Anjar Quarries
50 BC – AD 100
The Anjar Quarries are among the most prominent quarries used by the Nabataeans for extracting sandstone to construct their architectural monuments in the city of Petra. Although sandstone is relatively soft compared to harder rocks, it is characterized by high quality and suitable flexibility for carving, making it the preferred material for the Nabataeans in creating monumental façades, temples, and royal tombs.
The archaeological remains preserved at these quarries indicate a high level of organization and precision in stone extraction processes. Rock faces along the wadi were carefully selected to obtain the most solid and homogeneous material for construction. Tool marks and impact traces on the quarry walls reveal refined techniques, whereby workers used metal tools to mark cutting lines, followed by gradual separation of stone blocks using wooden wedges and hammers, relying on the principle of expansion when wood was moistened with water.
Remains of tools and extraction areas demonstrate the Nabataeans’ extensive knowledge of sandstone properties and their ability to work it without causing cracking or fragmentation. Parallel grooves carved into some interior quarry walls illustrate systematic cutting methods, beginning with outlining primary lines, followed by deep carving, and culminating in detaching the entire block and transporting it to the construction site.
These advanced techniques indicate that the Nabataeans relied not only on physical labor but also on engineering knowledge to determine cutting directions and angles, ensuring the safety of stone blocks during extraction and transport. Scholars note evidence for the use of wooden levers and thick ropes to lower blocks from higher quarry levels, reflecting a sophisticated level of construction technology.
Recent studies also show that some cutting marks at the Anjar Quarries closely resemble those found at ancient Egyptian archaeological sites, supporting the hypothesis of technical knowledge exchange between ancient civilizations. Researchers believe that Nabataean workers may have benefited from techniques used in ancient Egypt, particularly in cutting and shaping sandstone without causing undesirable fractures.
Today, the Anjar Quarries are a key site for understanding the development of Nabataean architecture and construction methods in Petra. They not only help explain the sources of building materials but also provide tangible evidence of Nabataean skill and their reliance on advanced techniques that enabled them to create one of the most remarkable and precisely engineered cities of the ancient world.