Site Development

Although Jordan is home to over 20,000 documented archaeological sites, most people can only name a few, have visited fewer, and know the history of an even smaller number. SCHEP sought to change that, selecting nine cultural heritage sites across the country to develop, ranging from well-known locations such as Petra to those that rarely, if ever, received visitors before. Given the diversity of the areas the project was involved with, there was no standard model that could be followed to preserve, protect, develop and promote the sites with the direct involvement of the surrounding Communities. 

Ethical and effective site development is at the heart of SCHEP’s mission, and the project team has worked to clear and clean each of its related sites, developing paths for visitors to experience the site and interpretive panels to help people understand what they see before them. These objectives were only carried out after SCHEP conducted surveys and otherwise engaged with local communities to mitigate any negative effects from such interventions. Although specific forms of intervention necessarily varied from site to site, the ultimate goal was to ensure that each site was able to reach its potential as a destination for education, exploration, and community-building.

Images by: Abdallah Saedeen, Sofia Smith, Yusuf Ahmed, AbedalFatah Ghareeb, Barbara A. Porter, Nizar Al Adarbeh, Zaid Kashour, Eman Abdessalam, TWL Team, MARS Robotics, DOA photographer, Matthew O’Brien