MMAN — Following in the footsteps of the first Italian archaeological expedition to Amman, which took place in 1927 on the Amman Citadel, an archaeologist came to the Jordanian capital in 2009 to draw a clear picture of the achievements made in almost a decade, mostly relying on old photo archives.

The initial research was re-established in 1929 by Renato Bartoccini (1893-1963) but the expedition was closed in 1938 due to geopolitical instabilities and the European crisis that led to World War II.

“The events of World War II played a key role in the fate of the excavation archive. It is not too daring to suggest that Bartoccini’s past as a fascist affected him and led him to definitely closing a hard and by then awkward period of his life,” said Stefano Anastasio, an archaeologist specialised in the Near East, in a recent interview with The Jordan Times.

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