Interview
Uncovering the secrets of a forgotten Arabian empire with Alice Morrison
A new BBC series explores the history of the Nabateans. We catch up with presenter Alice Morrison to learn more about her fascinating discoveries in Jordan and Saudi Arabia…
In a new BBC series, author, adventurer and presenter Alice Morrison explores the forgotten empire of The Nabataeans. In the two-part series, Morrison travels to Jordan and Saudi Arabia to uncover the secrets on how the ancient civilisation once lived, while also learning about how today’s locals are thriving in these preserved Arabian landscapes. Here, Founding Editor Lyn Hughes speaks to Morrison to learn more.
So tell us a little bit about the Nabateans: Who were they?
I think the interesting thing is that the Nabateans were contemporary with the Pharaohs and with the Romans, and yet we’ve never heard of them. But they left us one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Petra is literally on everyone’s bucket list, and so it should be. It’s incredible. So they built cities of the dead at Petra, and yet we know almost nothing of how they lived. They left almost no written records looking at the time of the Library of Alexandria. So why not? It’s a big mystery.
What’s so appealing to me is that element of exploration and discovery, and what we do know about them is they were nomads and they traded along that whole western part of Arabia, all the way from Yemen through to the ports of Gaza and Alexandria, so they had a big territory.
Everything that I say is caveated by the fact that we have to dig for every bit of information. They appear to have built their empire through trade and not through war. They did have an army, and they did fight occasionally but that wasn’t their thing. They were very unlike the Romans in that way who eventually swallowed them up because they progressed peacefully.
We found out that women had a very equal and high status in society and they seemed to love the good life. There were cups of wine you could have in the presence of the king. They had cushions stuffed and decorated with ostrich feathers. They liked the finer things in life and they built amazing cities of the dead; the architecture of them is extraordinary.
And I think the other clue to knowing what kind of people they were from their cities is that they borrowed from every civilisation that they came across and that they mingled with as traders. They took bits from the Romans. They took bits from the Egyptians. Their gods were shared around. They seem to have been a collaborative people who who tried to live in peace, who traded and who built a society for living.
You mentioned women there. They really do seem to have had a prominent role, don’t they?
Women built tombs for themselves and their daughters. So actually, women were going to the afterlife solo. And we know they also reached the highest level in society, which was as queens. We have evidence that a queen could pass the monarchy down to her daughter. One of the big clues that we had is some of the coinage that has been found. One of the coins has the king and the queen’s faces with equal prominence. So obviously that part of the dynasty considered themselves equal, or the king considered his wife equal to him, or she considered him equal to her. So, there’s equality there!
You say they were nomadic people, but what therefore was Petra?
Petra was very much the capital, their biggest achievement. When I say they were a nomadic people, they came from the desert, they ate dates, they used camels. They were able to cross the harshest of territories to trade. Think about it. That route up from Yemen, it is no sinecure. You’ve got a lot of time out in the wilderness. So, they then chose Petra. I always think Petra’s quite an unusual place to choose as a capital because normally they’re found on a mountain or near the sea.
But Petra, what it does have is those gorges, which are very easily defensible. So the Siq into the Treasury is only wide enough for two camels side by side. So in terms of defensive capability, it’s fantastic. Now, Petra’s very dry but in those times there would have been plenty of water available, and you can see that the way they used and saved water.
They were fantastic engineers – they didn’t have any massive equipment, and yet they had a city there for thousands of people. And you can see how they’ve used the water everywhere. There’s little channels going down into little reservoirs everywhere.
I love that part of it. Petra was very much their capital, and AlUla appears to have been a secondary capital.
So Petra would have been their richest place? I think you can see that very clearly in the buildings, just the monumental scale of them.
Yes, that view when you first go through the Siq and see the Treasury… It’s incredible, it really is! Can you imagine if you haven’t got internet, you’ve seen no pictures, and you’re just a trader, and you walk in on that? It would be absolutely mind-blowing!
You mentioned Alula and visit in the programmes too…
AlUla is a fascinating place. It looks very different. whereas Petra’s all about those narrow gorges and being built within the mountains, AlUla has a wide open and spread out desert landscape with great big jutting rocks, and is right next to a huge oasis.
For 1,500 years or more it was considered a cursed place within Islam. There’s a hadith which says that the Prophet actually went out of his way to avoid it. The reason was that the Thamudis people of AlUla asked God for a sign and he gave them a camel. Big mistake. God was not happy. So the place was cursed and there was actually a fatwa saying not to visit it.
