Archaeological Museum in Amman

Located on the site of our famous citadel, there is a small but well appointed archaeological museum.
The collection ranges from the Paleolithic era to the islamic era (so covering several hundred thousand years). The museum displays artifacts found in all the archaeological sites around Jordan, you can see items of daily life such as pottery, tools, but also statues, coins...

One of the most important exhibits are these plaster statues from "Ain Ghazal". They date back from the pre-pottery Neolothic era, around 6000 BC.

They look a bit extraterrestrial to me!

They were discovered in a cache at a site, located on the outskirts of Amman in 1983 and then some more in 1985. The statues are made of plaster applied to an interior reed armature. They are thought to be funeral statues and could commemorate deceased family members in more important families. The statues were found buried underneath the floors of uninhabited houses. The theory is that these statues were made for ancestor worship and when no longer needed, they were then "buried".

Another very interesting thing to see is the exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Discovered at Quram, Israel in 1947

In spring 1947, a bedouin discovered jars containing scrolls in the caves facing Qumran. The scrolls make up a veritable library, with a time span ranging 2 centuries BC. The texts are written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. All the books from the old testament are included. Many documents concerning the activities of the Essene (a Jewish sect) were also found.

A copy of the Mesha Stele (aka Moabite Stone) is also on display at the Museum. The original one can be found at the Louvre in Paris, France. The Stele was discovered in Dhiban (ancient Dibon) in 1868. This stone constitutes a direct account of the history of the world that is related to the Bible.

Mesha Stele in the Louvre

Some more interesting things on display at the Museum

To the left: some very rare sarcophagi dating from the Iron Age. To the right: marble head of the goddess Tyche, daughter of Zeus. Goddess of fortune and protectrice of Amman. It was found in the Garden of the Museum in 1957.

A little note: the first time we went to the Citadel, we didn't pay an entrance fee, but this time we did. 150fils for residents and 2JD for the non-resident.

Our first drive in Amman… finding our way to Jabal al-Qal'a

So here we are, Bob’s first day off and we decide to go out for a drive. It’s good, it’s Friday – so there are not a lot of people on the road. I am always the designated driver so off we go. We decide to head for Jabal al-Qal’a – the Hill of the Citadel. Or that’s what we think, because Amman is a city without signs! We find the hill at the top of which we think the Citadel is, only to discover that yet it is the wrong one. There is a taxi stopped on the road and we ask him for the way. As Bob’s gets out of the car, he discovers that the taxi driver is Hassan, the one from the hotel. He laughs a little bit at us and tells us we are not in the right place… Hassan stops another taxi and asks him to drive us there, so we follow the taxi and yes it’s true we were not at all on the right hill. We pay the driver 3JD (as we were told) and we are at the top of one of the hills, and the right one this time!

the view from the Citadel

You have an amazing view over Amman – I have the impression that we are in the middle of Amman on the top of that hill. The city is in all the directions. This feeling is even stronger as the 3 o’clock prayer call starts on this Friday afternoon. The call echoes through the entire city – it is very beautiful.
The site was occupied as early as the Neolithic Period and fortified during the Bronze Age – the ruins that you can see today are Roman through early Islamic.

the Temple of Hercules – built between 161-166 AD

 the Byzantine Church – constructed in the 5th-6th centuries AD

the Umayyad Mosque – ca. 730 AD

Historically it is an interesting site to visit, also because it covers such a long period of time. It is also a very nice place to walk around with a stroller. We haven’t been here for very long, but I have discovered that you have to be a little adventurous and have a solid stroller to walk around in Amman! The pavements are really high, cars are parked everywhere… I don’t mind and Bibs thinks it’s funny with the bumps – but let’s be honest it is not the easiest country to walk your baby asleep in!

At the bottom of the hill you can see the Roman Theater, I think there is a path going from the Citadel to the Theater. We didn't visit it, Bibs is tired, so it will be for another time.

The drive back to the Hotel goes a bit better… there is a car with diplomatic plates leaving the Citadel at the same time as us and we decide to follow him. And yes it works, as we find our way back! It took us over an hour to find the Citadel and about 8 minutes to get back. One says that you have to get lost to be able to find your way, well I don’t think that I can find my way back up there without a little bit of help!

Bobs needs to buy some peanut butter for a guest, so we head to Carrefour. And let’s say that it is the last time we do that on a Friday evening! It was absolutely over-crowded. In Europe it is rare to see more than 2 persons doing the groceries together, well here it is a family thing: husband, wife, kids and baby-sitter! I would say that it resembled the first day of sales in London.