Brown University Petra Archaeological Project

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About BUPAP

The Brown University Petra Archaeological Project (BUPAP) is a multi-disciplinary archaeological research project, currently in publication phase, designed to understand the development of Petra and its surrounding landscapes diachronically, throughout the region and at multiple individual sites. This research builds upon almost two decades of fieldwork by Brown University archaeologists at Petra, which focused primarily on the excavation of the Great Temple, directed by Martha Sharp Joukowsky.

The beginnings of BUPAP in 2009 and its full field seasons from 2010 to 2013 mark a sort of second phase of Brown's involvement at Petra. Directed by Susan E. Alcock and Christopher A. Tuttle, the project aimed both to contextualize previous work and to answer new questions, often about periods and places that have received relatively little attention at and around the Nabataean capital. Fieldwork was comprised of four separate but interrelated projects: The Petra Upper Market Area Project (PUMA), which involved excavation, geophysical survey, and architectural studies in the city center; the Petra Area and Wadi Silaysil Survey (PAWS), an intensive, systematic regional survey focused on the area north of the city center; excavation and mapping at the Bayda Islamic Village (BIV); and the Petra Routes Project (PRP), which investigated local and regional routes of communication and travel. Please follow the links to the individual sub-projects and reports on the 2010, 2011, and 2012 field seasons for more information.

This website is designed to be a resource for anyone involved or interested in BUPAP. Links on the left side of the page, below, and embedded in the text lead to more information about the various aspects of the project, the people involved, and bibliography relevant to or produced by the project. We will try to keep the information as up to date and accurate as possible, and of course welcome suggestions about how we might improve this website.

We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to several groups that have provided various types of support, namely the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World and Brown University, the Loeb Classical Library Foundation, the Curtiss T. & Mary G. Brennan Foundation, the American Center for Oriental Research in Amman, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, and all the residents of the Petra region for their kind hospitality.

Brown's Previous Archaeological Research at Petra

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The Great Temple Excavations, directed by Martha Sharp Joukowsky, were a landmark project for archaeology at both Petra and Brown University. BUPAP seeks to build upon and add new directions to Brown's already strong tradition of research at Petra. Follow this link, Great Temple Excavations, for the project's website and detailed information on its excavations and other activities.

News and Current Activities

After the conclusion of fieldwork, BUPAP is currently in a publication phase. See the bibliography page for a list of project publications.

For pictures, news, and information from past field seasons, check out our project Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BrownPetraProject.