Athena Review Image Archive ™
Petra: Rock-cut tombs in East Ridge
Petra: Rock-cut tombs in East Ridge (Roberts 1839-49/Wellcome Collection)
Petra is located in southwestern Jordan. The site represents a unique complex of ancient temples and tombs carved into the sides of cliffs, dating from the Nabataean, Late Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods.
This
image by David Roberts, painted in 1839 and printed as a lithograph in
1849, show a group of rock-cut tombs in the East Ridge of the Valley.
Facades of these tombs are cut into the west face of Jabal al-Khubtha,
a massive
outcrop that towers east of the Wadi Musa. Roberts' painting shows a
series of four such 1st century
AD rock-cut tombs. including (right to left) the Urn Tomb, with a
large platform with niches in front of the portal; secondly. the
relatively low-lying and recessed Silk Tomb; thirdly. the Corinthian
Tomb, shown at left in gray rock; and finally, at far left in
pink-colored rock, the Palace Tomb.
The David Roberts prints of Petra are held at the Wellcome Collection in London.
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