Amman Sights

National Archaeological Museum

#8 of 152 things to do in Amman

#2 of 178 museum sights in Middle East

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    • Jebel al-Qala'a Citadel

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Lonely Planet review for National Archaeological Museum

The National Archaeological Museum is just northwest of the Temple of Hercules. It has a good collection of items spanning all eras of Jordanian and regional history, ranging from 6000-year-old skulls from Jericho to Umayyad period artwork. It also boasts some examples of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran in 1952, a copy of the Mesha Stele and assorted artefacts from Petra and Jerash. Most exhibits are well labelled in English.

Pride of place are three of the Ain Ghazal statues, which date back to 6500 BC as some of the world's earliest sculpture. Finds from the Citadel itself include the head from a statue of the Greek goddess Tyche and some Egyptian-style carvings.

Although it looks close to Downtown, the only access roads to the Citadel are from Al-Malek Ali bin al-Hussein St. It's better to hire a taxi for the trip up. If you decide to walk it's much easier headed downhill. Steps lead down from east of the Citadel complex, past a viewing platform to Hashemi St, opposite the Roman Theatre.

 

Traveller reviews for National Archaeological Museum (1)

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    Great collection for such a small museum

    stephanee77 recommends this,

    Great collection of artifacts from prehistoric to modern day. Provides a great walk through time and an excellent understanding of the cultures involved in the region and how it evolved. Dead Sea Scrolls are no longer at this museum, though. They were relocated to the Jordan museum in Amman in July/August 2011 (http://www.ritmeyer.com/2011/05/11/the-new-jordan-museum/)

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