Of the 600k + people each year who enter Petra via the Siq and come to that iconic view of the Treasury I wonder how many are aware of the extent to which it has been enhanced by a degree of "rebuilding" from the site's ruined state. The attached pair of photos, taken from almost the same location, shows that one column, complete with a Corinthian capital, has been reconstructed, whilst the other 5 have been considerably restored. The origins of the 2 photos are

a. Taken in c1923 and scanned in from the book "Wonders of the Past". Ed - J.A Hammerton. Pub - Fleetway. It will have been "hand-coloured".

b. Taken by me in April 1999 in the days when one could still climb up the cliff opposite the Treasury - on my last re-visit in 2012 notices and barriers had been erected to prevent this! Another change is that entry to the Treasury through the columns was prevented in July 2001

A few Google searches have identified the history of this reconstruction. It turns out to have been done in 1961/2 (just before my first visit in 1964!). It is interesting to note that the reconstruction was created largely from original fallen elements (in shadow on the left in the earlier photo) whilst the upper part is said to have been "hollowed" to reduce the weight. See photos and description here - http://nabataea.net/trestoration.html.