MEGA Jordan: Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities

MEGA-Jordan uses open source software, which means that its software code is not exclusively owned. This allows it to be updated, modified, and customized to meet future needs at little or no cost. The core MEGA software has been designed so that it can, independent of the Jordanian system, be freely and readily customized for use by other countries. It is fully compatible with all standard GIS tools, facilitating data sharing among government agencies and researchers. 

The system offers various levels of user access based on user roles—i.e., some users will have full access to all data and the ability to add and edit sites and their attributes, approve new sites, run administrative reports, and export data, while others may only have access to search and view the data.

Development of MEGA-Jordan is complete and will be implemented nationwide within the offices of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoA). It currently contains legacy data imported from the DoA’s previous system, JADIS, and provides information on over 10,800 locations throughout the Kingdom.