Position:

G.A. Wainwright Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Faculty / College Address:

Oriental Institute

Email:

lucy.wadeson@orinst.ox.ac.uk

Research Interests:

• Archaeology of the Greco-Roman Near East
• Nabataean architecture and sculpture
• Nabataean funerary practices
• Nabataean epigraphy
• Topography of Petra
• Palmyrene sculpture
• Ancient urbanism
• Art in Palestine (1st cent. BC – 7th cent. AD)

My research focuses on the material culture of the Nabataeans during the late Hellenistic and early Roman periods, specifically their funerary architecture and burial practices. I am currently preparing a monograph on the façade tombs at Petra, which will incorporate the results from my doctoral research on their unpublished interiors and my current project on their topographical setting (i.e. the surrounding property that was used in the funerary ritual and the effect of the natural environment on the form and function of the tombs). By establishing a new chronology for the different types of façade tombs and reconstructing the elusive burial customs of the Nabataeans, this work will determine how the cemeteries of Petra developed and elucidate the development of Nabataean society from the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD. My research also explores the relationship between Nabataean funerary traditions and those of neighbouring cultures in the Levant and Egypt, with the aim of ascertaining the distinctive aspects of Nabataean culture, the reception of classical culture and the role it played in the creation of local cultural identities in the Near East.

I also direct the “International Khubtha Tombs Project” (IKTP), which involves the clearance and excavation of Tombs 779 and 781 on the west flank of el-Khubtha (Petra). This project aims to uncover material that could enhance knowledge of Nabataean burial practices and enable us to date the use of these important tombs. This project will also determine more precisely how tomb complexes functioned at Petra, and establish the relationship between the interior burial chambers and exterior structures of the façade tombs.

Current Projects:

• The Funerary Topography of Petra Project (FTPP) ‒ director (archaeological investigation of the topographical setting of the non-classical façade tombs at Petra)
• The International Khubtha Tombs Project (IKTP) ‒ director (clearance and excavation of Tombs 779 and 781, el-Khubtha, Petra)

Recent Publications:

Recent:

• Wadeson, L. 2012. The Obelisk Tomb at Petra and the Bāb al-Sīq Inscription: a study of text, image and architecture. In From Ugarit to Nabataea: Studies in Honor of John F. Healey, edited by G. Kiraz and Z. al-Salameen, 207–234. Gorgias Press.
• Wadeson, L. 2011. Im Gedenken an die Toten: Die Bestattungssitten der Nabatäer. Antike Welt 42.6: 31–36.
• Wadeson, L. 2011. Research report: The Funerary Topography of Petra Project (FTPP). Bulletin of the Council for British Research in the Levant 6: 67–68.
• Wadeson, L. 2011. Nabataean tomb complexes at Petra: new insights in the light of recent fieldwork. In ASCS 32 Proceedings, edited by A. Mackay:1–24. (http://ascs.org.au/news/ascs32/Wadeson.pdf)
• Wadeson, L. 2010. The chronology of the façade tombs at Petra: a structural and metrical analysis. Levant 42.1: 48–69.
• Schmid, S.G., Amour, A., Barmasse, A., Duchesne, S., Huguenot, C. and Wadeson, L. 2008. New insights into Nabataean funerary practices. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, (Madrid) 5, edited by J.M. Córdoba et al., 135–160.
• Wadeson, L. 2008. Chariots of fire: Elijah and the zodiac in synagogue floor mosaics of Late Antique Palestine. ARAM 20: 1– 41. (awarded the Sean W. Dever Prize for best published article by a PhD student in Syro-Palestinian archaeology)

Forthcoming:

• Wadeson, L. 2012. The funerary landscape of Petra: results from a new study. Nabataean Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 42, edited by L. Nehmé & L. Wadeson: in press.
• Wadeson, L. 2012. Excavations at Petra: the International al-Khubtha Tombs Project (IKTP). PEQ: in press.
• Wadeson, L. 2012. Behind the façades of the rock-cut tombs. In Sheikh Ibrahim and Petra 1812–2012, Exhibition Volume: in press.
• Wadeson, L. 2012. Nabataean façade tombs: a new chronology. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 11: in press.
• Wadeson, L. 2011. The International el-Khubtha Tombs Project (IKTP): Preliminary Report on the 2010 Season. ADAJ 55: in press.
• Wadeson, L. 2011. The International el-Khubtha Tombs Project (IKTP). Munjazat 12: in press.
• Wadeson, L. 2010. The International el-Khubtha Tombs Project (IKTP). Munjazat 11: in press.

Reviews:

• Wadeson, L. 2010. Review of B. Alpert Nakhai (ed.), The World of Women in the Ancient and Classical Near East. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 2008. Levant 43.1: 121-123.
• Wadeson, L. 2009. Review of H. al-Fassi, The Role of Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia: Nabataea. Oxford, 2007. Levant 41.1: 119-120.

In Preparation:

• Wadeson, L. The Façade Tombs of Petra (monograph in preparation).
• Wadeson, L. & Nehmé, L. (eds). The Nabataeans in Focus: Current Archaeological Research at Petra. Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 42.
• Wadeson, L. The development of funerary architecture at Petra. In Early Petra, edited by M. Mouton and S.G. Schmid.
• Wenning, R. & Wadeson, L. ‘Dagger’ Figures at Petra: A Reinterpretation.
• Wadeson, L. The Funerary Topography of Petra Project (FTPP). (Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan)
• Wadeson, L. Head of a Palmyrene Priest in Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Further Info:

• Council for British Research in the Levant Visiting Fellow: http://www.bi-amman.org.uk/vrf.html
• Editor of the Bulletin of the Society For Arabian Studies: http://www.societyforarabianstudies.org/
• IKTP website: http://www.auac.ch/iktp/index.html