28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient scrolls reveal astonishing information about the life of a Nabatean woman, who lived in the first century AD in Petra

Petra was the capital of a powerful trading empire two thousand years ago. It was established by the Nabateans, a people native to the land who specialized in trade and served as the region’s political, cultural, and economic hub for many years.

Petra is an ancient city in Jordan renowned for its remarkable rock-cut architecture. Established by the Nabateans around the 4th century BC, it later came under the control of the Roman Empire.

The city is famed for its monumental structures carved into the sandstone cliffs, notably the impressive mausoleum known as “Al-Khazneh” or “The Treasury.” Petra remained a hidden gem for a long time until its rediscovery in the 19th century. It’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The ancient capital city has a rich history that dates back thousands of years. Archaeologists have previously found a number of documents in this rich history that provide valuable insight into the lives of the city’s prehistoric residents.

Professor Hannah Cotton-Paltiel examines the scrolls, which tell of a powerful businesswoman. Image: Youtube/Smithsonian Channel
Professor Hannah Cotton-Paltiel examines the scrolls, which tell of a powerful businesswoman. Image: Youtube/Smithsonian Channel

The discovery was made in 1961 by a team of archaeologists working in the area. The documents, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, had been forgotten in a cave for around 2,000 years.

They were featured in the Smithsonian Channel documentary Sacred Sites: Petra, where the narrator stated, “They reveal astonishing information about the life of a Nabatean woman named Abi-adan, who lived in the first century AD.”

This woman owned a large orchard of date palms at Maoza near the Dead Sea, indicating that women in ancient Petra could generate significant capital.

The documents are now in the possession of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Professor Hannah Cotton-Paltiel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is an expert on them.

“Abi-adan is a Nabatean woman and the two documents are interesting because she’s selling the same orchard to one person and then to another,” she explained.

The documents tell that Abi-adan owned land that directly adjoined the King’s. Image: Youtube/Smithsonian Channel

Archelaus, a Nabatean strategos, more or less a provincial governor, bought the first orchard Abi-adan, and the month after, she sold another to a man called Shim‘on. The documents not only demonstrate her literacy but also her position in society, as her lands bordered those of the Nabatean king.

Prof Cotton-Paltiel explained: “These are mainly legal documents. This is not a diary of a woman. But, all the time I feel that behind the documents dictated to scribes, there are women who know what they want.

“The sense you get out of the documents is that she was completely independent.”

Professor John Healey, from the University of Manchester, has studied the documents and the way in which society worked in Petra, and noted how women had “agency in this period”.

The set of documents revealed an unprecedented amount of information about individuals who once called Petra home.

Cover Photo: Wikipedia

Related Articles

New research, prove that Romans were breeding small bulldogs

11 June 2023

11 June 2023

Researchers have proven that breeding small brachycephalic (shorter-nosed) dogs took place already in ancient Rome. Research on a 2,000 years...

Ancient helmets, temple ruins found at a dig in Velia southern Italy

1 February 2022

1 February 2022

A discovery that “sheds new light on the history of the mighty Greek colony” by Velia. Archaeologists in southern Italy...

When Stones Speak of Faith: The Most Significant Religious Archaeological Discoveries of the Last Decade

13 July 2025

13 July 2025

In a world where ancient faith still echoes beneath our feet, the most significant religious archaeological discoveries of the last...

1419-year-old Islamic inscription found in Saudi Arabia

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

Saudi Arabia has announced a new archaeological discovery in Makkah. The Islamic inscription found dates back 1419 years to the...

1800-year-old marble inscription found in Turkey’s Aigai excavations deciphered

2 October 2022

2 October 2022

The 1800-year-old inscription, consisting of 3 pieces of marble, found in the excavations in the ancient city of Aigai in...

A bronze tablet from 2000 years ago proves that Greek was spoken in Anatolia and that a multicultural life existed ‘Anisa tablet’

12 April 2024

12 April 2024

The Anisa bronze tablet proves that Greek was used in Anatolia 2000 years ago and that a multicultural life existed....

Environmentalists react to the rehabilitation works in the Assos ancient port

2 October 2021

2 October 2021

Among the continuing landscaping and restoration works at the historic city of Assos in the northern province of Canakkale, a...

The Big Universe Coming Out from the Dust “in Esna Temple”

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

While the Esna Temple has been waiting to renew and breathe again for a long time, it has recently experienced...

Archaeologists Uncover Elegant Rare Blue Frescoes of an Ancient Sanctuary in Pompeii

10 June 2024

10 June 2024

Archaeologists digging away at ash covering the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a room with walls frescoed in an...

The biblical narrative of Sodom may have been inspired by a cosmic meteorite that devastated an ancient city

21 September 2021

21 September 2021

The Bible account of Sodom’s destruction lies at the heart of classic “fire and brimstone” judgment day prophesies. But what...

A mosaic made by the freed slave to thank God was found in the church excavation

10 January 2022

10 January 2022

During the season excavation of the 6th-century Holy Apostles Church, located in an orange grove in the Arsuz district of...

Rare bronze hand discovered in Roman Vindolanda, England

11 July 2023

11 July 2023

One of Europe’s most important Roman archeological sites is the Fort of Vindolanda, one of the earliest Roman garrisons built...

Excavations Near Stonehenge Uncover Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery

4 June 2023

4 June 2023

The Cotswold Archeology team excavating at the site of a planned housing development near Salisbury, England, has unearthed a giant...

Flint tools found in Tunel Wielki Cave, Poland, about half a million years old

9 October 2022

9 October 2022

Flint tools discovered over 50 years ago in the Tunel Wielki Cave (Maopolskie region) are not tens of thousands of...

Evidence of Early Forms of Pottery Production and 8,000-Year-Old Buildings Belonging to the Elite of the Time Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan

9 January 2025

9 January 2025

Archaeologists from the University of Udine have uncovered two ancient human settlements in the Rovia sub-district of Dohuk province in...