Royal Necropolis of Ayaa
About
Sidon's kings carved two vast rock-cut burial chambers into the hills south of the city, reachable only through vertical shafts. The tombs held 21 sarcophagi spanning Egyptian, Greek, Lycian, and Phoenician styles, sealed away since the late 4th century BC. Among them lay the Alexander Sarcophagus, a 15-ton limestone masterpiece carved with battle scenes of Alexander the Great. The chambers stayed hidden underground for over two thousand years, until workmen broke into them in 1887.
What happened here
The dead are outside the walls because the law requires it, so the approach to every town is lined with them. Tombs face the road in rows, grand ones in front and simpler markers behind, all of them addressed to the passer-by. Burial clubs let ordinary people and slaves pay a monthly subscription for a place in a communal vault and a decent funeral; the alternative is a pit. Families come out on anniversaries and at the February festival, eat at the graveside, and pour wine into a pipe set into the ground. Undertakers, stonecutters and letter-cutters work nearby and compete on price. Ground is bought by the foot, and the frontage on the road costs the most.
Sources
Nearby
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