Testing the Petra Garden and Pool Complex chronology through the ceramics

The Petra Garden and Pool Complex in the ancient city center has been dated based on stratigraphy and an array of diagnostic finds. The present study of the coarse wares from selected contexts at the site (augmented by amphorae and fine wares) aims to show corroborative evidence from the ceramic assemblage to support the dating of three major phases in the history of the complex: the construction of the monumental Nabataean garden and pool complex in the end of the 1st century BCE, the Roman renovations in the early 2nd century CE and, last but not least, the second destruction that ended the occupation of the complex, most probably at the end of the 6th century CE. The overall purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of Petra coarse-ware pottery from the Nabataean and Roman periods.