9. The Royal Sanctuary of King Antiochus: The Funerary ‘Burial’ Sanctuary on Mount Nemrut that lacks a body but is aligned with the Stars.
On Mount Nemrut in southeast Turkey lies the ruin of the lost Kingdom of Commagene, which formed after the break up of Alexander the Great’s Empire. In 62 BC, one of Commagene’s Kings, Antiochus built a royal sanctuary on the mountain. Terraces were built facing north, east and west and populated with a supersized collection of curiously eclectic statues. Persian, Armenian and Greek Gods stood with massive eagles and lions and statues of King Antiochus and his Greek and Persian ancestors. One of the figures of the King seems to be shaking hands with the gods, which some archaeologists believe were initially seated on thrones.
At the center of the sanctuary was a 50-meter limestone burial mound, which an inscription describes as the burial mound of King Antiochus. This mound is a curiosity in itself because it is a burial without a body. For archaeologists have not been able to find King Antiochus’s burial chamber. However, they have discovered a stone-lined shaft running into the mountainside at a 35-degree angle for 150 meters. The bottom of the shaft is empty.
Computer analysis has shown that on two days of the year, one when the shaft was aligned to the constellation of Orion and the other when it was aligned to the constellation of Leo, the sun’s rays would hit the bottom of the shaft. This curious feature plus the fact that the mountain is also known as “God’s Mountain” or “The Gate of Heaven” suggests Antiochus may have believed Mount Nemrut was more of a spiritual portal into the afterlife rather than a place of physical burial.