Umm el-Jimal is a fascinating archaeological site and modern community in northern Jordan, just 70 minutes northeast of the nation’s capital city, Amman. Almost 2,000 years ago nomadic peoples settled in the area, founding a small village on the edge of the desert that was watered with runoff from the nearby Jebel Hauran. After the Roman period the village developed into a thriving Byzantine and then Islamic town of up to 5,000 people, built from sturdy basalt stone. Today remains of over 150 buildings still stand amid a vibrant town of about 6,000. Sophisticated ancient water channels and reservoirs are scattered among the ruins, once serving thousands of people and animals