Al-Khazneh - the Treasury in the ancient site of Petra in Jordan

 This is Al-Khazneh also known as the Treasury in the ancient site of Petra in Jordan. The area around the site was first inhabited in 7000 BC and a Bedouin tribe called the Nabateans settled here around the fourth century BC.

During the Hellenistic and Roman period, the site became an important caravaan centre on the trading routes between Arabia, Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Several buildings at Petra were carved directly into the rock, some of them have clear Hellenistic features. The Treasury for example has ornate Corinthian columns, bas-relief Amazons and fanciful acroteria, bush was most likely built during the Roma period as the Mausoleum of the Nabatean king Aretas IV in the first century AD.

Another interesting feature of the Petra, also known as Raqmu, is an ingenious water system that could sustain a population of 30 000 people as well as a theatre that could seat 6000 spectators.

 Hellenistic History