THE ROYAL TOMBS

Access to it. The royal tombs overlook the circus of Wadi Musa. A staircase leads off to the right, after the amphitheater.

Visit. On the western slope of the jebel Al-Khubtha stand the most beautiful and majestic tombs of the ancient city. This is why they have been called "royal tombs". In the Nabatean period, the higher the rank, the larger and more ornate the tomb ordered. However, there is no archaeological evidence or inscription to link a tomb to a particular king. Surveying the ruins of these tombs offers as a reward, once again, splendid views of the Wadi Musa cirque and its encircling jebels. It takes about an hour and a half to walk to the tomb of Sextius Florentinus and back. The Al-Khabtha Trail hikes along the tombs before entering the mountain. For a nice photo of the alignment, you should face it at the end of the day.

The Tomb of the Urn. This tomb with its impressive 26 meter high façade is distinguished by its unique characteristics. It is easily recognizable by the urn (very eroded) that tops its pediment and the two floors of vaulted cells under its esplanade. The use of these rooms is not known. The study of the bricks that make up the structure suggests that the building was built at the same time as the façade was carved. The staircase leading to the tomb passes in front of it and opens onto a vast platform bordered by a portico. Only the columns on the left side remain, those on the right having been destroyed by an earthquake. From the esplanade, the view on the ancient city and the jebels is spectacular. The façade has characteristic elements of the Nabataean style, such as the semi-columns and pilasters breaking the entablature, a cornice (very degraded), a triangular pediment and a doorway with pilasters, a frieze with triglyphs-metopes and a triangular pediment. More unusual are the frieze of the attic made of busts in relief (perhaps of deities) or the three loculi placed high up. The window above the door is an addition of the Byzantines who had transformed this tomb into a church. This allowed light to enter. Just above the central loculus, there is a bas-relief of a reclining man whose head is missing. This is probably the dignitary who had the tomb built. The interior of the tomb houses a large room measuring 19 x 17 meters, the ceiling of which reveals sandstone volutes ranging from white to red. The three niches on the back wall were transformed into apses by the Byzantines. They were originally rectangular. Only two tombs have been discovered here: one on the right and the second in the right niche.

The Silk Tomb. Probably not the most impressive of the royal tombs, nor the best preserved, the Silk Tomb takes its name from the eroded stone that seems to adorn the facade with moire. It is the second tomb after the Tomb of the Urn. This rather simple, and perhaps unfinished, tomb has the attributes of the "hegra" tombs. The façade is covered with semi-columns and pilasters supporting a wide entablature. Above the cornice, the pediment is sculpted with a frieze of two staircases facing each other. On the other hand, the entrance has no particular ornament. It is surmounted by a loculus. The most experienced eyes will notice a tiny bas-relief carved in the slope on the left of the temple, at the height of the pediment's stairs. It depicts a deity standing on a pedestal, perhaps Dushara, the most revered god in Petra. The craftsmen would have carved it during the work on the tomb, in order to ensure divine protection.

The Corinthian Tomb. This tomb located on the right of the unmistakable Palace Tomb is dated between 40 and 70. It is very obviously inspired by Al-Khazneh. The tomb was so named by Leon de Laborde because of the Corinthian style capitals that adorn the semi-columns and pilasters of the façade. Unfortunately, the wide 27-meter façade suffered greatly from erosion and the earthquake of 363. It was "cut" into three parts. The lower part has 8 semi-columns, of which the two framing the main door were crowned by a circular pediment. The middle part, very damaged, was decorated with 8 mini-pilasters sculpted in the alignment of the semi-columns and a broken triangular pediment. The upper part undoubtedly paid tribute to the Treasury, with its central tholos (circular temple) framed by two niches supported by columns with capitals. These two temples served as a base for the broken pediment. The urn topping the tholos is missing. But the most surprising thing here is the asymmetry of the façade. To the left of the main entrance (the gaping hole), three entrances have been pierced between the columns. The two small entrances on the left side of the building were decorated with a pediment, one circular and the other triangular. On the right side, however, the gap between the semi-columns is pierced by windows of different sizes. At the foot of the tomb, four basins carved in the rock can be seen, which were probably used for ablutions.

