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Archaeology Travel guide Jordan

Few other countries have a past as rich and complex as Germany. From the Neanderthals who made some of Europe’s oldest Ice Age art to the Iron Age Celts and their exquisite gold work. From the Hanseatic League of the Middle Ages to the 20th Century and the Third Reich. Whatever your interest in history, in Germany you will be spoilt for choice with Roman forts, Gothic castles and churches, Bach’s Leipzig, the Berlin Wall and some of the finest museums in the world. 

Reasons to Visit Jordan

Desert Castles,

Roman Ruins,

Byzantine Mosaics,

… and the Dead Sea.

Interesting Things to Know About Jordan

Jordan has the world’s oldest dam, designed to divert water from the Wadi Rajil near Jawa, an ancient proto-urban site near the country’s northern border. Carbon dating has revealed that the masonry dam was built between 3500 and 3400 BC/BCE.

The land now encompassed by Jordan was once part of the Roman Empire. The country’s Roman heritage is perhaps most obvious at Jerash, where visitors can explore a Roman forum, theatre, and colonnaded streets. Jerash has been a place of human settlement for 6500 years, with the Roman city developing from a Hellenistic predecessor that some traditions claim was the creation of Alexander the Great.

By far Jordan’s most famous heritage site lies at Petra, a Nabataean caravan-city largely carved into the red sandstone rockface. Located at an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt, and Syria-Phoenicia, Petra became a major settlement in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, displaying both traditional Nabataean architectural styles along with Hellenistic ones.

Jordan is home to one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Christianity, the location where Jesus Christ was allegedly baptised in the River Jordan by his cousin, John the Baptist. Roman and Byzantine archaeological sites reflect the former presence of an active Christian community here, a place now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The area of modern Jordan came under the domination of Muslim Arabs in the 7th century, but tensions between different religions continued, especially during the Crusades. A reminder of this conflict can be seen at the Crusader castle commonly known as Montreal or Qal’at ash-Shawbak, first built in the 12th century.

Find Places to Visit in Jordan

Five Popular Attractions in Jordan

Petra Candlelight

Petra

Hadrian's Arch in the ancient roman town Jerash in Jordan. Built AD 129 to honour the visiting emperor. Sunny light, nice contrast of clouds and blue sky in the background.

Jerash

LR Hippolytushall

Madaba

Memorial Church Of Moses

Mount Nebo

Ancient Nabatean and Thamudic inscriptions on rock representing camel caravan and humans. Khazali canyon, Wadi Rum desert, Jordan

Wadi Rum

What to See in Jordan

Roman Ruins and Museums

The defeat of the Romans in Battle of Teutoberg Forest brought ended their desire and attempt to conquer Germania. Varusschlacht is thought to be the site of that battle. The border of the Roman Empire, certainly in Germania, would forever remain at the Rhine River. Along the Rhine and south of it are some truly spectacular Roman sites. Trier has some remarkably well preserved Roman architecture. Germany has a number of exceptional museums displaying artefacts recovered locally. Berlin’s Museumsinsel has substantial collections of Roman artefacts from beyond Germany.
Explore Roman Jordan

Castles and Palaces

During their brief rule, 661–750 CE, the Umayyads built a series of ‘Desert Castles’ that must be on any Jordan itinerary. Later from the 11th century CE, when the European Christians attempted to take back control of the Holy Land during the Crusades. The Crusaders constructed some very imposing fortifications, as did the Muslims defending the area against their attacker. Many of these fortifications and castles in Jordan are popular tourist attractions, and are easy to get to by joining a guided tour or solo.
Explore Castles and Palaces in Jordan

Egyptology Museum, University of Leipzig

Housed in what was a private bank built in the 1920s, the Krochhochhaus, is the Egyptological Institute of Leipzig University’s Ägyptisches Museum – Georg Steindorff. An important collection of over 7,000 artefacts from Egypt and Sudan that starts with prehistory cultures and ends in the early Islamic period of the area. One of the highlights on display is the richly decorated sarcophagus of Hedbastiru; the object that would give rise to the establishment of the museum.

Museum of Classical Antiquities, Leipzig

Housed in the Alte Nikolaischule, the University of Leipzig’s Museum of Classical Antiquities has over 10,000 artefacts from various Mediterranean countries representing Classical Greece and Rome. Although the collection was founded in 1840 as a teaching collection for students of Classical archaeology at the university, the museum is accessible to the public. Highlights include a number of red and black painted ceramics from Apulia, including a beautifully decorated Apulia Krater.

Runde Ecke Memorial Museum

In what was for 40 years the Stasi’s headquarters of the Leipzig District is now a museum that tells the history of the secret service in Leipzig during the period of the GDR. The central, permanent exhibition is ‘Stasi – Power and Banality. Curated by the Citizens Committee of Leipzig, which was formed during the peaceful revolution in 1989. The demonstration that on 9 October 1989 brought down East Germany and the fall of the Iron Curtain. The custodians have tried to preserve the decor and contents of the Stasi offices as it was at the end of 1989, from linoleum floors and radiators, from surveillance cameras to shredding machines.

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