Destinations: The Valley of the Tombs, Palmyra, Syria

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A lush, palm tree-lined oasis in the middle of the Syrian desert, the city of Palmyra has been attracting visitors for almost three millennia.

From 1900 B.C. to 100 B.C., Palmyra served as a stopover for caravans making their way from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. After the Roman invasion of Syria in 100 B.C., it became a prosperous Roman colony; merchants from all over the Eastern empire traveled there to trade in spices, perfume, silks, glassware and objets d’art.

The city’s floruit continued until 270 A.D., when the brilliant and powerful Syrian Queen Zenobia spearheaded a disastrous insurrection against Rome. No match for the mighty legions of the Emperor Aurelian, Zenobia’s armies were crushed; the Syrian queen was arrested and Palmyra was stripped of its riches and transformed into a drab imperial garrison.

Almost two square miles of first- and second-century A.D. Palmyra have now been excavated, making it possible for archaeology buffs to see everything from the town temple to the town baths. Some of downtown Palmyra’s most celebrated sights include a massive monumental arch, a spectacular colonnaded main street and the Great Temple of Bel, the Zeus of the Palmyrene pantheon (Bel derives from the ancient Babylonian god Böl, who is related to the Canaanite Baal).

Wandering through these ruins is so absorbing that visitors may forget they’re within a stone’s throw of another important archaeological find. Just a few miles outside of the city, in a desert region dubbed The Valley of the Tombs, an ancient cemetery stretches as far as the eye can see. The final resting place of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of Palmyra’s former residents, this suburban burial ground reveals a great deal about the ancient city’s reverence for the dead.

There are several kinds of tombs here: First-century A.D. tomb-towers, shaped like tiny citadels, dot the skyline west of Palmyra; house tombs, resembling stone dwellings, are visible from the city’s main street; and hypogeum-towers, combining underground burial chambers with vaulting ramparts and stairways, are scattered about the surrounding hills.

By far the most impressive tombs are the so-called underground house tombs. These many-chambered subterranean mausoleums—most of them dating to the reign of Hadrian (117–138 A.D.)—were built to shelter the remains of some of Palmyra’s wealthiest families. Their numerous rooms are decorated with elaborate archways, ornate frescoes and commemorative statues.

Members of a wealthy family were often buried together in these underground tombs. The walls are lined with stone shelves, bearing the remains of many generations of men, women and children. (Even aborted fetuses were laid in a special shallow channel within the tomb.)

Once the honored dead had undergone a ritual cleansing, their corpses were placed on the stone shelves and sealed up behind limestone panels inscribed with the names of the deceased and the dates of their births and deaths. Mortuary statues and busts were then erected in front of the sealed graves. All of these funeral preparations were overseen by the tomb’s official curator, usually the eldest son of a family or an entrusted friend.

After interment, second- and third-century mourners would often return to the underground tombs to commune with lost ancestors. They would eat together and bring ceremonial bottles of tears as tributes to the dead.

Today, most tourists interested in seeing an 063underground house tomb are taken to the Tomb of the Three Brothers (a lavishly frescoed burial chamber to the west of the city), but a number of smaller and lesser-known underground tombs, such as the Tomb of Artaban, are also worth visiting.

One of 20 underground family vaults accidentally unearthed by the Iraqi Petroleum Company in 1957, Artaban’s tomb lies about 5 miles west of Palmyra. To enter the tomb, visitors must descend a steep set of steps leading more than 10 feet underground.

At the bottom of the steps, there is a shallow basin for the ritual cleansing of corpses. It was here that the bodies of the dead were washed, perfumed and wrapped in beautiful silk and cotton shrouds before they embarked on their passage to eternity.

To enter the tomb’s inner chambers, visitors must first pass through a heavy stone door guarded by the menacing figure of Medusa—the serpent-haired Gorgon of Greek mythology whose gaze turns onlookers to stone. (If Medusa isn’t enough to scare you off, the entryway is kept locked. Visitors must arrange access with a local guide.)

The tomb door opens slowly to reveal an exquisite light gray sanctuary, adorned with carefully crafted limestone statues and busts. Relatively little is known about this tomb’s owner—a Palmyrene priest who lived sometime between 150 and 200 A.D.—but the size and grandeur of his burial chambers suggest that he came from a wealthy and powerful family.

The tomb itself is divided into 65 separate chambers, each containing five shelves for the bodies of the dead. There are also a number of sarcophagi. Although many of the burial chambers remain empty, this spacious underground house could accommodate over 300 permanent “residents.”

The presence of these forgotten inhabitants is recalled in the many striking stone carvings and mortuary statues that line the tomb. In one corner of the burial chambers, atop an enormous sarcophagus, rests a spectacular life-sized sculpture of an entire family: A father, mother and six children all gaze fixedly into eternity. Sculptures such as these make for a memorable journey to this house of the dead.

A lush, palm tree-lined oasis in the middle of the Syrian desert, the city of Palmyra has been attracting visitors for almost three millennia.