A Magnificent Archaeological Discovery in Jordan

An ancient tomb has been discovered in Jordan in the northern town of Beit Ras during an excavation project to expand a local waste-water sanitation network. The tomb includes a cave with two burial chambers. The larger chamber contains a basalt stone rock-cut tomb decorated with raised etchings of two lion heads and with several human bones enclosed. This tomb is made unique by the fascinating oil frescoes decorating the walls of the chamber. The frescoes portray human figures, horses and other mythological scenes, some of which have partly eroded but remain intact for the most part giving us great insight into the burial rites of the past. The second chamber contains two more rock-cut tombs without any artifacts.

These breathtaking frescoes include paintings of grape vines which represent the social and agricultural life prevalent during Classical antiquity thought to most likely belong in the Hellenistic period/ Early Roman period. The inscriptions and some artifacts found in the tomb are being analyzed to give a more accurate time-frame of when this tomb was built and who it was built for. Following a visit to the site the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Lina Annab confirmed that the Department of Antiquities will continue to excavate, expand and prepare the site for future visitors.