Josephus writes in Antiquities of the Jews, (12,IV,II) that a certain Hyrcanus, in the time of Seleucus IV(187-175 BC) built a strong building of white stone, surrounded by a fine park and lake. On it’s walls were representations of animals. On the valley walls he made caves for banquet rooms, supplied with running water. He called it Tyre, which some historians feel eventually became Syr or Sur in Arabic. The building was later used in the fourth to fifth century, during the Byzantine era, when it was remodeled and much of the original interior decorations destroyed. All that remains of the original animals is a lion carved in white and pink breccia stone.
The rock above is located in the Wadi Seir valley. It is condsidered by some to be a Colombarium for pigeons.
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