A message to interpretive archaeologists? Seen in the National Archaeological Museum, Amman. Photo: TMK, May 2009.
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An Old School Blog on the Ancient World and its Modern Meanings
A message to interpretive archaeologists? Seen in the National Archaeological Museum, Amman. Photo: TMK, May 2009.
Yes, I too saw this when I went up the hill to the Citadel Museum.
Something was definitely lost in the translation. I meant to ask my colleague who is fluent in Arabic what this really meant. Perhaps they did not want tour guides to clog up the aisles and disturb the peace of other tourists. Also, they might not want public attention to the artifacts since many of them relate to ancient Jewish history and the Old Testament– the Copper Scrolls, the mummified children from Jericho, and the copy of the Mesha Stele. Perhaps I too am guilty of giving excessive explanation and interpretation of this modern English inscription.
Yes, I’m sure what they wanted to say was that they don’t want guided tours (except those by ‘authorised’ guides, I expect). And that’s actually quite common, also outside Jordan (notably Greece).