Starting My Treasure Hunting In England

As a nomadic people living in this generation in ancient times, the Nabateans showed their strong architectural genius and built the entire city and this magnificent temple.

This building built on the mountain is extremely exquisite, and the building itself belongs to the Greek style. From the outside, it is divided into two floors, 40 meters high. There are six huge Corinthian columns on the lower floor, and the door in the middle is 8 meters high.

There were originally various statues of gods carved between the upper and lower stone pillars of the building's facade, but almost all of them were considered to be pagan statues of gods during the religious transition at the end of Rome and were destroyed.

To this day, the vandals left steps for stepping on both sides of the gate of this building. Even in the earliest days, many people believed that those steps were left by the builders.

But this is not actually the case. The ancient Nabateans actually built this huge temple from top to bottom. In fact, most of the ancient cliff carvings used this construction method.

This statement has also been confirmed by an unfinished tomb. From this unfinished tomb, it can be seen that the ancient Nabataeans would carve a natural platform into the rock and use the platform as an operating surface. Then proceed to construction.

In other words, normal buildings usually lay the foundation first, and then build it from bottom to top, but this temple is carved out of the rock bit by bit from top to bottom.

At the beginning, they will dig out the first construction platform along the face. Then work from here on down. Chisel away the naturally rough surface to form a smooth construction surface.

Judging from the photos taken by local scholars near the ruins, there is a rugged path on the side and top of the temple, with steps dug on top. This should be the remains left when the temple was built.

From the traces left at the construction site, it can be inferred that these ancient people would first use pickaxes to thoroughly dig out a plane, and then use hammers and chisels to carve out the building bit by bit.

"I think the whole construction process should be like putting down a large stone curtain to reveal the masterpiece hidden behind the scenes." Standing in front of the temple door, imagining the outstanding work of the ancients, Liang En was filled with emotion.

The wiser thing about the Nabateans was that the stones produced during the construction of the temple were used in the construction of the city. In other words, this was not only a construction site, but also a quarry.

In addition to the way it was built, the location of the temple was also critical: it faced directly the entrance to the city, at the end of a canyon known as the Snake Passage.

You must know that the formation of this canyon is related to water flow. Although the entire area belongs to the arid Gobi Desert, it is not far inland from the ocean, so there will always be some sudden heavy rains. This canyon, called the Snake Passage, is It was formed by heavy rain erosion.

However, because of a series of tunnels and dams, they were able to ensure that the floodwaters did not rush westward directly toward the temple, but were directed northward into the city's water storage system.

In other words, the entire city is located here precisely because it is at the lowest point of the basin, which can gather water from all directions into the city and provide clean water sources for the city.

According to data, all springs within a 15-mile radius of Petra have been mined and collected together with rainwater into more than 200 cisterns within the city, allowing the city to have 50,000 residents.

After showing the ID I carried with me. Liang En and the other two walked into the building where tourists are not allowed to enter the Kazini Temple. However, what was different from what they imagined was that it was not only empty, but also very small.

"This doesn't look like a temple." Looking at the interior of the temple without any decoration, Joan of Arc said in a puzzled tone, because this place was different from any temple she had ever seen. "Compared to the outside, it's too simple here."

"Contrary to what you think, this is the temple of the Nabateans." Liang En pointed at the empty space with his index finger. "It's just that what they worship is different from what we imagined."

"Then what do you think they worship?" Joan of Arc looked inside and found that the space inside was very small. It could be seen at a glance, and there were no sculptures or paintings as decorations on the walls.

"No one knows, because it's so simple here." Liang En shook his head helplessly. "After all, the technology at the time could only do this if we wanted to maintain the safety of the temple."

You must know that the entire temple was built under more than 160 feet of hard rock, which means that tens of thousands of stones are pressing on the top of the grotto. If you don't want the grotto to be crushed, this pressure must be removed. Move somewhere else.

The ancient Nabateans also realized this. They deliberately built the grottoes very narrowly so that the force could be transferred from the two sides of the grottoes to the direction of the earth.

In fact, they also want to build a grotto that matches the facade, but if they do so, the forces will directly press on the grotto, and then squeeze down from the middle and completely crush the entire grotto.

"If you look carefully, you will find that the Amazon female warrior outside has the head of the Egyptian goddess Isis. The entire facade is very international." After skipping the question that could not be answered for the time being, Liang En introduced the grotto.

"Considering that they are a nomadic people and are good at business, these things are most likely caused by the influence from other places while doing international trade." Liang En said as he took out his mobile phone and looked at the photos taken outside. Photo.

"And the decorations on the buildings outside are also full of hints." Liang En said, pointing to the photos on the phone screen. “For example, the eagle on the roof is believed to carry the souls of the dead to heaven.

"As for the six statues of Amazon female warriors, they are all statues dancing with double-edged axes. This is the legendary dance of death of the Amazons."

"The most important thing is that the two figures that have been destroyed and are close to each other on the base are very likely to be the ancient Roman twin stars Castor and Poros, who are believed to carry human souls to the underworld."

"Everything carved here is closely related to death." Liang En said, pulling Jeanne to the entrance of the temple, and then pointed to the ground. "The buildings in the temple are actually related to death, such as this -"

"This should be a drainage pipe." Joan of Arc carefully studied the groove pointed by Liang En and thought for a while, then said in an uncertain tone.

"But this place shouldn't be exposed to rain, and if this thing really needs to be used for drainage, the drainage volume of this thing is too small and not enough to shoulder this responsibility."

"Your analysis is correct, but if you check carefully, you will find that the liquid flows not to the water cellars and canals outside, but to the inside of the palace." Liang En pointed out the key points to crack this secret to Joan. .

"You mean inside the palace -" Joan of Arc reacted immediately after being prompted like this, and found out that these ditches would concentrate the liquid into the temple. "This should be for sacrifices!"

There is an ancient sacrificial method, which is to kill those animals in the temple, and then let the blood flow into a place along those channels, and let the gods enjoy the blood food.

It’s just that there are many objects of sacrifice for this kind of sacrifice, ranging from gods to the deceased. But in this temple, it is impossible to tell who the object of sacrifice is.