Pic of the day: Umm el-Jimal

APAAME_19980512_DLK-0050. Photographer: David L. Kennedy.

This large stone built town on the western edge of the Basalt Desert of Jordan had a significant Nabataean settlement, but expanded greatly during the Roman period. 

This photograph goes back in the archives to 1998, our second year of flying and a big one with nine flights! Taken almost directly vertical over the ruins of Umm el-Jimal, it seems all the more outstanding as it was before we made the transition to digital photography with the benefits rapid fire and automatic focus. 

You can see more photographs from Flight 19980512 here or more of Umm el-Jimal here.

Flight 20111002 now on Flickr!

The dust has now cleared and we were able to undertake a very successful flight around the north-west of Jordan. 2000 photos of over 80 sites have been added to the archive, and are now viewable at our flickr site in the set Flight 20111002.

Here's a sample of some of the sites we were able to visit:


The Oval Piazza, Temple of Zeus, South Tetrapylon, Cardo and Macellum at Jarash (ancient Garasa). APAAME_20111002_MND-0060 Photographed by Mat Dalton


Tourists at Rasoun ancient cemetery. APAAME_20111002_SNR-0278 Photographed by Simon Rutter


Tall Zira'a, on the Wadi al-Arab. APAAME_20111002_DLK-0766 Photographed by David Kennedy

Monitoring the Past … and Present

Umm el-Jimal (APAAME_20111002_DLK-0523)

One of the key objectives of any aerial reconnaissance programme in archaeology is to monitor sites and landscapes in danger from development. As Jordan has one of the fastest growing populations and a very rapid development of its landscape, the task is especially important here.

One increasingly obvious sign at many sites in the last few years is the evidence for the discovery …. and looting of ancient cemeteries. We have observed it at several sites in every part of the country.

This photograph was taken three days ago (Sunday 2 October 2011) at the Nabataean-Roman-Umayyad town of Umm el-Jemal in northern Jordan. It is one of three cemeteries revealed by the open pits of excavated graves.

-DLK