Nabataean kingdom in 106 CE. The Nabataeans are known for the monumental façades carved into the sandstone cliffs surrounding their capital city. The first survey of the façade monuments was undertaken by Brünnow and Domaszewski in 1904. They created a typology that has only been slightly modified by subsequent authors including Judith McKenzie (1990). This typology does not account for all of the variations in façade types in Petra, thus creating a need for a new typology proposed in this paper. Additionally, no previous studies of the façade monuments has examined the impact of geological structures such as the orientation of the pre-existing cliffs, the presence of faults and fractures, and the height of the available cliffs. This study also assesses the potential role of naturally occurring zones of weakness in the sedimentary cliffs such as those created by faults and fractures caused by regional and local tectonic activity and their potential impact on Nabataean rock-cut structures. In order to organize the 300 Nabataean façades in this data set, it also became necessary to develop a new and more comprehensive typology of these structures than has been previously developed in Nabataean scholarship.

This thesis provides the beginnings of further research on the correlation between Nabataean mortuary practices and specific biological age ranges. It seeks to answer the question of whether Nabataean infants were absent from, or under-represented, in Nabataean cemeteries. Several quantitative analyses and descriptive statistics were performed, comparing Nabataean adult and subadult burials from fourteen sites. Nabataean cemetery populations were also compared with Walter Scheidel's model life table. These analyses demonstrate that Nabataean burials typically consisted of either a single adult or multiple individuals of various age ranges. Subadults, individuals under the age of 20 years, were rarely found buried by themselves, and seldom with other subadults. The comparison of Nabataean cemetery populations with Scheidel's model life table reported lower than expected percentages of individuals between the age ranges of zero to 12 years. However, this discrepancy is likely due to decay, the destruction of skeletal remains, and poor excavation techniques.

Les Nabatéens représentent une ancienne peuplade du nord-ouest de l’Arabie qui a connu la prospérité entre le 1er siècle av. J.-C. et le 1er siècle ap. J.-C. Pour la période et la population considérées, les pratiques funéraires sont jusqu’à présent connues essentiellement à partir de l'architecture des nécropoles et de l'épigraphie. Une analyse archéo-anthropologique de sites s’avérait indispensable et elle constitue une part importante de ce travail, introduit par un rappel des données préexistantes. Les pratiques funéraires sont appréhendées en suivant les méthodes de l’anthropologie de terrain, appliquées à deux sites jordaniens (Khirbet edh-Dharih, Pétra) et un d’Arabie Saoudite (Madâ’in Sâlih). Cette approche permet de mettre en relation les gestes funéraires avec une analyse du recrutement des inhumés et celle du matériel archéologique présent dans les tombes. Pour chaque site, une étude anthropologique incorporant divers volets (morphométrie, variations anatomiques, indicateurs de stress et autres pathologies) a été conduite afin de contribuer à la définition de l’identité biologique des groupes humains inhumés. Ce travail conduit à l’interface du biologique et du culturel. Il apporte un éclairage nouveau sur les populations nabatéennes et autorise pour la première fois à une comparaison large, à la fois inter- et intra- sites. Les trois sites retenus permettent en effet de confronter les informations issues d’un village, Dharih, à celles de deux des villes les plus importantes du royaume nabatéen, Pétra et Madâ’in Sâlih. / The Nabataeans are an ancient tribe of north-west Saudi who has known prosperity between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. For the considered period and the population, burial practices are so far known mostly from the architecture of cemeteries and epigraphy. An archaeo-anthropological analysis of the sites was indispensable and is an important part of this work introduced by a recall of pre-existing data. The burial practices are understood by following the methods of anthropological field applied to two Jordanian sites (Khirbet edh-Dharih, Petra) and Saudi Arabia (Madâ’in Sâlih). This approach allows us to relate funerary gestures with an analysis of recruitment and the archaeological materials found in the graves. For each site, an anthropological analysis incorporating various aspects (morphometry, anatomical variations, stress indicators and other disorders) was conducted in order to define the biological identity of buried human groups. This work led to the interface of biological and cultural. It brings a new point of view on the Nabatean population and, for the first time, it allows a wide inter-sites and intra-sites comparison. The three sites selected allows to confront information from a village, Dharih , to those of two of the most important cities of the Nabatean kingdom, Petra and Mada'in Salih.