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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Cut deep into the western rockface of the Wadi al-Jarra (urn valley) surrounded by steep cliffs, Al- Khazneh was protected from wind and rain.
The forecourt looked very different in the days of the Nabataeans. It lay about 6 meters lower, was paved, and might have contained a pond. A flight of steps, about 13 m long and more than 5 m wide, led up over older tombs below the Khazneh to the terrace in front of the columned portal. Traces of burnt incense found in the plaza suggest that Al Khazneh was an important pilgrimage site.
In the centuries after the Nabataean Kingdom, the dams in front of and within the Siq (see the photo page with information) as well as those facing the side valleys of the Wadi al-Jarra were no longer maintained, so that at least 15 flash floods filled the square and the lower part of the structure with rubble and damaged it.
To the northwest opens up the Outer Siq merging into the Street of Facades.
© 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.