Jabal Ithnayn Kites (Twin Peaks Kite Pass)
Twin Peaks Kites · Ithnayn Pass Kite Gap
PPNB to Late Neolithic·Badia Neolithic peak-pass hunters·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Black Desert, Jabal Ithnayn Twin Peaks, Jordan
About
About Jabal Ithnayn Kites (Twin Peaks Kite Pass)
Twin-peak pass kites 18 km southeast of Wisad Pools (760 m) where two 35 m basalt peaks form 180 m wide natural gap. Holds 5 funnel kites using peaks as natural walls: western kite walls abut south face of north peak, eastern kite to north face of south peak, forming 900 m converging corridor through gap. Pens 20–35 m star-shaped at gap entrance; central kite has 4 pits including one with carved ibex petroglyph on pit rim. Neolithic PPNB–Late Neolithic; gap pollen shows Ephedra steppe.
Why it mattersOnly documented twin-peak natural-wall gap exploitation for kites.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Petroglyph on pit rim—contemporaneous or later
Theories
- 01Peak-gap natural trap
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.8500 – 6400 BCE
- Period
- PPNB to Late Neolithic
- Culture
- Badia Neolithic peak-pass hunters
- Builders
- Ithnayn gap hunter communities
- Purpose
- Natural peak-gap gazelle funnel exploitation
- Abandoned
- c.6200 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2018 EBAP peak survey; 2020 Ithnayn mapping
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
8500 BCE
Earliest gap kites
2018
EBAP maps twin-peaks pass
On the ground
Structures & features
32.3000° N · 37.5800° E · 760 m · 2 mapped features
Twin-Peak Corridor Kite Star Pen
desert kite35-m star pen at gap entrance with ibex petroglyph pit
32.3020° N · 37.5820° EIthnayn North Peak Wall
wall280-m wall abutting north peak south face
32.2980° N · 37.5780° E