The Merchant High Relief (Jordan, Petra)

Carved directly into the rock in the Siq of Petra , this partially eroded relief depicts a Nabataean merchant , identifiable by the short toga still visible at the legs. The head and upper torso have disappeared due to wind and water erosion , common in Jordanian soft sandstone gorges. The nearby steps , also carved into the wall, probably served as a passage to a place of worship or a secondary commercial space .

The figure embodies the central role of the caravan trade in the prosperity of Petra , an ancient crossroads between Arabia , Egypt and the Mediterranean . The choice of a relief sculpture rather than a sculpture in the round underlines the artistic adaptation to the geological constraints of sandstone , which is friable but easy to carve.