The Nymphaeum is a partially preserved Roman public fountain in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, Jordan. It is located a short distance from the Hashemite Plaza, the

Roman Theater Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and the Odeon, at the crossing of Ibn al-Atheer and Quraysh streets in al-Balad. Such fountains were very popular in Roman cities, and Philadelphia, as Amman was known by ancient Greeks and Romans, was no exception. This

nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

is believed to have contained a 600 square meters pool which was three meters deep and was continuously refilled with water.

History

The nymphaeum was built in the 2nd century CE, during the same period as the nearby theatre and odeon.

Restoration

In September 2015, archaeology students from the University of Jordan, Petra University and the Hashemite University as well as professional technicians, funded by the U.S embassy, started restoring the site. Their work consists in cleaning the structure stone by stone, and in replacing portions of stone lost due to erosion, cracking and flaking.

References

{{coord, 31.9503324, N, 35.9361693, E, type:landmark_source:frwiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Amman Roman sites in Jordan Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century Tourist attractions in Amman Archaeological sites in Jordan