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From the mute testimony of scattered dolmens and menhirs it is certain that the ridge of Nebo was inhabited from remote antiquity. However, its real fame is derived from the biblical event that occurred upon it as described in the Book of Deuteronomy: the death of the prophet Moses. Until Byzantine times the name Nebo was also given to the fortified village that sits astride the peak of el-Mukhayyat. In the Old Testament this ancient village is mentioned along with other cities of Moab such as Madaba. El Ale and Heshbon. In fact the Bedouins of the region have preserved the name to this day. On the Siyagha peak the Christians of long ago constructed a memorial church in honour of Moses in an obvious effort to perpetuate in stone the memory of the biblical episode. It has been possible for archeologists to identify this sanctuary, thanks to the records left by two pilgrim-visitors of the fourth and fifth centuries of their travels in this region. One of these was the celebrated Egeria. The second is the Monophysite bishop of Gaza. Peter the Iberian, to whom we are indebted for the description of the Nebo church and for the story of the miraculous origin of the shrine and the veneration it enjoyed among the Christians of the region.