A Visit to Amman Citadel

The trek up the hill was definitely worth it - and not just for the views! Amman Citadel was so much more than we had expected and we happily spent a few hours there.

The citadel is a large archaeological site built on one of the seven hills that make up modern Amman. It has a long history of occupation by many great civilizations. There is evidence of human habitation since the Neolithic period and it is clear that the hill was fortified during the Bronze Age (1800 BC). It became the capital of the Kingdom of Ammon sometime after 1200 BC. Later, it came under the control of empires such as the Neo-Assyrian (800 BC), the Neo- Babylonian (600 BC), the Roman (1st century BC), the Byzantine (3rd century AD) and the Umayyads (7th century AD). After this, the citadel went into decline and became an abandoned pile of ruins used by Bedouins and farmers. Despite this, the Citadel of Amman is considered to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited places.

Most of the structures still visible at the site are from the Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods. These include the Temple of Hercules built by the Romans in the 2nd century AD, a Byzantine church, and the Umayyad Palace. The latter, known in Arabic as al-Qasr, was probably used as an administrative building or the residence of an Umayyad official. It draws on Byzantine architectural patterns. The magnificent entrance hall is built in the shape of a Greek cross. The domed roof has recently been restored with the help of the Spanish government. Whether the result is an accurate representation of the original structure is debatable. Nevertheless, it is an impressive example of craftsmanship in its own right.

Also on site is the Jordan Archaeological Museum. It was built in 1951 and used to house the Dead Sea Scrolls which are now on display in the new Jordan Museum that we visited yesterday. There are still some interesting exhibits but you feel it's only a matter of time before all the remaining artefacts are moved to the new facility and it closes its doors completely.

Despite the fact that archaeologists from Jordan, Italy, Spain, France, and the UK have been working at the site since the 1920s, a great part of the Citadel remains unexcavated.

I will attach photos 📸 of the Temple of Hercules to this footprint and do subsequent posts for the Umayyad Palace and the Jordan Archaeological Museum.Read more