Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8500-6500 BCE)·PPN Culture·🇯🇴 Amman Governorate, Jordan
About
About Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace
Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace 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 platform 8 × 4 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 32.0180N 35.9590E 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
- Excavated
c. 7600 BCE
Initial construction of Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace main structure
c. 1008 BCE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace
1977–2013
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0180° N · 35.9590° E · 706 m · 4 mapped features
Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace — Main Ancient-Village Feature
reservoirPrimary reservoir at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace — platform mound with stratified deposits
32.0193° N · 35.9589° EAin Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace — Secondary Enclosure
moundAncillary mound at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace — burial gallery with stratified deposits
32.0176° N · 35.9605° EAin Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace — Outlier Rock Art Panel
dromosOutlier dromos panel linked to Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace ceremonial landscape
32.0194° N · 35.9601° EAin Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace — Hydraulic/Cistern Annex
structureHydraulic feature — cistern/reservoir at Ain Ghazal Courtyard Shrine East Terrace — Western Terrace with plastered basin
32.0163° N · 35.9595° E