Wonder · Ancient Monuments
A City Carved from Sandstone
The Treasury (Khasneh) at Petra
The question
Which people carved the famous Treasury into the cliffs of Petra, in Jordan?
- The Nabataeans(correct answer)
- The ancient Egyptians
- The Romans
The answer: The Nabataeans
The Treasury, or Khasneh, was carved by the Nabataeans, whose rock-cut capital, Petra, became a major caravan centre for the incense of Arabia, the silks of China and the spices of India. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock. Its façades blend Hellenistic architecture with Nabataean tradition and date from the first centuries BCE and CE.
- Civilization
- Nabataeans
- Region
- Western Asia
- Period
- First centuries BCE and CE
- Location
- Petra, Jordan
- Featured in
- Daily Discovery #007 · 8 November 2026
Image: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image source, opens in a new tab)
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