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Nova: Petra: Lost City of Stone (2015)
Master hydraulic engineers
This is he best documentary about Petra and the amazing Nabataeans. Despite their great achievements, the ancient Nabataeans are not well-known in the modern Western world due, in large, to an emphasis on Greek and Roman history in the Mediterranean world. The Nabataeans were a nomadic peoples who settled in the Petra Valley, located in the desert of southern Jordan, and established themselves as successful traders on the Arabian caravan route, gained wealth by taxing the caravans passing through, and became a kingdom with its capital at Petra. The site is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, known in popular culture as the site of the Holy Grail in Indian Jones and the Last Crusade. This documentary explores the achievements of the Nabataeans, with a focus on their monumental rock-cut tomb and temple facades and a design of an elaborate hydraulic system that brought water into the valley, making it possible for the city to grow and thrive. They were so successful with water engineering that they had a huge park with palm trees and a gigantic pool! This was all accomplished 100 years before the Romans conquered the kingdom in order to gain control of the trade routes. The Romans ruined the city and it declined under their rule.