There is a growing need to establish a specialized natural history museum in Jordan, given the abundance of fossil discoveries dating back millions of years found in several regions, particularly the Zarqa Valley, which provide scientific, educational, and touristic material documenting the history of life and ancient environments in the Kingdom.
اضافة اعلان
Dr. Mohammad Waheeb, professor of archaeology and tourism, said that establishing a natural history museum represents a scientific, economic, and touristic necessity, in order to collect fossil discoveries, study, document, and display them, make them available to researchers, students, and visitors, and link them to geological and fossil sites as well as tourist routes.
He explained that the Zarqa Valley constitutes an important example of Jordan's fossil wealth, as research teams from the Hashemite University continue their study and documentation work in the area, which reveals evidence of ancient life and human paths in remote eras.
He noted that the history of fossil discoveries in the Zarqa Valley dates back to the 1940s, when skeletal remains of a massive flying creature were found in phosphate layers, later named "Arambourgiania" (the "Philadelphia bird"), after the ancient name of the city of Amman. He added that 1943 saw a visit by founding King Abdullah I to the site, while French paleontologist Camille Arambourg published a study in 1953 examining the creature's bones, concluding that they belonged to one of the largest known flying creatures of that time. He indicated that subsequent studies, including research by British scientist David Martill and other researchers, dated the discoveries to about 70 million years ago, within the later stages of the Cretaceous period, noting that studies estimated the wingspan of the "Philadelphia bird" at around 13 meters, its length at about 10 meters, and its neck at around two meters, while it relied on gliding and taking advantage of air currents for flight.
He pointed out that the fossil record in Zarqa governorate is not limited to the "Philadelphia bird," as a dinosaur tooth was found in Wadi Al-Dhulail, while Zarqa particularly the Azraq area contains fossil evidence linked to different stages of the evolution of living creatures, including early lineages of elephants and mammoths.
He noted that the discovery of the "Arabic Tell Anab dragon" in southeastern Jordan in 2007 added an important piece of evidence to the record of flying creatures that lived in the region millions of years ago, with a wingspan of about five meters, and that its study contributed to understanding the movement and flight patterns of winged creatures. He said that geological and fossil evidence shows that Jordan experienced diverse terrestrial and marine environments during the Cretaceous period, as rocks of the Naur Formation reveal footprints of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs, alongside predatory marine creatures, including the mosasaur, which reached about 15 meters in length, and long-necked plesiosaurs, teeth of which were found in the Zarqa Valley, while the marly Cretaceous Muwaqqar Formation preserved remains of marine creatures, including predatory fish.
He affirmed that gathering these discoveries and information in a specialized museum would provide a foundation for research and education, and would allow the natural history of Jordan to be presented in a scientific manner, alongside supporting scientific and educational tourism by linking the museum to geological and fossil sites.
Dr. Waheeb concluded by stressing that establishing a natural history museum on specialized scientific foundations is essential for making use of the discoveries accumulated in Jordan, and transforming them into a scientific, educational, and touristic resource that enhances the Kingdom's presence in natural history and paleontology studies.
