The Tomb of the Obelisks,which a Greek and Nabataean inscription dates to the region of Malichos II (AD 40-71).Its the first example of the imposing rock-cut structures which characterize the magic Landscape of Petra.The tomb is subdivided into two parts:the upper one,the actual Tomb of the Obelisks,has four pyramidal obelisks,an element typical of the Nabataean tombs,and probably derived from Egypt.The lower part,a few decades later and also known as the Tomb of the Triclinium after the benches set on three sides of the central chamber,is articulated by a double order,surmounted in the both cases by a pediment almost as if to create the illusion from a distance of two different buildings,with a perspective effect similar to that of Roman painting of the so-called "second style".
(Best viewed in Original size.)