CHRISTIAN INITIATES who used this cruciform font, part of a fourth-century church in Sobata, in the Negev desert, would descend the steps on one side, have water poured on their heads, and emerge on the other side as members of the church. After the Emperor Constantine established his capital in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, Christianity expanded in the Negev and in what is now southern Jordan. This was the home of Nabatean Arabs, who were great traders, and who chiseled ...