FACADES STREET

Access to it. Continuing along the Siq, just past the Treasury, the gorge, narrow at first, widens and descends toward the center of the ancient city. It leads to the royal tombs (on the right) and to the Street of Colonnades (on the left).

Visit. The street starts on the right of the Treasury. The high walls of pink sandstone open in a V shape to the Petra cirque. They are crossed by about forty tombs, sometimes dug and sculpted on several levels. Some of these tombs are reworked natural caves that were used as troglodytic dwellings during the Assyrian period, i.e. in the 2nd millennium BC.

The Triclinium. Immediately on the right, at the beginning of the Rue des Façades, a large rectangular opening in the rock catches the eye. One can still make out the staircase (forbidden access) that allowed to reach the entrance of what is the largest triclinium in Petra. The exceptionally large 12 x 12 meter chamber was probably used as a reception hall during ceremonies in honor of the deceased of El Khazneh. But this is only a guess.

The collapsed tomb. A little further to the left, one can see the remains of a façade that collapsed in 1847. Partial excavations had revealed an inscription in Greek mentioning a certain Arrianos of Petra "dragged by Hades at the age of 27" as a result of an illness. All that can be seen today is a piece of frieze alternating rhombuses and circles and a pilaster with a Nabataean capital. The tomb dates from after the Nabataean occupation of Petra and would have been carved between the 3rd and^5th centuries.

The Street of Facades. As the Siq widens and forms a recess on the left side, one can admire a line of high carved facades. These tombs, with ornamentation heavily damaged by erosion, date from the late 1st century BC and the first half of the 1st century. These façades were probably covered with a thin layer of painted plaster. The first tomb on the left is representative of the Hegira style found in Mada'in Salih in Saudi Arabia. It is distinguished by a stepped frieze on the upper part, a cornice supported by pilasters that frame a door surmounted by a triangular pediment. This tomb has a unique feature with a funerary chamber installed high up. As you continue, you will notice the tomb cleared from the main rock and carved on 3 sides. The staircase frieze at the top has been replaced by a crenellated crown, which suggests that the tomb has been reworked. Behind this tomb, still on the same side of the rock face, the upper frieze of a tomb can be seen, at ground level. It is not known whether the alluvium brought by the recurrent floods covered the entrance to this tomb or whether it was an unfinished project.

Tomb 825. On the other side of the Siq, on the right as you descend to the center of the ancient city, opposite the café-restaurant. From this tomb, located in the corner, one can clearly see the figurative elements of the "hegra" type tombs. The high frieze with a double staircase of five steps rests on a cornice. An attic separates it from the entablature framed by two pilasters. Only the right pilaster remains, with a Nabataean capital. The one on the left had been embedded in the structure, the rock being too friable at this point to allow it to be carved on the façade. The entrance to the tomb is framed by two pilasters and surmounted by a slightly overhanging triangular pediment. In the doorway, on the right-hand side, one can see a nefesh, a graffiti in the shape of an obelisk, to which two petals and a triangle have been added at the top. The name of the deceased was usually written in the cartouche at the bottom of the nefesh. Five other nefashot were found inside the burial chamber attributing the tomb to the family of Zayd Qawmw bin Yaqum. The tomb has 14 graves.

Tomb of Aneishu. Going around the projecting tomb, still on the right side of the Siq, one comes across a series of caves with barely worked and very eroded facades. Above and set back from these is the tomb of Aneishu. The man was a high dignitary of the Nabataean kingdom, probably a minister of Queen Shuqailat II during the regency period from 70 to 76. An inscription attesting to this was found on the slab that closed the tomb. The 20 x 12 meter façade is typical of the "hegra" style. The Nabatean capitals in the form of half-crowns are clearly visible. The door frame is decorated with pilasters and a pediment resting on a discreet attic. The burial chamber consists of a square room measuring nearly 8 x 8 meters. Loculi were built into the back wall and those on the side. Each of these 11 lodges contained a tomb. A final tomb was dug outside, high up on the right wall. At the bottom right of this tomb, one can see a deep pyramid-shaped cut in the rock. It is possible that a nefesh was placed there. A triclinium was dug into the mountain to the left of the façade. One can still see the tank to the left of the entrance (next to the staircase) where water for ablutions was stored. The back wall of the triclinium was also provided with three loculi used to house tombs.