Wadi Arabilah Kite Cluster
Arabilah Kites · Irbid Northern Kites
PPN to Late Neolithic·PPNB / Yarmoukian·🇯🇴 Irbid Governorate, Wadi Arabilah, northern Badia fringe, Jordan
About
About Wadi Arabilah Kite Cluster
Thirty-two desert kites arrayed along the limestone scarp overlooking Wadi Arabilah, the northernmost kite field in Jordan 20 km from the Syrian border. The cluster shows atypical limestone rather than basalt construction, with 80–250 m walls and 15–22 m pits adapted to Yarmouk River tributary gazelle paths. Excavations 2015–2018 by CBRL recovered PPNB lithics and Late Neolithic pottery in wall collapse, indicating long reuse. The location demonstrates kites were not strictly harraat-dependent but extended to Mediterranean woodland edge.
Why it mattersNorthernmost and only major limestone-kite field, extending kite distribution beyond basalt.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Woodland-edge adaptation
Theories
- 01Ecotonal gazelle/deer 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.8000 – 4500 BCE
- Period
- PPN to Late Neolithic
- Culture
- PPNB / Yarmoukian
- Builders
- Northern Levantine Neolithic groups
- Purpose
- Gazelle and deer funnel traps at woodland edge
- Abandoned
- c.4000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2015 CBRL Badia Project
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
8000 BCE
Earliest limestone walls
2015
CBRL maps 32 kites
On the ground
Structures & features
32.4800° N · 35.9200° E · 420 m · 2 mapped features
Kite A-12 Limestone Funnel
earthwork210-m limestone wall funnel
32.4810° N · 35.9210° EPits P-3 Cluster
geoglyphThree adjacent 18-m killing pits
32.4780° N · 35.9230° E