Database: City Surrounded by the Dead

Al-Banat Mountain is one of the jewels of Nabataean Hegra: it is a necropolis of 29 tombs carved in one long outcrop during the first century CE. Clearly visible from the city, the site was apparently very popular with local nobles. Archaeologists have been able to establish a chronological sequence of architectural styles and types of tombs. Among the noteworthy sculptural elements, the triangular pediments of the tombs present animals, including eagles, snakes, and fish. The terrible Medusa, a monster of Greek mythology, also appears, depicted with snakes for hair that, according to legend, transformed those who dared to meet her eyes into stone.