Case file · Folklore / legend
Pharaoh's treasure in the Khazneh
Bedouin called Petra's rock-cut façade the 'Treasury of the Pharaoh', believing riches were hidden in the urn on top; the stone urn is pocked with bullet holes from attempts to break it.
1812 CE · 30.32, 35.45 · status: legend
The account
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, the first European to report Petra (1812), recorded the local stories. The building was probably the tomb of a Nabataean king, perhaps Aretas IV.
The sceptical view
The urn is solid rock.