Jabal Wisad West Hamada Kites (Western Piedmont Lines)
Wisad West Hamada · Black Desert West Kites
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (7200–6200 BCE)·PPNB Black Desert hunters·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Jabal Wisad west hamada piedmont 6 km W of plateau rim, Jordan
About
About Jabal Wisad West Hamada Kites (Western Piedmont Lines)
West hamada piedmont 6 km west of Jabal Wisad inselberg (690 m) on flat basalt pavement with scattered chert. Eight kites: 300–620 m converging walls (0.35 m high) to star pens 22–28 m with 4 pits each (1.0 m deep, basalt slab-lined). Walls exploit 1.2° piedmont slope toward Wadi Wisad ephemeral channel. EBAP 2018 UAV shows wall foundation stones set in calcrete, pits with gazelle phalanges (Ovis/Gazella) and PPNB naviform blades in pit fills. Hamada vehicle tracks bisect one kite.
Why it mattersKey geoglyph illustrating PPNB Black Desert hunters hydraulic/geoglyph/kite/kurgan tradition in Mafraq Governorate, Jabal Wisad west hamada piedmont 6 km W of plateau rim.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Piedmont vs plateau kite chronology
Theories
- 01Westward gazelle drive toward wadi water
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
- Period
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (7200–6200 BCE)
- Culture
- PPNB Black Desert hunters
- Purpose
- Piedmont funnel kites channeling gazelle from plateau to wadi
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.7200–6200 BCE
Initial construction
2020
Drone/UAV high-resolution mapping and heritage inventory
On the ground
Structures & features
32.4050° N · 37.3800° E · 690 m · 3 mapped features
West Hamada Kite WH-3 Star Pen
desert kite28-m star pen with 4 pits at wall apex
32.4060° N · 37.3790° EPiedmont Guide Walls (620 m)
earthwork620-m converging guide walls 0.35 m high
32.4040° N · 37.3810° EPit Cluster WH-3a
desert kite1.0-m deep basalt-lined pit with naviform blades
32.4070° N · 37.3780° E