What is the name of the Treasury building in Petra?

The Treasury building in Petra is called Al-Khazneh. Its Arabic name means “the Treasury,” although the monument was probably built as a royal mausoleum rather than a place to store wealth.

Al-Khazneh was carved directly into the rose-coloured sandstone cliffs of Petra, the ancient Nabataean capital in present-day Jordan. Most scholars date its construction to the beginning of the first century CE, during the reign of the Nabataean king Aretas IV Philopatris.

The name comes from a local legend that the urn at the top of the façade contained hidden treasure. The urn is actually solid sandstone, and repeated attempts to damage it can still be seen. The building’s elaborate façade combines Nabataean craftsmanship with Hellenistic architectural features.

Visitors reach Al-Khazneh by walking through the Siq, a narrow rock gorge. It is often mistaken for Petra’s Monastery, Ad Deir, but the two are separate monuments; Ad Deir is larger and lies farther into the archaeological site.