History Hit goes on a special expedition to the Middle East - a spectacular journey through time in beautiful northern Jordan. Join Dan Snow in this two part series that takes us through this fascinating region of ancient wonders - from the Greeks to the Romans, Byzantines, the coming of Islam, the era of the crusades and even the First World War.

In this first episode, “Secrets in Stone”, Dan explores some incredible sites that reveal the history that lies so close to the surface here - from the magnificent Greek and Roman city of Jerash, complete with the largest surviving Roman forum in the world and a gigantic arch celebrating the visit of Hadrian, to other sites further off the beaten track, including the intriguing lost Byzantine town of Umm el-Jimal.

This is an area where history is written in stone - from the creamy limestone wonders of Jerash to the dark basalt of the fortresses and towns of the Hauran. And Dan discovers a remarkable project that is still working in stone - a World Monuments Fund scheme that has trained refugees from war torn Syria to become skilled stonemasons, able to help restore the damaged historic buildings and artefacts of this region.

People have been travelling through and settling this part of the world for millennia, following the Jordan valley, establishing pilgrim ways and trade routes across the desert, and building great cities. Come and explore this crossroads through history.
________________

You can find out more about the World Monuments Fund and the stonemasonry project in Mafraq at https://wmf.org.uk/Projects/stone-masonry-training-in-mafraq-jordan/

There is great information about the site and discoveries at Umm el-Jimal at https://www.ummeljimal.org/

Lots of information is available online about Jerash - here is a good starting point from our very own History Hit pages: https://www.historyhit.com/locations/jerash/