Tihama Coastal Kite Field (Jizan–Al Birk littoral, Saudi Arabia)
Red Sea coastal kites · Tihama Harrat satellite kites
Neolithic (Tihama Neolithic coastal, 4000–3000 BCE)·Tihama coastal Neolithic (Shell Midden / Jizan foragers)·🇸🇦 Jizan Province / Asir Province, Tihama littoral plain, Harrat al-Birk fringe, Red Sea coastal terrace, Saudi Arabia
About
About Tihama Coastal Kite Field (Jizan–Al Birk littoral, Saudi Arabia)
First Red Sea littoral kite province: 33 kites on Tihama coastal plain coral terraces 2–8 km from present shoreline, Harrat al-Birk fringe to Sabya mangrove plain. SGS–DISC 2016–2021 satellite and foot survey recorded kites unlike Harrat interior — arms short (70–150 m) and apex pits on fossil reef limestone with shell middens inserted inside pits, directly dating marine foraging co-located with hunting. OSL on wall sands 4th mill. BCE, with Tihama Neolithic bifacials and Red Sea Natufian–like el-Khiam points, suggesting coastal forager-hunters trapped oryx and gazelle moving between escarpment and mangroves at sea-level low-stand edge.
Subsiding, threatened by Jizan Economic City and shrimp farms.
Why it mattersOnly documented Red Sea coastal kite phenomenon worldwide.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Sea-level vs kite placement
Theories
- 01Coastal–savanna ecotone trapping
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.4000 – 3000 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic (Tihama Neolithic coastal, 4000–3000 BCE)
- Culture
- Tihama coastal Neolithic (Shell Midden / Jizan foragers)
- Builders
- Tihama coastal hunter–fishers
- Purpose
- Coastal–escarpment oryx/gazelle drives plus marine foraging base
- Abandoned
- c.2500 BCE (sea-level rise)
- Rediscovered
- 2016 SGS satellite survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
4000 BCE
Earliest wall with el-Khiam point
2021
SGS records 33 coastal kites with middens
On the ground
Structures & features
16.9000° N · 42.5500° E · 35 m · 2 mapped features
Reef-Limestone Pit with Shell Midden
kite12-m pit-enclosure with 1.2-m shell midden inside kite 7
16.9020° N · 42.5520° EShort-Arm Kite 19 (110 m)
kite110-m coral-rubble kite nearest mangrove edge
16.8980° N · 42.5480° E