Since its exposure in 2003 it was obvious that room 4 (no. 3 on fig. 1), as well as the neighbouring room 2, was not constructed during the main building phase of the complex in the second half of the 1st century AD, but slightly later in the early 2nd century AD. This conclusion was reached because of the mortar layer into which the floor slabs, clearly visible on figure 10, were bedded, a technique not used by the Nabataeans before century AD 100, as well as by some pottery fragments found beneath the level of the floor slabs.
Fig. 10: Wadi Farasa East, room 4 (Schmid).
During the 2006 campaign a small sounding was realised in the northern part of room 4, where the floor slabs were already missing. It soon became appearing that the room underwent some changes even after its construction. As can bee seen on figure 11, most of the floor slabs are constructed upon a fill consisting of rather big stones upon which the mortar bedding was applied.
Fig. 11: Wadi Farasa East, small sounding in room 4 (Schmid).
However, on the western edge of the sounding, the stones were missing and the fill consisted mainly of sandy earth. This area corresponds to the water channel of the Nabataean period, running underneath room 4 (left on fig. 12; right on fig. 13). When room 4 was constructed, that channel was blocked, first of all by the construction of the substantial northern wall of room 4 (top on fig. 12), and further by the fill upon which the floor of room 4 was than built.
Fig. 12: Wadi Farasa East, small sounding in room 4 (Schmid).
This had as consequence a massive disturbance of the water management of the entire complex. As a matter of fact, the water channel underneath room 4 was used in order to evacuate the water from the entire Wadi, a measure absolutely necessary in order to have a stable area for construction. In the Nabataean period and following the construction of the courtyard and the porticoes, this water channel run underneath this installations, but must have remained in use. It was but with the construction of room 4 that it was cut off. This, in turn, led to a series of problems. Since the water could not anymore be evacuated from the complex, it must have started penetrating the different rooms in the northern area. As a consequence, the water channel to the North of room 3 must have been constructed Excavated in 2001, cf. Schmid 2002. .
Fig. 13: Wadi Farasa East, small sounding in room 4 (Schmid).
The water must have penetrated underneath room 4 as well, creating major problems of stability. This was probably the reason while already in antiquity the floor slabs on the northern part of the room were taken away, in order to try to arrange the problem. As the stratigraphy of our small sounding shows (fig. 14), these attempts remained unsuccessful. The white layer in the middle of the stratigraphy, rather powder than sand, is entirely composed of completely disintegrated stones, being eroded by the penetrating water.
Fig. 14: Wadi Farasa East, stratigraphy on S-side of small sounding in room 4 (Barmasse and Schmid).
This short history of room 4 shows how important the understanding, planning and controlling of water management in the entire Wadi Farasa East (and in any other Wadi in the Petra area) was, already small mistakes having disastrous consequences.
