Avdat The city Nabatean monarch Avdat
Avdat sits on the ancient Spice Route between Petra and Gaza. The city was named for the admired Nabatean monarch Avdat, apparently Avdat II (30-9 ), who asked to be buried here. King Avdat renewed settlement in the city after Gaza?s fall to the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (100 ) and mass migration from the city had effectively taken Avdat off the commercial map. The city once again flourished during the reign of Aretes IV (9 ), but was destroyed during the attacks by Arabian tribes in the second half of the first century. Later, the last Nabatean king, Rabael II (106-70 ), rebuilt the city. The city survived the fall of the Nabatean kingdom to the Roman Empire, and was a vibrant metropolis until the Arab conquest in the seventh century Most of the spectacular finds are from the acropolis, some 650 meters above sea level. Very little remains from the Nabatean temple, but the reconstructed gate allows us to imagine how imposing it once was. The top of the acropolis offers a fine view of the Avdat farm to the east and the entire Avdat plain. The staff at the farm use techniques of desert farming developed by the Nabateans. Visitors will want to see the Roman bathhouse (near the visitors center) which has cold, lukewarm, and hot baths; the Roman tower with an inscription on its lintel; the An-Nuzra burial cave with 21 double catacombs and one grave dug in the floor; the elaborate Byzantine winepress, which the staff occasionally uses to demonstrate how must was manufactured from grapes; the pottery workshop; the fourth-century churches; and the network of caves, some of which were used for burial and others as cisterns or for storage.
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Photo credit: © yoel harel / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: admired, ancient, apparently, avdat, city, gaza., ii, monarch, nabatean, named, petra, route, sits, spice
