Mapping Jordanian Archaeological Sites

This map of Jordanian Archaeological Sites was made by creating a new file database, opening a new map document, adding a basemap, and creating points to show the location of sites.  The site of Petra was created by creating a new feature class and adding fields for lat/long and notes describing the site.  After the shapefile was added to the map, it was opened for editing so that the lat/long and description information could be manually added.  To do this, you can either click to add the point to the map, or you can enter the "absolute XY"  in decimal degrees.  This is fine if you only have a limited number of features. Another way, better for large numbers of features, is to add points by importing the coordinates from an Excel file. Location information found using the META website was added to the database, and then a new feature class was created from the XY table of the Excel spreadsheet. The output was a new feature class of archaeological sites, saved to my geodatabase and added to the map as a new layer.

Many of the sites shown here have been heavily looted and damaged.  To help reduce these incidents, a system was set up to provide information about the location and current status of each site.  The database, called the Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities(MEGA), is open-source, and uses Google Earth for imagery, so it is free and user-friendly.  There is even training available.  Users are granted varying degrees of access - Guests have limited query access, and at the top end, Administrators have the ability to add to and edit the information.  By allowing such open access, the greatest number of people can be involved in helping to preserve archaeological resources.  Logistically, it is much more readily updated than if information was gathered by field survey or using aerial photography, both of which are slower and also more expensive methods.

The benefits of having such open access must be weighed against the risks of having the data available to people who may misuse it.  Site locations are seen in the map above, and published material is often quite specific about not only location, but also the numbers and types of material remains which could become the object of looting.  

Decisions about granting public access to data is guided by ethical principles adopted by archaeological organizations including the SAA, AAA, AIA, RPA and SHA that state the responsibilities to the profession, the stakeholders, and the integrity and preservation of resources.   These ethical standards are helpful as archaeologists try to balance the different points of view of various stakeholders who may be working with a different set of ethical standards and goals.