Madaba Plains Project
The Madaba Plains Project, or MPP, was founded by veterans of the Heshbon Expedition to continue archaeological survey and excavations research in the hills and plains between Amman and Madaba. MPP is notable for its longevity and influence on archaeology in Jordan. An estimated 2,000 plus students, volunteers and professors have participated in MPP's projects over the past fifty years and MPP is considered Jordan's longest ongoing archaeological project. Founding members and sponsoring institutions The partnership was organized between 1980 and 1981 at Andrews University during a year-long National Endowment for the Humanities-sponsored workshop devoted to planning the final publication series of the Heshbon Expedition. The initial founders of the group were Lawrence T. Geraty, Oystein S. LaBianca, and Larry Herr. The three started and directed the MPP's first project outside Tall Hisban, Tall al-Umayri, south of Amman. Douglas Clark joined the leadership team in 1982, and Walla Walla College became a sponsoring institution of the work at Tall al-Umayri. Randall Younker joined the project in 1990 and expanded MPP to include excavations at Tall Jalul, east of Madaba. Larry Geraty became president of La Sierra University in 1993, and the university joined Andrews and Walla Walla as an institutional