The Department of Antiquities was established in East Jordan in 1923 as part of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine, and in 1928 East of Jordan separated in its administration from the Mandate Government in Palestine and as a result created an independent Department of Antiquities  It was managed by Mr. Reda Tawfik. In 1934, the Antiquities Law No. 24 of 1934 was issued, which was the first antiquities law to be enacted in Jordan.
The Department of Antiquities is one of the independent state departments in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. As a manager, some of them took over the management more than once.
The year 1951 represents a bright spot in the history of the Department of Antiquities. These achievements can be considered as the basis for the launch of a continuous development towards building an archaeological institution capable of taking care of Jordan's monuments.                                                                     
The Department of Antiquities is working to sustain the development of its first nucleus in terms of providing the necessary infrastructure for archaeological work. This included the expansion of directorates, the creation of new sections and 20 antiquities offices throughout the Kingdom. In addition to the establishment of museums of both archaeological and heritage in a number of cities in the Kingdom, has accompanied this development in the field of infrastructure, working to qualify the Department's staff to ensure the optimal performance of the objectives assigned to the implementation of the Department of Antiquities.

 The Department of Antiquities sought to attract the sons of the country with educational attainment in the fields of archeology, maintenance and restoration, and work to qualify them and acquire scientific and technical expertise in various aspects of archaeological field work. This was achieved by the Department of Antiquities through training courses held locally and internationally on the one hand, and the involvement of its staff in the field archeological projects implemented by universities and international scientific institutions in Jordan on the other.