Mohammad Najjar is currently a member of the MWNF board and the academic and curatorial adviser. He joined the team in 2001 while he was the chairperson of the Friends of Archaeology Society of Jordan MWNF’s partner and local coordinator in the Discover Islamic Art Project.

Dr Najjar did his PhD studies in Moscow in the Institute of Archaeology/USSR Academy of Science in 1981. From 1982 to 1988 he was the curator of the Jordan Archaeology Museum. In 1989 he became the director of archaeological excavations and surveys of the Department of Antiquities, remaining in this post until his retirement in 2007. Since then he has been actively involved in teaching, tour guide training, museum exhibition design and heritage site development with the aim of enhancing visitors’ experience.

Dr Najjar is author and co-author of numerous publications on archaeological research and heritage documentation using the latest technique of cyber archaeology for the management and presentation of the archaeological data. His most recent publication, New Insights into the Iron Age Archaeology of Edom, Southern Jordan co-authored with Thomas E. Levy and Erez Ben-Yosef (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, University of California, Los Angeles, 2014, 2 volumes), is one the most significant academic works in archaeology of the last few years, and is likely to influence the future direction of Southern Levantine archaeology.

Dr Najjar’s main research interest is focused on the Neolithic Period 9,600–4,500 BCE, centring on the early domestication of landscapes, plants and animals, and on “deep time” study of mining and metallurgy in Southern Jordan (starting from 4,500 BCE).