AMMAN, Oct. 13 (Petra) -- Her Royal Highness Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jordan Museum, on Tuesday attended a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in Amman, held under her patronage at the Umayyad Palace on Amman’s Citadel Hill.

The ceremony was attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas, President of the Petra National Trust and ICOMOS Jordan; German Ambassador to Jordan Dr Bertram von Moltke; Institute Director Dr Brita Jansen; Director-General of the Department of Antiquities Dr Fawzi Abu Danneh; Professor Dr Dieter Vieweger, Director-General of the Institute in Jerusalem and Amman; and Dr von Dobschütz, a founding member of its Support Association.

In her address, Princess Sumaya said the anniversary celebrated not only five decades of archaeological research and discovery, but also the enduring friendship and partnership between Jordan and Germany.

She stressed that responsibility for heritage extends beyond protecting archaeological sites to preserving historical evidence and knowledge, interpreting their significance and making them accessible to future generations. Once a site or its historical context is lost, she noted, no technological advancement can fully restore the knowledge that has disappeared.

Princess Sumaya emphasised the central role of Jordanian institutions and researchers in safeguarding national heritage, highlighting the importance of equitable international partnerships, knowledge exchange and investment in the next generation of researchers.

She also underscored the role of science diplomacy in strengthening understanding and cooperation between institutions and countries.

Concluding her address, she said: "The past was not ours to create, but its preservation has now become, in part, our responsibility." Princess Dana Firas praised the Institute’s contribution to understanding Jordan’s archaeological and cultural heritage through research, excavations, documentation, restoration and specialist training. She highlighted the value of international cooperation and the partnership between German research and Jordanian expertise.

Institute Director Dr Brita Jansen outlined the Institute’s archaeological work at sites across Jordan, from Umm Qais in the north to Ba’ja in the south. She also highlighted its collaboration with the Department of Antiquities, Jordanian universities and other institutions, as well as its contribution to research, training and the dissemination of knowledge.

Jansen praised the International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan, held every three years under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal, and expressed the Institute’s readiness to support the Department of Antiquities through the conference’s scientific committee.

German Ambassador Dr Bertram von Moltke highlighted the strength of Jordanian-German relations and the countries’ close cooperation in archaeology and cultural heritage protection.

Dr Fawzi Abu Danneh also emphasised the importance of joint archaeological research, the exchange of expertise and the use of modern scientific methods in excavation, documentation and conservation. He reaffirmed the Department of Antiquities’ commitment to international cooperation and to developing Jordanian research capabilities.

The Jordan Museum houses archaeological finds from the Institute’s excavations, including material from Tall Zira’a, and supports researchers studying its collections.

In 2019, Princess Sumaya inaugurated Tall Zira’a: A Mirror of Jordan’s History, an exhibition organised by the Jordan Museum, the Department of Antiquities and the German Archaeological Institute. The exhibition presented discoveries from a site with more than 5,000 years of continuous settlement before moving to the Museum of Jordanian Heritage at Yarmouk University in Irbid in 2020.

//Petra// AJ