PDTRA reconstructs comb,necklace from Neolithic period

AMMAN — The Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) on Sunday said that it had reconstructed an “exceptional” comb of a girl from a tomb dating back to the Neolithic period (7500-6800BC).

The artifact, found in the Ba’aja site in Petra, is placed in Petra Museum. 

PDTRA Chief Commissioner Suleiman Farajat said that the tomb was found in 2018 in the Ba’aja region near the Al Bayda region in Petra.

A necklace was also found on the chest of the girl buried in the grave, according to a PDTRA statement.  

The necklace consists of a pendant made of hollow pearl and more than 2,500 beads of limestone, turquoise, white seashell and red iron oxide, the PDTRA said.

Farajat added that the reconstruction work was carried out in cooperation with German Professor Hans Gebel, in coordination with the Department of Antiquities, and with the participation of Yarmouk University, the Free University of Berlin, the French Centre for Scientific Research and the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design.

The project was funded by the German Research Association, the Franz-und-Eva-Rutzen-Stiftung, the X-Orient Association and the Free University of Berlin, according to the PDTRA.