Mad'in-Salah is the best known and the most spectacular archaeological site in Saudi Arabia
Qsar Farid
Medium: 17kb Qsar Farid is the largest Nabataean tomb at Mada'in-Salah. It was carved from a single large outcrop of rock standing alone in the desert. |
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Nabataean Tomb
Medium: 22kb Mada'in-Salah has 131 tombs spread out over 13.4 kilometers (8.3 miles). |
Mada'in-Salah was an important stop on the caravan routes from the incense-producing areas of southern Arabia to Syria, Egypt, Byzantium and other points. The Nabataeans became rich through their control of the incense route and their charging caravans tolls of up to 25%.
The immense stone tombs which have made Mada'in-Salah famous were carved between 100bc and 100AD. Mada'in-Salah was the second city in the Nabataean empire, after Petra in modern-day Jordan. The ruins at Mada'in-Salah are better preserved than those at Petra because of the the rock is harder and less prone to water damage.
For more information • Nabataea.net: Everything you ever wanted to know about the Nabataean Empire
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Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans by Jane Taylor A beautifully illustrated work covering the history of the Nabataeans, an Arab people who lived in the area of present-day southern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia from about the third century bce until the sixth century ce. Taylor's clear, incisive writing and copious photographs bring the ancient world of the Nabataeans to life. The Nabataeans created Petra - perhaps the single most astonishing site of the ancient world. Now at last, after two thousand years, Jane Taylor has given them the book they deserve. |
Saudi Arabian Trivia - Tomb Inscriptions
One of the interesting things about Mada'in-Salah is that many of the tombs have inscriptions which describe who built the tomb, who is buried there, and who can use the tomb. Inscriptions like this are common on other Nabataean burial sites, but very few have been found in Petra.