The Treasury (Al Khazna)

The siq (a crack in the wall of mountains) opens up onto Petra’s most magnificent façade; the Treasury, or Al Khazna. Carved out of a sandstone rock face, it is almost 40 meters high and intricately decorated with Corinthian capitals, friezes, figures and more. The Treasury is crowned by a funerary urn, which according to local legend conceals a pharaoh’s treasure. Although the original function is still a mystery.
The Treasury was probably constructed in the 1st century BC, However, in reality the urn represented a memorial for royalty. The Treasury consists of two floors with a width of 25.30 meters and a height of 39.1 meters.
The purpose of the Treasury is unclear: some archaeologists believed it to be a temple, while others thought it was a place to store documents. However, the most recent excavation here has unearthed a graveyard beneath the Treasury.
The Treasury comprises three chambers, a middle chamber with one on either side, the elaborately carved facade represents the Nabataean engineering genius.
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