
Abu Danneh Assumes Role as Director General of the Department of Antiquities - Jordan News
His Excellency Prof. Dr. Fawzi Qassem Abu Danneh officially began his duties as Director General of the Department of Antiquities on Sunday, May 18, 2025. This appointment follows the Royal Decree endorsing the Council of Ministers' decision to assign him to the post, after he earned the highest score in the competitive selection process conducted under the Government Leadership System. اضافة اعلان Dr. Abu Danneh holds a PhD in Classical Archaeology from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, which he obtained in 2006. He brings with him extensive academic and research experience, in addition to practical fieldwork in the archaeology sector. His professional skills have been further enhanced through participation in numerous specialized training courses. In the academic field, Dr. Abu Danneh has made significant contributions, having published nearly 50 peer-reviewed research papers in prestigious local and international journals. He has also actively participated in both international and local scientific conferences with specialized academic research. In recognition of his academic standing, Dr. Abu Danneh has served on several boards and councils, most notably the Board of Trustees of Al-Isra University, and the Editorial Board of the Jordanian Journal of History and Archaeology issued by the University of Jordan. He has also appeared in several international documentaries on the history of antiquities in Jordan, including productions by the BBC.
Dr. Abu Danneh has been a member of numerous thesis and dissertation defense committees in Jordanian universities and has represented the Kingdom in various local and international conferences, seminars, and workshops. He played an active role in securing the Al Hassan Award for Scientific Excellence during his tenure as Dean of the Petra College for Tourism and Archaeology.
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Jordan News
7 days ago
- Jordan News
Dinosaurs lived in Jordan 140 million years ago. - Jordan News
Dinosaurs lived in Jordan 140 million years ago. Different types of dinosaurs lived in Jordan, including reptiles, flying dinosaurs, and marine dinosaurs, as evidenced by fossils recently discovered in Jordan. اضافة اعلان In Jordanian amber, a feather and down dating back 140 million years were discovered. A tooth belonging to a herbivorous dinosaur dating back to the same period was discovered near King Talal Dam by Abbas Haddadin. Another tooth was found in its jaw in the Kho area of Zarqa Governorate. The tooth was 15 cm long and 15 cm in circumference. In an area between Shobak and Petra, dinosaur footprints preserved in rock dating back 95 million years were found. These footprints include three tracks from dinosaur herds. In 1943, a neck bone of a bird dating back 65 million years was discovered in the phosphate area of Russeifa. The vertebrae were 62 cm long. The foot of a giant marine animal, 12 meters long, was discovered called a mammoth marine animal called a mammoth. The foot or flipper was one meter long and 40 cm wide, with seven toe vertebrae, each 10 cm long. This was discovered 20 km south of Qasr al-Kharana. The animal is 65 million years old. Jordan was covered with gymnosperm forests 140 million years ago and had a tropical climate with lots of rain where dinosaurs lived and some of them crossed to Australia, Madagascar, India and Antarctica where they were with Jordan in the continent of Gondwana. Part of Jordan was located on the coast of the Tethys Sea where the lagoons were a source of food for the dinosaurs from fish because of the shallowness of its waters. In the pictures is a dinosaur feather and a tooth that is 140 million years old and another tooth and a fin of a mammoth dinosaur. [email protected]


Jordan Times
22-05-2025
- Jordan Times
Scholar highlights Ayyubid legacy, challenges of distinguishing it from Mamluk period
The Ayyubid castle of Ajloun, located in the northwestern part of Jordan, overlooking the Jordan Valley (Photo courtesy of ACOR) AMMAN — For Professor Bethany Walker from Bonn University, it is a true challenge to differentiate some pottery objects whether they belong to Ayyubid (1171-1260) or Mamluk (1250-1517) period. Walker wants to separate two periods that are often called Ayyubit-Mamluk and belong to Middle Islamic era. "Ayyubid period was much shorter than Mamluk period," Walker said during the lecture " Jordan in the Ayyubid Age" held at the Department of Antiquities of Jordan on Wednesday, adding that if one excavates on the Mamluk site they will not find many remains older than the Mamluk period. Mamluk's powerful visual presence in Jordan also underlines Ayyubid Sultanate contribution, Walker continued, adding that Mamluks re-used Ayyubid buildings. "Vernacular buildings didn't change much from 12th until early 20th century in Jordan," Walker said, noting that to differentiate between these two periods became a challenge. The Ayyubids laid foundation for administrative buildings, fortresses and castles, as well as way stations for pilgrims and store houses for agricultural produce. They invested in network of roads and castles, reviving the world economy. One of the achievements of the Ayyubids was the beginning of the sugar industry in Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea area, where the sugar technology was brought from the Indian Subcontinent (sugar canes). "The major achievement of the Ayyubids in Jordan was economic," Walker stressed, adding that agricultural sector flourished during their reign. Rural area was economically stimulated to produce certain types of crops during that period. "The most active of the Ayyubid rulers was AlMu'azzam (1218-1227) who ruled from Damascus," Walker said, noting that in the early decades of the 13th century Karak became a scientific and educational centre. However, there are no architectural traces of these activities as no remains of madrasas and hospitals survived to our days. Al Mu'azzam built villages and the state stimulated different types of migrations to urban and rural centres. Nasser Dawoud in 1244/1245 renovate the Karak Castle, adding that palatine halls at Karak and Shobal castles represent the Ayyubid architecture. Regarding the Ayyubid bathhouse, Walker said:" It's relatively small, with three to four rooms." The Mamluks would tear down old, decrepit buildings and reuse the material for new structures, and that is one of the reasons why it is often difficult to distinguish which building belonged to the Ayyubid and which to the Mamluk period. "In some textual documentation there is evidence of these demolitions, like in chronicles, where villages around the Shobak Castle are mentioned. Here we have accounts what still functions and what is in ruins," Walker said, adding that ruins had a commercial value as a building material.


Jordan News
21-05-2025
- Jordan News
A dinosaur feather and down discovered in Jordanian amber dates back 140 million years. - Jordan News
Scientists say that feathers evolved from lizard scales 250 million years ago, 20 million years before the appearance of dinosaurs and 110 million years before the appearance of birds. اضافة اعلان Feathers evolved with the appearance of birds, which appeared 140 million years ago. A fossil of the Archaeopteryx was discovered in 1861 in southern Germany. China then discovered three dinosaurs dating back 125 million years whose bodies were covered in feathers and down. Down first appeared before feathers to protect some dinosaurs' bodies from the cold and heat of the sun. In Jordan, scientist Abbas Haddadin discovered a dinosaur feather and down in Jordanian amber dating back 140 million years. These feathers are the oldest feathers and down in the world found in Jordanian amber, and they represent the beginning of bird flight. Pictured: feather and down in Jordanian amber.