Founded by the Nabateans in the 4th century BC, Avdat was a way station along the "Incense and Spice Route" from the Orient to the Mediterranean shores. In 106 AD Avdat was annexed by the Romans. As a result, the city flourished, and many private and public buildings were erected. From the Roman period remained a burial cave, a villa, a tower, a residential quarter and an army camp (3rd-4th centuries). Byzantine traces include a church and a "cave city" (4th-7th centuries). As one of the towns along the Incense Route it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2005.