Jebel al-Madhbah (Arabic: جبل المذبح, Jabal al-Madhbaḥ, lit. "mountain of the altar") is a mountain at Petra, Jordan, at whose peak there is a large Nabataean ritual site centered around an altar.[1]
Description
The mountain is c. 1,070 m (3,510 ft) high.[2] The name, which translates to "mountain of the altar", is well deserved since its summit is covered in rock-cut ceremonial structures reached by a rock-cut staircase. The French Middle East historian Maurice Sartre (b. 1944) noted that beneath the peak there are "two gigantic obelisks, carved out of the rocky mass, [which] appear as sacred stones", and the ritual complex at the very top "consists of a vast rectangular esplanade hollowed out in such a way that the sides formed benches; in the middle of one long side, a natural podium (motab) was set aside for placing the gods' sacred stones. Another section was reserved for the altar. Cisterns, fed by rainwater, were used for ablutions and cleaning."[1]
Mount Sinai theory
A number of scholars have proposed Jebel al-Madhbah as the Biblical Mount Sinai,[3] beginning with Ditlef Nielsen in 1927.[4]
The valley in which Petra resides is known as Wadi Musa, meaning Valley of Moses. At the entrance to Wadi Musa is Ain Musa, the Spring of Moses.
