The Jordan Museum

The Jordan Museum is the largest museum in Jordan, located in the Ras al-Ein district of Amman. Inaugurated in 2014, it serves as the primary national institution for the country's most important archaeological findings. The museum presents artifacts from various prehistoric and antique archaeological sites across Jordan, arranged in chronological order. It is the only museum in the country to implement modern artifact-preserving technologies, and its two main permanent exhibitions include the Dead Sea Scrolls, featuring the Copper Scroll, and the 9000-year-old ʿAin Ghazal statues, which rank among the oldest human statues ever created.

Prior to the museum's establishment, Jordan's most significant archaeological findings were housed in the Jordan Archaeological Museum, founded in 1951 atop Amman's Citadel Hill. As the old site became too small to accommodate the growing collection, the idea for a new, modern facility emerged in 2005. A joint committee headed by Queen Rania was tasked with developing a museum conforming to international standards. Construction began in 2009, and the museum officially opened in 2014, spanning over 10,000 square meters.

The museum's collections are organized chronologically, covering the history and culture of Jordan from the Stone Age through Islamic epochs, including the Rashidun period and the Ottoman Empire. The largest department, Jordanian Archaeology, features archaeological artifacts on loan from the Department of Antiquities, alongside one-to-one reconstructions of significant elements from various archaeological sites, such as a sugar mill from the Jordan Valley and the gate of Ayla, the first Islamic city near modern Aqaba. Interactive displays and films cover selected themes like the Umayyad desert castles. Everyday objects including flint, glass, metal, and ceramic vessels, as well as statues, jewelry, and other art pieces, form a major part of the holdings. Additional departments cover Modern Jordan, documenting the history from the Nahda movement and the Hejaz Railway to the founding of the Emirate and Kingdom, and Living History, which explores urban, rural, and Bedouin lifestyles through items like traditional costumes and food preparation utensils from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Among the museum's most significant holdings are animal bones dating back 1.5 million years and the 9000-year-old lime plaster statues from ʿAin Ghazal, a major Neolithic village discovered in Amman in 1981. The museum holds parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the Copper Scroll found near Khirbet Qumran, which is written in a Mishnaic-style Hebrew and contains an inventory of hidden gold and silver presumably taken from the Temple in Jerusalem circa 68 CE. Also on display is a reproduction of the Mesha Stele, a large black basalt stone inscribed by Moabite King Mesha to commemorate his building projects in Moab, modern Al-Karak, and his victory against the Israelites, constituting a vital direct account of biblical history. The original Mesha Stele is housed in the Louvre, and Jordan has consistently requested its return. Other major artifacts include the Balu'a Stele, featuring an Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription, a marble head of the Greek goddess Tyche, Nabataean and Greco-Roman sculptures, and four sarcophagi from the Iron Age.

The museum building spans over 10,000 square meters and includes lecture halls, outdoor exhibitions, a library, a conservation centre, and an area for children's activities. The outdoor spaces feature elements representing Jordan's diverse cultures, such as a Bedouin tent representing desert culture, a village house representing rural culture, and three urban shops representing city culture.

The Jordan Museum is located in the Ras al-Ein area near downtown Amman, adjacent to the Greater Amman Municipality headquarters. The site is situated a short walk, approximately twenty minutes, from major archaeological sites in Amman, including the Roman theater, the Nymphaeum, the Amman Citadel, and Hashemite Plaza.