Overview

Bibliography

Al-Qasr is a small village along the King's Highway, between Dibon to the south and Rabbah of Moab to the north. In the center of the town is a large Nabatean temple. Blocks and architectural elements of the temple have been utilized in many of the modern houses that surround the temple, but no other Nabatean buildings have been identified. Perhaps the temple was an isolated structure, like Khirbat at-Tannur in the south.

The temple was excavated by Atif al-Shiyab in 1993 and 1995. It is similar in form to the Qasr al-Bint in Petra. The temple is entered through a portico in antis into a broad antecella that gives access to a tripartite cella (or adyton). Stairs in the southwest corner of the temple indicate that the cellas had a second story – also like the Qasr al-Bint. An open cistern is dug into the courtyard of the temple.