Jordan

In Petra, Jordan’s ancient city carved from rock, sand is thought to have served as a shock absorber when stone blocks were dropped from the quarries.

Some two thousand years ago, houses and tombs were carved straight out of the cliffs in Petra. Stone blocks for other buildings were cut loose high up in the quarries. Below them lay, most likely, thick layers of fine sand that caught the blocks so they would not crack.

In front of several quarries, the layers of sand still lie there today. Sand from one of them ended up in a hollow that later became a burial ground.