the Treasury. The two other Royal Tombs are the Silk Tomb and the Urn Tomb; the Silk Tomb does not stand out as much as the Urn Tomb. The Urn Tomb features a large yard in its front, and was turned into a church after the expansion of Christianity in 446 AD. Exterior platform In 2016, archaeologists using satellite imagery and drones discovered a very large, previously unknown monumental structure whose beginnings were tentatively dated to about 150 BC, the time when the Nabataeans initiated their public building programme. It is located outside the main area of the city, at the foot of Jabal an-Nmayr and about south of the city centre, but is facing east, not towards the city, and has no visible relationship to it. The structure consists of a huge, platform, with a monumental staircase along its eastern side. The large platform enclosed a slightly smaller one, topped with a comparatively small building, , which was facing east toward the staircase. The structure, second in size only to the Monastery complex, probably had a ceremonial function of which not even a speculative explanation has yet been offered by the researchers. Climate In Petra, there is a semi-arid climate. Most rain falls in the winter. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is BSk. The average annual temperature in Petra is . About of precipitation falls annually. History Neolithic By 7000 BC, some of the earliest recorded farmers had settled in Beidha, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement just north of Petra. Bronze Age Petra is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel, Sela or Seir. Iron Age Edom The Iron Age lasted between 1200 and 600 BC, in that time, the Petra area was occupied by the Edomites. This came when the Edomites rebelled after the death of King Solomon in 928 BC when Israel split into two kingdoms for Israel to be in the north and Judah in the south. The Edomites were known as descendents of Esau and this was referenced in the Old Testament of the Bible. The configuration of mountains in Petra allowed for a reservoir of water for the Edomites. This made Petra a stopping ground for Merchants, making it an outstanding area for trade. Things that were traded here included wines, olive oil and wood. Initially, the Edomites were accompanied by Nomads who eventually left, but the Edomites stayed and made their