Petra Tour: Bab as-Siq
In the necropolis along the path from the Visitor Centre to the deep gorge of the Siq, one can see remarkably unusual burial sites, including some of Petra's oldest.
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Hardly anyone climbs over the "race track" for horses and carriages and through the bed of Wadi Musa to have a look at the small Snake Tomb on its southern side. But the effort is worth it, because the cave interior has a very unusual wall relief.
Newly built steps lead to an open passage with two nefeshes carved on its right wall, one with a wide foot and a kind of flower just below the top, and a smaller spear-shaped one.
It must have been the burial site of an extended family, because there are twelve pits cut out of the cave's floor very close to one another. In order to see the two reliefs to the right of the entrance, one has to step over them.
In the first relief two 1.53 m and 1.62 m long snakes crawl from bottom to top across the wall. The right snake has grabbed the rear leg of a quadruped animal which has its tail stretched upwards, while the left snake approaches its head.
The mysterious scene can't be easily deciphered. From the context of the depiction of snakes in Nabataean imagery, it can be assumed that here, too, they appear as grave guards or are meant apotropaically (intended to prevent evil).
The second, smaller relief shows an approximately 50 cm long horse with clearly recognizable bridles, which carries a high cube, interpreted by scholars as a betyl. It is proven that such idols representing the divine were carried by the Nabataeans in processions.
It was not until 1907 that the German researcher Gustaf Dalman was made aware of the tomb. Therefore it is not included in the earlier catalogue of Brünnow & von Domaszewski, and for this reason registered as D 47.
© Photos, text: Haupt & Binder
In the necropolis along the path from the Visitor Centre to the deep gorge of the Siq, one can see remarkably unusual burial sites, including some of Petra's oldest.
Freestanding stone pillars shaped like an obeliskoid pilaster or a pointed cone, or in bas-relief or graffito, roughly carved or engraved into rock-faces, often with a blossom/pinecone or a stylized crown at the top. Many nefeshes are set upon a base, where the name of the dead person is given. Often various nefeshes are grouped together. The Semitic word "npš" means “life,” “person,” or “soul.” It denotes a dead person and is used in this sense for a memorial marker.
Examples: Obelisk Tomb (Bab as-Siq); Obelisks (Jabal al-Madhbah); Tomb BD 825 (see details)
A betyl (Semitic: bait-el = house of God; Greek: baitylos) is an aniconical God symbol, usually in the form of a vertical rectangular plate or stele. It can also be a negative form in a niche. Often there are several betyls in a niche next to each other, on top of each other or grouped together. "The betyl is not a representation of the God, neither an image of the God, nor an idol. As a medium of the presence of the God, however, it can also experience cultic veneration. This in turn means that in the act of worship, one could offer sacrifices and gifts to the betyl." (R. Wenning, 2007. Transl. UiU)