Petra

Petra

Lawrence Technological University

November 8, 2016

Obelisk Tomb

Bab el Siq Triclinium

Allen, Will (photograph)

Built Environment

2015

Jordan (nation)

Petra (deserted settlement)

Nabatean

Hellenistic

rock-cut tombs

obelisks (monumental pillars)

triclinia (rooms)

View of the Obelisk tomb and the Bab el Siq Triclinium along the canyon walls near the entrance of Petra, Jordan. "The Obelisk Tomb stands high up on the left bank with the classical Bab el Siq Triclinium below it. It is doubtful whether the two are related for they are not vertically aligned, nor are they on exactly the same axis ... The upper part of the tomb is dominated by four massive, rather squat obelisks which originally would have been about 7 metres high, set upon a long, unadorned plinth. Between the two middle obelisks is a niche, with a classical surround, which contains some form of image which is now very eroded ... The tomb is unique in Petra and its stylistic origins probably lie in Ptolemaic Egypt ... The Bab el Siq Triclinium, which lies almost immediately below the Obelisk Tomb, is a much more complex design. It is a thoroughly Nabatean classical work, incorporating, it could be suggested, some features common to other tombs in and around Petra"--Petra by Iaian Browning, London: Chatto & Windus, 1989.

sandstone

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