Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8500-6500 BCE)·PPN Culture·🇯🇴 Amman Governorate, Jordan
About
About Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension
Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension 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 citadel 10 × 5 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 32.0326N 35.9755E 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
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Ancestral burial reuse over centuries
- 02Astronomical alignment hypothesis
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
- Excavation ongoing
c. 7600 BCE
Initial construction of Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension main structure
c. 913 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension
1971–2011
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0326° N · 35.9755° E · 712 m · 3 mapped features
- Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension — Main Ancient-Village FeaturecairnPrimary cairn at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension — platform mound with stratified deposits32.0334° N · 35.9744° E
- Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension — Secondary EnclosureplazaAncillary plaza at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension — burial gallery with stratified deposits32.0327° N · 35.9757° E
- Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension — Outlier Rock Art PanelreservoirOutlier reservoir panel linked to Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Southern Extension ceremonial landscape32.0323° N · 35.9738° E