Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities

The Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA) is a web based geographic information system or GIS developed by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), with matching funds from the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and in partnership with the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoA).

The GIS will serve as the primary tool for the Jordanian DoA in its ongoing work to inventory, monitor, and manage Jordan's vast number of archaeological sites.

Ultimately it will help standardize and centralize information on archaeological sites throughout the country in a single system focused primarily on the aims of heritage management and research.

MEGA–Jordan will become the DoA's preeminent planning and decision-making tool, addressing its needs and demands related to the legal protection of sites, site management, infrastructure and development control, World Heritage requirements, and development of national and regional research strategies.

MEGA–Jordan is also seen as a tool for coordinating archaeological site data with Jordanian government ministries (e.g., Tourism and Antiquities, Planning, Agriculture) and for academic research.

Al_Khazneh Petra Jordan.
The most iconic image of an archaeological site in Jordan is likely that of Al-Khazneh (Arabic for 'treasury') of Petra, which was elaborately carved into a sandstone cliff between approximately 100 AD and 200 BC. Its name is a misnomer, as the facade's extensive funerary symbols suggest that it was constructed as a tomb.