A succession of habitation, leadership and development followed but, as the caravan routes were slowly displaced by shipping, the city's importance gradually dwindled; it fell into disuse and was lost to the world for over a thousand years. In 1812 it was re-discovered by the Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt and is now a favourite with tourists from all over the world.

The Nabataeans were builders of great skill, carving their city from the living rock. Working from the top down, they sliced off huge slabs of stone, using the two-metre ledge thus formed as scaffolding for the masons to stand on. Entablatures and capitals were carved before another slab was removed in the same way, to make another platform, from which facades and columns were carved and the deep chambers beyond were hollowed out. In this way, the builders were able to descend ten storeys to the valley floor below.

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