Long-Awaited Celebration

In July 2024, after a nearly two-decades-long process, the archaeological site Umm Al-Jimal was added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Orga- nization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage List, numbering it the seventh among such sites in Jordan. It joins the ranks of natural and historic landmarks such as the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, the Grand Canyon in the U.S., and the Taj Mahal in India.

World Heritage Sites receive protection through an international treaty administered by UNESCO. To be considered, sites must be nominated by their home countries, meet special criteria, and go through a lengthy con- sideration and approval process. Their status provides global recognition and impetus for long-term conservation efforts.

Rich History, Modern Town

Local tour guide and lifelong resident of Umm Al-Jimal Samar al Sroor has dedicated her career to sharing the story of this important antiquities site of the Hauran region (an area which includes parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan). Sroor has a special connection to Umm Al-Jimal: it has been part of the fabric of her family’s history for generations. “When we speak about Umm Al-Jimal, we speak about 2,000 years of history,” she says. That history tells a story of religiously diverse peoples influenced by the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires.

In the more recent past, herders in the region tended their sheep, goats, and camels there during the winter months, taking advantage of its low elevation. In 1972, when detailed scientific exploration was restarted for the first time since the early 1900s, the Jordanian government closed off the site, and residents built a new town on the outskirts.

“When the [older generation] gathers inthe evening, they sit down and start speaking about the days when they lived in the ruins,” says Sroor, who can tell stories about memorable events that took place at specific locations. “This is the personal connection for my family and our whole community.”

Currently on sabbatical, Rohl is leading an effort to document Umm Al-Jimal using 3D digital imaging, something that has never been done for an entire archaeological site in Jordan. The images will become part of an online public archive that can be used for academic research and conservation efforts.

“Ground-based 3D scanning creates comprehensive documentation of the site as it exists right now; it’s the most fine-tuned documentation of the site ever created,” Rohl explains.

With more accurate imaging, archaeologists can correct old drawings, discover new inscriptions among the ruins, and keep a cur- rent record of how the site changes to “identify compromised structures or other conservation threats” and to address them “before they become tragedies.”

Researchers can also “create more accurate models of how Umm Al-Jimal might have looked in the past.

“This kind of work has almost always only been done in places like Stonehenge or Pompeii. It’s a cutting-edge way to document an archaeological site to aid promotion, research, and site management—all of which contribute to conservation and continue to create opportunities and benefits for the community.”

Rohl says many archaeological projects at Christian universities integrate faith and learning by focusing on “marshaling archaeological evidence to prove the Bible’s veracity.” Though that approach has merit, the goal at Umm Al-Jimal has always been different. He describes the relationship between de Vries’ legacy, Calvin, and the local community of Umm Al-Jimal as “covenantal.”

“How can we use archaeology as a means of seeking human flourishing?” Rohl asks. “How can we as visiting archaeologists in a local community do our work in a way that benefits the community rather than exploits them? That’s a real integration of faith. A working out of being an agent of renewal.