Palace Tomb (Petra)
The palace tomb is a rock facade of the Nabatean city of Petra in Jordan and, along with the Corinthian tomb and the urn tomb, belongs to the so-called King's Wall. The palace tomb is one of the largest tombs in Petra. It is believed that with its four gates and 18 columns it was modeled on a Hellenistic or Roman palace - possibly the Domus Aurea , the palace of the Roman emperor Nero .
Construction
The facade is 49 meters wide, 45 meters high and originally consisted of four floors, three of which can still be seen today. Since it differs significantly in style from the other tombs, it was most likely built in the late phase of the Nabatean culture, possibly by Rabbel II , the last Nabatean king. Four large door openings, which are decorated with indicated columns and Nabatean capitals, were carved into the rock on the ground floor of the palace tomb. Above it is a cornice with a smooth frieze. The second floor is clearly set off above. 18 half columns were carved out of the rock here. These are not related to the decorations on the ground floor. Not much has been preserved from a third and possibly fourth floor. Since the rocks were not high enough for the planned facade, the upper floors were bricked up. Much of this masonry has collapsed as a result of several earthquakes and erosion.
literature
- Fabio Bourbon: Archaeological Guide: Petra - The Mysterious Rock City. Cologne 2004, ISBN 978-3-89893-564-7 , pp. 66-69
- 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 .
Web links
Coordinates: 30 ° 19 ′ 43.1 ″ N , 35 ° 26 ′ 57.3 ″ E