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Founded during the Hellenistic period by Seleucid veterans of Alexander the Great, the ancient city of Gerasa -- now Jerash in modern Jordan -- was likely named after the Gerontes. Caught between Nabataean and Jewish influence, it truly flourished after the Roman conquest, becoming one of the most impressive cities of the Decapolis. Gerasa: Rome's Forgotten City in the Jordanian Hills | 51:36 Histoire & Civilisations | 338K subscribers | 13,297 views | May 24, 2025

Roman engineers chipped an aqueduct through more than 100 kilometers of stone to connect water to cities in the ancient province of Syria. The monumental effort took more than a century, says the German researcher who discovered it... The tunnel begins in Syria and runs 64 kiometers above ground before going below the surface in three lengths of one, 11 and 94 kilometers... The tunnel was discovered by Mathias Döring, a hydromechanics professor in Darmstadt, Germany... Qanat Firaun, "Canal of the Pharaohs," is what the locals call the weathered old pipeline. There are even rumors that gold is hidden in...

A series of declassified satellite images from the Cold War era have revealed hundreds of undiscovered Roman forts in Iraq and Syria. A total of 396 new sites have been identified from the images taken in the 1960s and 1970s, with the findings, published in the journal Antiquity, changing the perception of how the region functioned. A previous 1934 aerial survey, conducted by French explorer Antoine Poidebard, recorded 116 Roman forts across the region. They were previously thought to form a defensive line against incursions from Arabia and Persia along the Roman Empire’s eastern flank. The latest findings, however, suggest...

Archaeologists have identified three undiscovered Roman fortified camps across northern Arabia.The University of Oxford school of archaeology made the discovery in a remote sensing survey, using satellite imagery.It said it could be evidence of an "undocumented military campaign" across south east Jordan into Saudi Arabia.Dr Michael Fradley, who led the research, said: "We are almost certain they were built by the Roman army.In the report, published in the journal Antiquity, he explained his conclusion was based on the "typical playing card shape of the enclosures with opposing entrances along each side".Dr Fradley added that the westernmost camp was significantly larger...

The walls stand up to 20 feet tall. It was built at the start of the 4th century AD, as part of defensive works for a limes Arabicus, and held a cavalry unit of perhaps 120-150 men. The building inscription survives:Optimis maximisque principibus nostris Caio AurelioValerio Diocletiano Pio Felici Invicto Augusto etMarco Aurelio Valerio Maximiano Pio Felici Invicto Augusto etFlavio Valerio Constantio et Galerio Valerio Maximianonobilissimis Caesaribus Castra Praetorii Mobeni fossamentisAurelius Asclepiades praeses provinciae Arabiaeperfici curavit.Which tells us that the fort was called Mobene, and was constructed by the Praeses of the province of Arabia, a chap named Aurelius Asclepiades,...

One of the world’s oldest workshops for smelting copper – going back some 6,500 years – has been uncovered in Beersheba by archaeologists at Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The remnants go back to the Chalcolithic period – the word “chalcolithic” is made up of the Greek words for “copper” and “stone” – is so named because although metalworking was already in evidence, the tools used were still made of stone. An analysis of the isotopes of ore remnants in the furnace shards show that the raw ore was brought to Neveh Noy neighborhood from Wadi...

...this subterranean tomb of 52 m2... impressive number of figures (nearly 260, including gods, humans, and animals) painted on the walls of the largest chamber. Of course other Roman tombs from the Decapolis also offer sumptuous mythological decor, but none of them can hold a candle to this one in terms of iconography... Whoever entered the tomb, before it was closed, first glimpsed on his left banqueting deities lying on beds, and tasting offerings brought by humans smaller than themselves. Again to the left of the entrance, a second painting with a country landscape shows peasants busy working the earth...

...Ms Howard, otherwise known as 'Indiana Joan', volunteered on archeological digs for around 11 years with British and American archaeologists in Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel from around 1967... Her collection includes neolithic axe heads more than 40,000 years old, pottery and weapons from the Phoenicians and the Romans, coins and seals and jewellery from the time of the pharaohs, and a precious funerary mask from Egypt. She said a favourite was a Roman dagger she found buried with the skeletal remains of its owner. Another was the wrappings of a mummy's remains and a cat claw wound...

JERASH, Jordan (AFP) - The sun bears down and dust swirls as Roman centurions, followed by armour-clad legionnaires and bruised gladiators, tramp out of the ancient hippodrome to the trailing sounds of a military march. [Blocked Ads]In the seats all around, 21st century spectators in modern-day Jordan cheer and applaud the spectacle before them -- a one-hour show held in honour of Julius Caesar, and part of Jordan's newest tourist attraction. Starting mid-July, visitors to Jordan can plunge into the past, reliving in a unique location just north of the capital Amman some of the high moments that made the...

Excavations in the East Jordan Land13 December 2007 This year Thomas Pola, professor for theology at TU Dortmund, and his team have continued the excavations in the East Jordan Land. With their findings on the mountain Tall adh-Dhahab (West) in the Jabbok Valley the archeologists could substantiate one assumption: everything points to the fact that the building remains from the Hellenistic and Roman era, found in 2006, were part of a yet unknown monumental building of Herod the Great (73-4 BC). This assumption is based on the floors of one of the discovered peristyle yards (yards enclosed by continuous...

The Ancient World's Longest Underground Aqueduct Roman engineers chipped an aqueduct through more than 100 kilometers of stone to connect water to cities in the ancient province of Syria. The monumental effort took more than a century, says the German researcher who discovered it. When the Romans weren't busy conquering their enemies, they loved to waste massive quantities of water, which gurgled and bubbled throughout their cities. The engineers of the empire invented standardized lead pipes, aqueducts as high as fortresses, and water mains with 15 bars (217 pounds per square inch) of pressure. PHOTO GALLERY: ROME'S LONGEST PIPE In...

Qasr Al Hallabat, one of the Kingdom's so-called desert castles, a series of fortresses built by the Romans around the 2nd century to cement their presence in the Levant, is much more than the average castle, according to archaeologist and Spanish aid specialist Ignacio Arce. Arce, who has been working at the site since 2002, said the castle provides a missing link between the end of the Roman Empire's influence in the region and the Umayyad civilisation, a 100-year gap that has previously been left unaddressed... Arce was puzzled when he found evidence of restoration work on the mosaics within...

The sun bears down and dust swirls as Roman centurions, followed by armor-clad legionnaires and bruised gladiators, tramp out of the ancient hippodrome to the trailing sounds of a military march. In the seats all around twenty-first century spectators in modern-day Jordan cheer and applaud the spectacle before them - a one-hour show held in honor of Julius Caesar and part of Jordan's newest tourist attraction. Starting mid-July visitors to Jordan can plunge into the past, reliving in a unique location just north of the capital, Amman, some of the high moments that made the Roman Empire. The setting is...

French archeologists find Marcus Aurelius 'head' AMMAN, April 22 (AFP) - French archeologists have unearthed a perfectly preserved head of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius in the ancient Nabatean city of Petra south of Jordan, the head of the mission told AFP Thursday. "A monumental white marble head, in excellent condition, belonging to a statue the emperor Marcus Aurelius was found in Petra by French archeologists," Christian Auge said. The head of the 2nd century AD Roman leader who was also known as the "good emperor" or the "philosopher-king" was found in the Qasr al-Bint area of Petra, a Nabatean...