15 May 2026
“My journey with archaeology began not in a high-tech laboratory, but in the red dust of Jordan’s ancient sites. As a student at Yarmouk University and later as a field archaeologist, I spent years unearthing the tangible remains of our past, working on projects that stretched from the Roman aqueducts of Gadara (Umm Qays) to the Nabataean wonders of Petra. There is a unique, almost indescribable thrill in discovering an ancient coin in a fresh excavation layer. To me, it is never just a piece of metal; it is a tiny, circular portal to a specific year, a specific ruler, and an entire economy that existed thousands of years ago. However, my early experiences teaching field archaeology at sites like Umm Qays taught me a sobering lesson: the most dangerous threat to our history is not time or erosion—it is the modern forger.”