Petra's Roman Theatre   Petra

Beyond the Street of Facades lies the Theater, which was constructed in the early 1st century AD by Nabataeans and enlarged and improved by the Romans shortly after their annexation of the Kingdom in 106 AD. This they did by ruthlessly gouging away a street of houses or tombs in order to extend the rear of the auditorium, which could then accommodate 3000 people.

This also improved the acoustics of the theater and supported a drain, which took the run-off water around the sides of the theater. The standard Roman-design theater today lies open to the Outer Siq, but would originally have been enclosed by a wall and completely cut off from the street.