Since 1993, the Brown University excavations at the Petra Great Temple, Jordan, have unearthed a sizable complex. Masses of data have been recovered that give us little indication of whether the site was cultic or secular, and the research that has been published about the structure is controversial. This article analyzes the architecture of the Great Temple and its precinct. The prevalent interpretations for the structures-as a sacral Great Temple or a bouleuterion or odeion-are evaluated in light of recently excavated artifacts and a new inscription that has been published by the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman within the corpus of inscriptions found in the excavations of the Petra Church.
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