Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8500-6500 BCE)·PPN Culture·🇯🇴 Amman Governorate, Jordan
About
About Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex
Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex in Amman Governorate, Jordan is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8500-6500 BCE) ancient village attributed to PPN Culture. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal enclosure 11 × 3 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 32.0111N 35.9785E controls access to Amman Governorate resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey ancient-village for Amman Governorate, illustrating PPN Culture construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Scale of population vs agricultural catchment
- 02Ritual vs domestic use
Theories
- 01Tribal capital and ritual aggregation
- 02Seasonal gathering locus
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 7600 BCE
- Period
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8500-6500 BCE)
- Culture
- PPN Culture
- Purpose
- Settlement with domestic structures and ancillary ritual space
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 7600 BCE
Initial construction of Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex main structure
c. 784 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex
1975–2020
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0111° N · 35.9785° E · 717 m · 4 mapped features
- Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex — Main Ancient-Village FeaturechamberPrimary chamber at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex — platform mound with stratified deposits32.0093° N · 35.9792° E
- Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex — Secondary EnclosurecairnAncillary cairn at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex — burial gallery with stratified deposits32.0119° N · 35.9774° E
- Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex — Outlier Rock Art PanelplazaOutlier plaza panel linked to Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex ceremonial landscape32.0093° N · 35.9805° E
- Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex — Hydraulic/Cistern AnnexreservoirHydraulic feature — cistern/reservoir at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Northern Annex with plastered basin32.0118° N · 35.9779° E