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dc.coverage.spatialSite: Petra (Jordan)en_US
dc.coverage.temporalcreation date: 10 BCE-129 CEen_US
dc.creatorUnknownen_US
dc.date10 BCE-129 CEen_US
dc.date.accessioned2010-09-24T18:17:02Z
dc.date.available2010-09-24T18:17:02Z
dc.date.issued-10-129en_US
dc.identifier148219en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.3/55429en_US
dc.descriptionThis necropolis does not contain any so-called "royal tombs"; instead there are dozens of modest tombs of various sizes which belong to the category of classical tombs featuring either crowsteps or facing steps. "With the exception of the Khaznet al-Faroun all the so-called royal tombs are located in the necropolis at the foot of the el-Hubta massif. These tombs were so named for their monumental character and in particular because they contained inscriptions which mentioned the name of a Nabatean queen and her epitropos, her plenipotentiary for western affairs of state. Nonetheless, there is no overwhelming evidence that the Nabatean kings were in fact buried there; the tombs may equally have been the last resting place of high-ranking individuals." "...theory proposed at the beginning of the 19th century, which held that there was a connection between the typology of the tomb and the date of its construction. In the 1970s these ideas were replaced by the more convincing notion of a relationship between the type of tomb and the social status of its owner. The tombs, in their combination of 'oriental' and classical stylistic facades, did not develop over time, therefore, but were always a matter of choice for the individual owner...With the aid of the typology of Petra's funerary monuments, these memorials can be read according to a simple and easily remembered code. The nefesh, consecrated to the memory of a particular individual, was separate from the actual grave...A nefesh takes the form of a pyramid or an obelisk--sometimes on a cube with a stepped base--and may be surmounted by a pyramidal point or a type of finial...""Along the western face of the mountain ridge that forms Petra’s eastern boundary a series of tomb façades was cut, known as the Royal Tomb group, because of their location overlooking the city and huge size. Most impressive is the Urn Tomb, named after the small urn above the pediment series, its façade cut back into the cliff face, leaving a broad front esplanade bordered on each side by a rock-cut colonnaded portico, reached by a series of stairways carried on arches rising from the valley below. Apart from the front portico, the façade of this tomb is unimpressive. It displays frontal engaged columns, three high ‘windows’, with a triple cornice with squat capped pilasters in the highest, and unadorned frieze and attic. The remains of a red-painted Byzantine inscription on the rear wall of the tomb chamber indicate later use of this tomb by Early Christian inhabitants of Petra." "It is the funerary architecture of Petra that is now most apparent at the site. Tomb façades are carved everywhere in the sandstone cliffs, only one of which (the Turkumaniyya tomb) bears any inscription, and that is undated. This phenomenon is quite unlike that found at Mada’in Salih, where most tomb façades are inscribed, supplying dates and naming owners, professions and often even the individual artisans. The façade-tombs were classified by Brünnow and von Domaszewski into ten distinct stylistic types, and a relative chronological development postulated. Although their stylistic ordering is disputed, it remains the most useful for descriptive discussion. Beginning with the simplest façades, the ‘pylon’ type, with variations in crow-step organization, they proceeded to partially and fully ‘free-standing’ ‘pylon’ façades, then to a ‘step’ form, with a series of subtype variations in attic and cavetto mouldings. The next development they identified was a further stage of the ‘step’ form, resulting from Hellenistic influence, the ‘proto-Hegr’ type, which appeared to have affinities with the examples at Mada’in Salih (Hegra) and showed more elaboration in the architraves. The true ‘Hegr’ type followed, with much more elaboration of attic, architrave, gable decoration, pilasters and other features. They brought the series to a conclusion with the ‘Roman’ or ‘Roman temple’ type, with façades resembling temple entrances. These are perhaps the most impressive of Petra’s monuments, outstanding examples being the Khaznat al-Fir'awn, al-Dayr (the Monastery), the Urn Tomb and the Palace Tomb."en_US
dc.descriptiondistant view, 1992en_US
dc.format.mediumstoneen_US
dc.relation.ispartof124863en_US
dc.rights(c) June Williamson 1992en_US
dc.subjectRock-cut architectureen_US
dc.subjectTombsen_US
dc.subjectNecropolisesen_US
dc.subjectReligious architectureen_US
dc.subjectArchitecture --Jordanen_US
dc.subjectJordan --Antiquitiesen_US
dc.subjectSepulchral monumentsen_US
dc.subjectArchitecture, Nabataeanen_US
dc.titleRoyal Tomb Groupen_US
dc.title.alternativeEl-Hubta Necropolis at Petraen_US
dc.typeImageen_US
dc.rights.accessAll rights reserveden_US
dc.identifier.vendorcodeWilliamson 5-9en_US
vra.culturalContextJordanianen_US
vra.techniquecutting (dividing)en_US
vra.techniqueconstructionen_US
vra.worktypeTomben_US
vra.worktypeNecropolisen_US
dc.contributor.displayJordanianen_US


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