Khazne al-Firaun
The Khazne al-Firaun ( Arabic خزنة الفرعون Chaznat al-Firʿaun , DMG Ḫaznat al-Firʿawn 'Treasury of the Pharaoh') is a mausoleum carved out of the rockby the Nabataeans in the ancient city of Petra in today's Jordan . It is located opposite the entrance to the Siq , the gorge, which is also the entrance to the rock city.
The building was named " Pharaoh's Treasure House " from the Bedouins . These presumed rich treasures in the large urn on the top of the facade. However, the building is a grave and cult site. It was possibly created for the Nabatean king Aretas IV , who in the 1st century BC. Ruled. Recent research suggests that Aretas IV had graves for his family laid here, while his own grave could be elsewhere.
description
The facade of the Khazne al-Firaun is probably the most famous in the city of Petra. It is almost 40 meters high and 25 meters wide and was designed in the Hellenistic style. A small tholos , a round temple, flanked by two half-gables rises above a portico made up of six Corinthian columns . There are weathered remains of relief figures between the columns.
Bullet holes can be seen on the 3.5 meter high urn on the top of the round temple. They go back to shotgun shots by Bedouins who once tried to break open the supposed treasure container. The urn, like the entire building and the other royal tombs of Petra, consists mainly of solid rock.
The two side chambers carved into the rock and the main chamber itself are unadorned and empty. There was probably a sarcophagus in the right antechamber. The main room was rectangular and had two side niches and one main niche.
In 2003, extensive excavations began right in front of the mausoleum. The archaeologist Suleiman Farajat discovered four previously unknown burial chambers on one floor below the current entrance, about six meters below today's floor level. The remains of eleven human skeletons and grave goods were found in the burial chambers. Due to a lack of funding, part of the excavation was first backfilled.
Reception in popular culture
In the Tintin comic coal on board (1958), the treasure house serves as a model for the hiding place of a fallen emir.
In the film Sindbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977), the Khazne represents Melanthius' residence on the imaginary island of Casgar.
1988 Khazne served as the backdrop for the music video Dominion of The Sisters of Mercy .
In 1989, Steven Spielberg used the Khazne as the backdrop for his feature film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade . The last scenes were shot in the Siq and in front of the Khazne al-Firaun. The film introduced Petra to a wider audience in America and Europe .
literature
- Fabio Bourbon: Petra - The mysterious rock city . Archaeological guide. Cologne 2004, ISBN 978-3-89893-564-7 .
- Frank Rainer Scheck: Jordan. Peoples and cultures between the Jordan and the Red Sea. 6th edition, DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 3-7701-3979-8 , pp. 420–425.
Web links
Coordinates: 30 ° 19 ′ 20.8 ″ N , 35 ° 27 ′ 5.8 ″ E
Individual evidence
- ↑ Petra - Stadt im Fels ZDFinfo documentary on YouTube (44:11 min.), Here 40:28 to 42:20.
- ↑ Petra - Stadt im Fels ZDFinfo documentary on YouTube (44:11 min.), Here 38:57 to 40:25.
- ↑ The Sisters Of Mercy - Dominion Video on YouTube