By Julia Leaman
leaman@newsroom.byu.edu@by2:NewsNet Staff Writer
Spending his summers in the scorching sun of Petra, Jordan for 23 years, David Johnson, BYU archeologist and professor, is already looking forward to his next excavating trip.
'For me, it's like a second home. I've hiked around the whole area and know all the people,' Johnson said.
Not only does he know all the people, but about 50 percent of the population have also worked for him at some point.
'The red sandstone makes it a nice place to work. It's like Zions but with all these beautiful structures cut into the rock,' Johnson said.
Johnson said there are thousands of rock-cut tombs in Petra, which is in southwest Jordan, towards the Israeli border, most of which haven't been excavated yet.
Co-director of Petra's 1,800-year-old Temple of the Winged Lion excavation, Johnson started as a volunteer pottery when he was a graduate student. He cleaned and reconstructed much of the smaller items found.
'I didn't really excavate anything, but I did the essential recording,' Johnson said.
Now, the central parts of the temple have been excavated; the side rooms, workshops and living quarters.
Five months before the next trip, Johnson is arranging permissions from the Jordanian government to excavate on their land. The Jordanian government requires a detailed proposal of who will be at the dig, what the budget is and what exactly will be done at the site.
'Our relationship with the Jordanian government is good. They are usually quite favorable to us coming over,' Johnson said. 'But they could always say 'no.''
When the Temple of the Winged Lion dig began in 1974, it was the only dig in the city. Not until about 1990 were other projects started in Petra.
The French, Italians, Swiss, Germans and others all have their own projects.
'In all that's going on in Petra, only about five percent of the city has been excavated,' Johnson said.
And the Temple of the Winged Lion is not an excavation that will be finished anytime soon.
'It's a project that could go on for another 100 years,' Johnson said.
Dr. Phillip Hammond, an adjunct professor at Arizona State University, is the pioneer of archeology in Petra. He originally located the Temple of the Winged Lion.
'I'm just carrying on his legacy in Petra,' Johnson said.
Johnson has also pioneered a research track on the Wadi Mataha dig. Wadi Mataha is a certain area of the city away from the center of town, near a dry seabed. The year 2001 will be BYU's third year working on that dig.
The other projects in Petra are focused on the upper class; the noblemen and kings.
'What makes the BYU dig different is that we're excavating the common people; the houses and tombs of the non-elite,' Johnson said.