Many answers to questions related to the upper and lower terrace of the Wadi al-Farasa East have already been answered; however, there remain many more still outstanding. For the architecture it would be interesting to know how the main entrance to the courtyard as well as the entrances to the courtyard from the triclinium and the „Soldier Tomb“ were constructed. Further interest would also focus on the construction of the architrave, the roofing and the attica zone supposed above the stoa according to the rock carvings near the „Soldier Tomb“ Bachmann – Watzinger – Wiegand 1921: 75ff. . During the 2000 season of the IWFP none of these elements were found, perhaps because they had fallen farther into the courtyard when the stoa collapsed. Details of construction of the courtyard are still not clear. To find out more about this would be particularly helpful, especially as the water from system A mentioned above has to run through this area (on this see also Schmid 2000: 340ff.).
On the upper terrace the clearance of the area of the „Garden Triclinium“ and connecting it to the zone already cleared in front of the cistern are targets that could easily be reached in a next season. This would also allow to proceed further with the reconstruction of that monument. As it has never been cleared since first described by travellers of the early 19th century, the discussion about whether it once had a peristyle courtyard or not still goes on See for example McKenzie 1990: 171 with further references. .
Conservation and preservation of the site face the same problem today as the Nabataeans did 2000 years ago. The erosion by wind and mainly by water is an immediate danger to the monuments of the Wadi al-Farasa East. The huge main retaining wall of the lower terrace is particularly threatened by the elements. As the ancient water supply and drainage systems are no longer working, the water that runs trough the valley during the winter rainfalls reclaims its old natural way on the deepest point of the valley. This results in the washing out of the ancient built structures as was shown above by the sunken floor level in trench 2. More dangerous is the washing out of the terrace’s main retaining wall which has already lost some boulders and thus stability. This wall is especially problematic as it never was meant to retain water but just was designed as a terrace wall. The water was brought through the lower terrace by specific water supply and drainage systems as was shown above.
The same occurs at the triclinium and the „Soldier Tomb“. In antiquity their level was considerably higher than the one of the peristyle courtyard (cf. above II. 1.). This and the sophisticated water drainage systems completely protected them from water. As nowadays their level is considerably below the level of the former courtyard that is filled by sand and tumbled stones, the water penetrates these monuments with every rainfall and is gradually destroying them as is seen on fig. 25 (During heavy rainfalls in winter 2000/2001 the triclinium not only was filled with water, but it also remained full of water for several days after the rainfalls stopped. In antiquity such a situation never would have occurred, as the lower level of the courtyard compared to the triclinium did not allow the water to penetrate the rock-cut monument and to remain in it. If this situation does not change soon, the triclinium will be destroyed within a few years.)
As a short term solution one could restore the main retaining wall and include a small water drain. However, this would just reduce the problem and not eliminate it. Further, this solution would have no effect on the problematic of the triclinium and the „Soldier Tomb“ regularly invaded by water. In order to change this, the level of the courtyard should be lowered. As with the exception of the small central rift of the former valley the floor slabs of the courtyard are almost directly based on the natural rock, excavation and conservation of that area would seem to be a comparably simple task. The main problem for these activities consist in the evacuation of the dumped material that requires a pick up in order to carry it away.
If it would be possible to find funding and technical support for such a solution, the lower terrace of the Wadi al-Farasa East not only would profit in terms of conservation and preservation but it would for sure become a main attraction for visitors because, as was shown by the results from our trenches 2 and 3, the columns of the courtyard are in satisfying condition and easily to be partially restored without heavy interventions.
For the time being, trenches 2 and 3 were filled back according to the guidelines of the Department of Antiquities.
