page_title: Tomb of the Roman Soldier
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Tomb of the Roman Soldier / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: The sculpture of the soldier in the center niche of the facade of the Soldier Tomb, Petra, Jordan Français&#160;: La sculpture du soldat dans la niche du milieu de la façade du tombeau du Soldat romain à Pétra en Jordanie
context_page_description: The Tomb of the Soldier, also called the Tomb of the Roman Soldier, is one of the best-preserved tombs in the ancient city of Petra. Although its façade is its most recognizable feature—with three carved figures inset between columns—the tomb complex consists of several different architectural elements with varying degrees of preservation. In addition to the tomb façade, there is an associated courtyard, the remains of several two-story buildings, rock-cut rooms, a triclinium, and several large cisterns. The main building phase of the tomb complex took place during the third quarter of the 1st century AD.
context_section_description: The main façade of the Tomb of the Soldier has four columns topped with Nabataean capitals. Above these columns are a frieze and a pediment. Between the four columns there are three niches, each containing an inset male stone figure made out of six limestone blocks. The middle inset figure is dressed in a Graeco-Roman military style cuirass.
  There is one entrance to the tomb, which lies in the center of the façade. The entrance appears to have had two small carved pillars framing its doorway, although the left column (from the perspective of one looking at the facade) has eroded away. Above this entrance is a Doric entablature with a pattern of alternating triglyphs and metopes. Directly above this is a simple pediment.
  In the foreground of the tomb are the architectural remains of a courtyard which was encircled by a colonnade and a two-story building on the right side of the tomb façade. There also are the remains of several large cisterns which supplied water to the complex. Directly across the courtyard from the main tomb façade is a separate triclinium.
  Inside the Tomb of the Soldier, there are two distinct spaces. The first is a space with several niches carved into the wall, most likely for burial purposes. To the left there is a doorway leading to the second space, an antechamber with bare walls.
  Directly across from the main façade is the triclinium. This space is much more ornately carved than the tomb structure itself. Along the walls of the triclinium there are alternating columns and shallow alcoves, and in the middle of the room there are the remains of a U-shaped triple bench which in Roman society was used for sitting or reclining.
caption: Center Carved Figure in Main Facade
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