Database: The Path to Eternity
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Archaeological research has contributed greatly to our understanding of some historical funerary practices and beliefs of the local cultures in AlUla. While relatively little is known about the Dadanites or Lihyanites, more is known about the Nabataeans at Hegra. In their culture, many elites were laid to rest in elegant sculpted tombs, dug and carved from the sandstone outcrops surrounding the settlement center. Inscriptions named the owners and placed the deceased under the protection of various deities. Funerary practices involved covering the naked body with a mixture of oil and resin as a form of embalming. It was then covered with a three part-shroud—a thin layer of red-dyed hair cloth and two layers of unbleached linen, the second one thicker than the first and held in place with straps. Finally, a large piece of leather was used like a stretcher to transport the body into the tomb. There were many cavities inside the tombs—pits in the ground and wall niches—for the patron and their descendants. Funerary deposits included date necklaces and objects of wood or metal. Access was temporarily sealed with wood or rocks between burials. Inscriptions clearly established the risk of curses and fines incurred by potential looters or usurpers, who unfortunately seem to have been numerous.