ZURRABA PROJECT

Project start and end dates: 1990-1991
Project Consultant: Department of Antiquities (DOA)
Funded by: Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia of Sweden
Project cost: JD 14,160 ($ 20,000)

The funds for this project were donated to Petra National Trust (PNT) by Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia of Sweden.  Many of the communities in the Petra area depend on and benefit from tourism.  During the difficult period of the first Gulf War, when tourism dropped to almost nil, the funds for this project were welcomed at a time when the communities most needed support.  

The donation was given to the Department of Antiquities (DOA) who used the funds to, excavate and cleare the Zurraba area.  In addition to scientific research, the project aimed at providing income through the employment of horse owners (who at the time were hired to transport visitors through the site) and other labourers from within the Petra Region.

Excavations at Zurraba revealed a Nabataean workshop complex built in the early fourth century A.D. It appears this area was purely industrial in nature in which large amounts of painted pottery was produced.  A variety of household pottery items were found such as bowls, cooking pots, jars, and jugs.

Reports on the Project were published in the Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (ADAJ), volume 35 (1991); volume 43 (1999).