In 1991, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan, the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated a project to create an archaeological park in the heart of Madaba. The park includes a well-preserved stretch of a late Roman street and buildings dating from the Roman, Byzantine, and early Islamic periods and the early 20th century. The goals of the park project were to explore the history of Madaba, to protect its archaeological heritage from destruction, and to revitalize downtown Madaba.The need to preserve Madaba’s rich heritage became acute during the building boom of the 1970s and 1980s. The value of having an archaeological park in the city center had been shown by the extensive excavations of Michele Piccirillo, who at that time was preparing a major ACOR publication, The Mosaics of Jordan (1993). For the Madaba Archaeological Park Project, ACOR played a pivotal role in excavating, conserving, and creating shelters over multiple archaeological sites, in order to preserve them and make them accessible to visitors.
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In 1991, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan, the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated a project to create an archaeological park in the heart of Madaba. The park includes a well-preserved stretch of a late Roman street and buildings dating from the Roman, Byzantine, and early Islamic periods and the early 20th century. The goals of the park project were to explore the history of Madaba, to protect its archaeological heritage from destruction, and to revitalize downtown Madaba.The need to preserve Madaba’s rich heritage became acute during the building boom of the 1970s and 1980s. The value of having an archaeological park in the city center had been shown by the extensive excavations of Michele Piccirillo, who at that time was preparing a major ACOR publication, The Mosaics of Jordan (1993). For the Madaba Archaeological Park Project, ACOR played a pivotal role in excavating, conserving, and creating shelters over multiple archaeological sites, in order to preserve them and make them accessible to visitors.
People who come to Madaba, especially tour groups, often only go to St. George's Church to see the mosaic map, and ignore it. In fact, this archaeological park is the treasure of Madaba. Indoors and outdoors, the artifacts excavated from the archaeological site of Madaba are displayed, and the interior parts are basically completely restored to the original excavated at the time. This is an important place not to be missed by historical lovers.
1. Located in the center of Midaba, 5 minutes walk from the station; 2. There is another name here - the Church of the Virgin Mary, also known for exquisite mosaic paintings, the treasure of the town garden is Hippolytus painting (Hippolytus Hall); 3. Free tour with Jordanpass.
The place is not big, you can quickly visit, mosaic floor tiles are real archaeological sites, you can see more mosaic pattern background knowledge introduction.
We had some difficulties getting to the Majuba by bus. We didn’t want a taxi and everyone seemed unable to bus 1 jd. Anyway we finally helped us find a bus from North Station with the taxi driver. The marmaba is an hour bus ride and parts of the city are hard to enjoy but the tour is a bit of a mountain with some great attractions to let you enjoy the countless mosaics this area is known for.