Hundreds of Jordanian Dolmens saved from destruction.
After two years on the World Monuments Fund Endangered Sites List, the dolmen fields of Damiya have hopefully been spared any further destruction, with the formation of a new archaeological preserve in the Jordan Valley. The Department of Antiquities (DoA ) Director General Ziad Saad, confirmed yesterday that a deal had been reached with the mining company last month to set aside a 60 hectare area in the northern part of the field - which contains most of the dolmens - as a national archaeological park. Read more
In the lower foothills of the Jordan Valley, hundreds of megalithic blocks rest silently on the arid slopes of the Damiya Dolmen Field. During the Early Bronze Age (3600-3000 B.C.), these massive slabs of Ramla sandstone and travertine were used to create burial chambers known as dolmens. The dolmens, with their lower upright stones supporting enormous, horizontal capstones, convey the sense of delicate balance that has endured on this terrain for some five millennia. Roughly 300 dolmens survive in the Damiya Dolmen Field. Along with several other rock-cut tombs and circular stone-cut features, the mortuary structures of the Damiya Dolmen Field together form a highly significant and rare landscape. Read more