WATERY GRAVE. Archaeologists have long known that Qasr al-Abd was surrounded by a small, manmade lake. But while some, like the late Ehud Netzer, who made this model of the qasr on reflective glass, suggested Hyrcanus built the lake for recreation and to impress his guests, author Rosenberg believes the lake was an integral part of the mausoleum’s complex symbolism and emphasized the ritual separation between the world of the dead and the world of the living (see reconstruction.