ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN JORDAN: AN EXAMPLE FROM TELL DEIR 'ALLA

Abstract

Thousands of archaeological sites are recorded, but unfortunatelyonly some are excavated in Jordan. Many of these were eitherdestroyed or at few cases protected by the local communities, inthe meantime others were illegally excavated by the treasurehunters. Archaeological work in Jordan must place the localcommunities as the heart of protection and presenting efforts ofthis cultural heritage. It has been argued that by engaging thelocal communities in the long-term archaeological fieldworks andin restoring and conserving the archaeological sites on year-roundprograms that might help with local employment, training andeducation. This paper aims at shedding light on the local communities’attitude against the archaeological sites. The archaeological siteof Tell Deir 'Alla might be considered as a good example of explainingthis relation. To discuss, the partners of the project (Jordanian andDutch) constructed an archaeological research station that includes asmall site-museum in which many inhabitants of the town Deir 'Allaare engaged in supervising, cleaning and cooking for the teamsexcavating at sites in Valley and renting the station. Moreover, theinhabitants of Deir 'Alla and the surroundings are always involvedin all activities of the excavations conducted in the Jordan valley.In addition, the Tell Deir 'Alla long-term project produced an excellentrelationship amongst the local community and the members of thejoint expedition. We assume that due to this good relationship, thefinancial help offered to the local community of Deir 'Alla, and thearchaeological field training offered to the inhabitants of the townDeir 'Alla and the surrounding villages , the site has been savedand protected from destruction and illicit excavations.