The Lion Tombs of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a surprising country. You never know what archeological treasures you are going to find when wondering around in the desert.

Take for example these tombs.  They are located about 1 kilometer from the archeological site of Dedan and they date back to 5^th century BCE. They are called the Lion Tombs not because lions were buried there, but because of the lion carvings by the tomb.

The tombs are square-shaped holes, cut at different heights (but usually a meter or 1.5 meters) out of the side of the mountain. The inside is about two meters deep. When the tombs were first found, they say they parts for bones inside. These have been removed so they are completely empty.

There wasn’t an admission charge to visit the tombs. But because they are located about 50 meters up the cliff, you will need to climb a bunch of stairs to get there.