Obelisk Tomb and Triclinium
Obelisk Tomb and Triclinium
(25-75 AD) Carved into the sandstone cliffs are two separate rock-cut monuments, set one above the other. The upper, known as the "Obelisk Tomb", is crowned with four elongated pyramids that represent nefesh, Nabataean signs commemorating the deceased. A central niche in the rock wall behind contains the worn sculpture of a cloak-clad male figure. He represents the head of the family buried in the tomb chamber beneath, with its five rock-cut burial niches. The gabled facade below the tomb marks the placement of a triclinium, a funerary dining hall with benches carved along three of its sides. Here, banquets, where wine was served, were held in honor of a god or ancestor. In the opposing cliff face is a double inscription in Nabataean and Greek that refers to a burial monument erected by a man named Admanku. The presence of Greek writing bears testimony to the influence of Hellenic culture on cosmopolitan Petra.