The Palace Tomb. This tomb impresses by its unusual dimensions and the abundance of its architecture, which is still perceptible despite the ravages of the climate and geological conditions. With its 49 meters wide and 46 meters high, it is one of the most imposing monuments in Petra. The façade is cut horizontally into three segments, the highest part of which is not carved in the rock, but made of bricks resting on vaulted cellars and wooden beams. The tomb included two other segments that collapsed during successive earthquakes. What remains of the facade is punctuated by a set of semi-columns, pilasters, pediments, entablatures and cornices forming a harmonious and impressive whole. The Tomb Palace takes its name from its splendid façade, but also because archaeologists assume that it is at the foot of it that the royal residence of Petra was built. The small hill at the confluence of Wadi Musa and Wadi al-Mataha reveals foundations, artificial earthworks and numerous drains. The Tomb Palace would have been attached directly to the royal quarters, as was the case in the royal cities of the Greek Empire in antiquity.

The lower segment of the Palace Tomb is punctuated by 12 semi-columns. The 4 highest ones support the upper entablature while the other 8 frame the doors surmounted by decorated entablatures and pediments. The pediments of the outer doors are circular, while those of the central doors are triangular. The doors were each preceded by a flight of steps adding majesty to the building. Each of the doors gives access to a burial chamber, the two in the center being connected by a narrow corridor. The second segment is punctuated by 18 semi-columns with capitals in the Ionic style. You will notice that the spacing between the columns is not identical, and that a wider gap has been left between the columns in the center of the façade. Six niches have been dug between some of the columns, without respecting the symmetry. They were probably intended to house memorial plaques. The leftmost opening is in fact a passage that allowed access to the cliff above the tomb and was also equipped with a clever drainage system for rainwater. The third segment also had 18 short pilasters, aligned with those of the lower segment. One can see the masonry bricks that structured the segment and those above, and supported the cut sandstone blocks of the façade. The fourth and fifth segments are only visible on the right side of the building. The fourth entablature, like the third, was not very high and was punctuated by short pilasters. The fifth segment was built backwards. If you stand on the left side of the building, you can see the return of the façade. The architectural ingenuity is revealed halfway up the second entablature (the one with the Ionic capital columns). You can clearly see the vaulted support and the bricks that were used to build the upper floors.

The Tomb of Sextius Florentinus. It is necessary to continue for 250 meters after the Palace Tomb, still following the path of Al-Khubtha which runs along the rock face and up the Wadi al-Mataha. Few tourists venture here and the Tomb of Sextius Florentinus seems quite isolated in this wild mountain area. It is in the light of the end of the day that one can best appreciate its relatively degraded façade. This tomb is the only one that can be dated with certainty and it is also the last to have been built in Petra. An inscription in Latin indicates that this tomb was erected for Titus Aninius Sextius Florentinus by his son Lucius. Sextius Florentinus was the Roman legate of the Arabian Province. He had been appointed in 127, and if the date of his death does not appear in any text, the name of his successor is mentioned from 130. The tomb therefore dates from 129 or 130. Its off-center location is explained by the fact that the Romans had forbidden burials in Petra. Consequently, discretion was the order of the day.

The facade, although badly eroded, is strongly inspired by the Nabataean style, but includes many architectural elements characteristic of ancient Rome. The tomb rests on a podium interrupted by the entrance whose opening descends to the rocky plateau. The lower entablature is punctuated by semi-columns and pilasters with capitals in the Nabataean style. The entrance door is surmounted by a triangular pediment, itself topped by a short pilaster. The columns and pilasters support an attic. The upper entablature is more complex than those of the Nabatean tombs. The cornice opens into a circular pediment decorated with a tympanum, while the entablature is punctuated vertically by four pilasters with Nabataean capitals. The circular pediment is topped by an eagle with outstretched wings similar to the one found on the bas-relief of the Nabataean temple of Khirbet et-Tannur, now exhibited at the Jordan Museum in Amman. The tympanum shows a woman surrounded by vines, which may be a copy of the one in the Treasury. The third entablature supports the triangular pediment of the building, the tympanum of which is badly damaged and cannot be deciphered. It was surmounted by an urn similar to that of the Tomb of the Urn. Inside, 5 loculi were built against the back wall as well as 3 burial chambers in the right part of the tomb.