Petra Tour: Al-Khazneh
The most famous monument in Petra, the 39-meters-high mausoleum for a Nabataean king or queen, carved deep into the rock face during the first half of the 1st century AD.
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Of the six columns of the 25 m wide facade, only the middle two are free-standing (lower diameter 1.45 m). The other four remain connected to the background, the two outer ones as three-quarter columns and the second and fifth by a narrow vertical band.
The third column from the left had collapsed a long time ago and was reconstructed in 1961/62 using the original capital and some preserved segments of the shaft. It had already been a constructed one in antiquity, but the others were hewn out of the rock. The lower parts of all the columns, which stand on podiums with Attic bases, suffered greatly from repeated flash floods, which is why they had to be restored. This is particularly evident in the two on the right.
Dioscuri
The colossal man and horse reliefs between the outer pair of columns on either side of the facade's lower order represent the Dioscuri, the half/twin brothers Castor and Polydeuces (or Pollux). More information and details on the next page.
Vestibule, entrance
Four steps lead up to the 14 m wide and 6 m deep vestibule, which, like the interior, is not accessible to visitors. There are another seven steps to the elevated entrance of the main portal. In the threshold there is a circular cavity (diameter 33 cm) for libations or the blood of sacrificial animals. A small hole went off from it, through which the liquid flowed via a channel into a small basin (0.57 x 0.45 m) in the floor of the vestibule to the right of the uppermost step.
Also clearly visible from the forecourt is the cornice of the portal with several ornamental mouldings, large volutes on both outer sides as well as curved acroteria that end in tendrils with flowers.
© Photo, text: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe
The most famous monument in Petra, the 39-meters-high mausoleum for a Nabataean king or queen, carved deep into the rock face during the first half of the 1st century AD.
Rudolf-Ernst Brünnow and Alfred von Domaszewski: Die Provincia Arabia, Volume 1.
Verlag Karl J. Trübner, Strasbourg 1904.
The catalogue of grave facades and other monuments in Petra, compiled by the researchers during their travels in 1897 and 1898, still serves as a reference today - abbreviated BD or Br. with the respective number.