Jabal Wisad Central Plateau Kites (Central Wisad Basalt Table)
Central Wisad Kites · Plateau Core Kite Field
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Late to Pottery Neolithic (7200–6200 BCE)·Black Desert PPNB pastoral hunters (Wisad Pools group)·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Harrat al-Sham Black Desert, Jabal Wisad Central Basalt Plateau (between north and south chains), Jordan
About
About Jabal Wisad Central Plateau Kites (Central Wisad Basalt Table)
Central table of Jabal Wisad inselberg (730 m) between north and south kite chains, Harrat al-Sham Black Desert, 82 km ene of Azraq oasis. 3 m deep lined with upright basalt slabs and chert hammerstone anvil at pen entrance. Walls follow hamada pavement edge wrapping basalt table brink to force gazelle off plateau rim into pen below. Inter-kite spacing 350–680 m shows packing density highest on central table. Petroglyph panel WP-41 adjacent shows kite plan with human driver glyphs.
Radiocarbon charcoal pen fill 8150±120 BP (PPNB late) and OSL on wall base 8200 BP (Hill 2017). Chert scatter and pressure-flaked naviform cores at kite tails. Threat: Azraq basalt quarry 12 km west.
Why it mattersDensest central Wisad packing (350 m spacing) with kite-plan petroglyph WP-41 — oldest dated kite field contention 8150 BP.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chert anvil function at pen entrance — slaughter vs offering
Theories
- 01Plateau rim edge forcing as specialized Wisad table trapping strategy
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.7200 – 6200 BCE (PPNB Late, 8150 BP)
- Period
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Late to Pottery Neolithic (7200–6200 BCE)
- Culture
- Black Desert PPNB pastoral hunters (Wisad Pools group)
- Builders
- Wisad central plateau trap builders
- Purpose
- Communal gazelle mass trap on basalt plateau rim — highest density table forcing plateau herds off rim into star pens
- Abandoned
- c.5500 BCE (Desert pastoral shift)
- Rediscovered
- 2014 SEBAP central plateau kite survey (Rowan Hill); 2018 UAV mapping
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
2014
SEBAP maps central table 11 kites
2017
C14 8150±120 BP pen WP-C3
2018
UAV documents packing density 350 m spacing
On the ground
Structures & features
32.4150° N · 37.4000° E · 730 m · 3 mapped features
Central Plateau Kite CW-03 Star Pen
desert kite20–28 m star pen with 4–5 slab-lined pits and chert anvil
32.4140° N · 37.3980° EPetroglyph WP-41 Kite Plan Panel
rock artEngraved kite plan with human driver figures adjacent to kite CW-03
32.4160° N · 37.4010° EKite CW-07 Paired Walls (620 m)
earthwork280–620 m converging walls wrapping basalt table brink
32.4120° N · 37.4020° E