Collaborative restoration celebrated: Unveiling restored guest room at Beit Hussein Rousan

AMMAN — After years of joint efforts between the Department of Antiquities (DoA) and the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin (DAI), the partners launched the opening ceremony and the exhibition of the restoration of the guest room of Bait Hussein Rousan.

The event was held last week by Director General of the DoA, Fadi Bala’wi, and it was carried out as part of a multi-week training programme in building conservation and stonemasonry offered by the DAI in cooperation with the DoA in Gadara/Umm Qais.

Since 2016, the DAI has been running training programmes in stonemasonry and building conservation in cooperation with the DoA in Gadara/Umm Qais.

“The Train the Trainers initiative aims to preserve the local tangible and intangible cultural heritage and at the same time to train craftsmen in practical building conservation and preservation,” noted Claudia Buehrig, a director of the project from DAI, adding that in cooperation and exchange with Jordanian, Syrian and German craftsmen, traditional craft techniques are taught, tested in practice and revived.

“Lost knowledge of traditional production methods is also being regained through joint development and testing, for example, the concrete implementation of historic roof structures or the production of traditional clay plasters,” Buehrig underlined, adding that since 2018, the practical training courses have been closely linked to the restoration of Bait Hussein Rousan, a partially demolished late 19th century courtyard complex in the historic centre of the upper village of Alhara Alfoqa in Umm Qais.

Since then, the courtyard has been a central space for mediation, exchange and encounter in the form of a “work yard”. The first parts of the workshop have now been completed and a varied programme has been put together. But the courtyard is still under construction.

“In addition to training courses on craft techniques, a summer school on documenting ancient pottery shards was held for the first time in 2023,” she said, adding that on the long term, the aim is to establish a permanent meeting place for education and dialogue on building conservation, heritage conservation and heritage education, open to all interested parties.

Also, a documentary film produced in 2023/24 provides additional insights into the Train the Trainers programme and the German-Jordanian cooperation and can be viewed on the DAI YouTube channel.