Last weekend I visited Jerash, one of Jordan's tourist highlights, a city about an hour South of me. Archeologists have found artifacts that date back to the neolithic age (about 6500 years ago) but the city that remains today was developed about 2000 years ago. In 63AD, Jerash became part of the Decapolis under Roman rule. It became a huge trading hub and thus flourished, emperor after emperor building something more astonishing than the last. During the 3rd century, Jerash was at it's peak and had an estimated 20,000 inhabitants. However, the Persian invasion, the Muslim conquest, and a couple of earthquakes lead to the city's decline during the 8th century. It was left uninhabited, buried in sand for about a thousand years until a German guy discovered the ruins in 1806 and an excavation project started during the 20th century.
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| Hadrian's Arch: built to commemorate the visit of the Emperor Hadrian to Jerash in 129 AD |
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| Fountain constructed in 191 AD |
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| I still can't wrap my brain around how they carved those. |
As I walked down the colonnaded street I couldn't help but imagine what I'ld be doing if I was living here 2000 years ago. My friend Judith and I decided we'ld likely be practicing our carving and etching skills. If people are still around 2000 years from now I wonder what they will find left behind by us? I wonder if they will find it as epic as we find this. Maybe. But I imagine they'll have to dig through a lot more than just sand to find it.