It’s therefore a very significant point that has now become one of the jewels in Saudi’s historic and touristic offering, and that a huge amount of money is being spent on discovering actually how the Nabateans lived, and in investigating the civilisation. It is indicative of what’s happening in Saudi Arabia itself.
Talking if camels… You have a soft spot for them, don’t you?
So the programme’s called the Secrets of the Nabateans and we’re trying to discover how they could exist and live, and the key to how they could manage was the camel. I’m a great fan of the camel. So one of the joys for me was meeting a little mini camel herd. Camels are held in very, very high esteem by all Muslims. They’re considered the highest animal in the Quran. In fact, this year is the International Year of the Camel.
So they’re held in very high regard, and they’re a very deep part of Arab, Saudi and Jordanian culture. They’re used for transport. They’re used for milk. They’re used for meat, but they’re also highly respected animals. I guess, in the way that so many British people feel about their dogs or their horses.
There are so many archaeologists out in AlUla now?
It’s incredible to see that and made making the programme such fun!
There were two things I really enjoyed in AlUla. One was how it’s the young people in Saudi Arabia who have absolutely grabbed this opportunity, especially the women, to be guides, to be golf buggy drivers, to be part of the tourist and history industry there.
I do think that’s a really positive thing because they love their history. They’re proud of their country and it comes across. You’re going around and everyone’s asking “How are you?” and “Do come and look at this bit”. That enthusiasm is really, really refreshing.
When you see them going all Silent Witness on you and reconstructing faces from skeletons that you can actually look at, what a Nabatean woman might have looked like. They were using ground radar machines to map the ground, and the guy who designed that machine has also put similar machines in outer space. So, these are people who really are at the top of their game. It’s nerdtastic!
We had a big discovery at the end, which was very gratifying. Our director Joe had discovered somebody who is an Archaeoastronomer based in Spain. He has found out that the whole previous theory about how Nabateans built their cities is possibly wrong. He’s found a new theory, which is that it was connected to the sky.
He has basically plotted the movement as they would have been in the sun at that time, and discovered that actually they orientated their tombs towards the heavens and not, as we previously thought, so that they could be seen from the town below and everyone could marvel at their richness.
All of that work that’s being done is really adding to the sum of human knowledge. If you love history and archaeology and like to feel that connection with the past, it’s amazing to get all this new information.
Oh, incredible. And I presume there there will be more discoveries to come?
Honestly, I’m like, can we remake the programme in ten years time? Because I’m sure as more information comes forward, we’ll learn a lot more about them. I’m sure some of the things we say will be contradicted in the future by new information. But I think you have to start with where you are and what’s wonderful is that more stuff is going to come out.
You have been to the places before, but were there any other surprises?
That was my fourth visit to Petra and my second visit to AlUla. Each time I’ve learned more and more, but having access to people who are true world leaders in their field and who can reveal something genuinely interesting brings a whole new depth to it. I was surprised that women had such a prominent role and the fact that the lineage could pass from woman to daughter.
I also made a discovery. They’re doing this radar mapping of the entire site because they’re trying to find out more about how people lived. The town is still all unexcavated, and they’re mapping it first using this radar imaging, My technical language is not very good, but it looks exactly like a blue handheld lawn mower which I decided to call Betty. Anyway, I asked could I have a go with Betty because basically you have to mow up one line, mow down one line. It’s exactly like mowing a lawn. And it’s going take them 2,000 kilometres of mowing to cover this small area of town.
We then looked at what I’d mapped on the laptop. They pointed out to me that there were two structures, one deeper than the other, which means we were looking at something where there were two different eras of a building. Could there be a pre-Nabatean civilization underneath the Nabatean one?
It could just be that a house was built on top of another, we don’t know, but we actually found something that was interesting and that will take much more exploration.
Something like 60 percent of Petra still remains un-excavated. So you really do have the feeling that you never know what you might find. That is mind blowing, isn’t it?
It is! Have you any tips for readers who want to follow in your footsteps?
I would say, if you’ve already done Petra, go to AlUla because it is absolutely fascinating. You won’t regret it. And you also get to see Arab Oasis life which is really something very, very special. If you want to understand anything about Arabia, the oasis is what allowed people to exist when they were inland.
There are now direct flights from Petra to AlUla so you can actually fly, and that is a brilliant way to do it. I think you will be so excited by this amazing civilisation, and you do get a very different view of it.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia are very different countries so I would genuinely encourage people to go and have a look at both and to enjoy them. Take plenty of water when you’re walking around, and my top tip is to hire a guide. You really will want to know more about it.
Arabian Adventures – Secrets of the Nabataeans is on BBC iPlayer now.