The Madaba Ring Road, Jordan. Evidence of Cultural Heritage Assets from Remote Imagery in the Madaba Hinterland

In March 2015 the Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project was invited by the Department of Antiquities, Jordan (DoA) to record and analyse using satellite imagery, aerial photography and topographic maps the archaeological sites in the region of the Madaba ring road.

EAMENA conducted a desk-based review to assess the impact of a ring road currently under development around Madaba. The construction will be of c.18km of dual carriageway, some 5km of road had already been completed by May 2013. In anticipation of the likely increase of the rate of urbanisation outside of Madaba, following the construction of the ring road, the survey covered an area of 7.5km radius from the centre of the city.

Overall, a total of 141 potential archaeological or historical sites were identified and analysed – as many as 11 sites will be directly affected by the ring road and development in its immediate vicinity. Of the 141 potential sites, 86 did not have MEGA-Jordan (the DOA register for archaeological and heritage assets in Jordan) records.