Wadi Faynan WF16
WF16 · Wadi Faynan Structure O75
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (c.11600–10200 cal BP)·PPNA (Natufian → PPNB transition)·🇯🇴 Aqaba Governorate, Wadi Faynan (Wadi Arabah north), Jordan
About
About Wadi Faynan WF16
PPNA megasite (c.11600–10200 cal BP) at Faynan oasis fringe, 2 ha, first large-scale Neolithic settlement before farming in Jordan. Giant pisé and semi-subterranean amphitheatre Structure O75 (20×18 m, plaster floor), 40+ semi-sub pit-houses, massive midden with 32000 chipped stone objects, wild barley and copper ore. Excavated 1997–2010 by Steven Mithen & Bill Finlayson shows 3000-year sequence bridging Natufian–PPNB, early plant cultivation and copper use predating farming village model. UNESCO tentative.
Why it mattersWorld's earliest large village before farming; PPNA communal architecture and copper.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of O75 amphitheatre (ritual?)
- 02Why so large before crops?
Theories
- 01Aggregation before agriculture model (Mithen)
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.11600 cal BP PPNA founding
- Period
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (c.11600–10200 cal BP)
- Culture
- PPNA (Natufian → PPNB transition)
- Builders
- Faynan PPNA forager-cultivators
- Purpose
- Megasite aggregation centre with communal amphitheatre before farming
- Abandoned
- c.10200 cal BP late PPNA hiatus
- Rediscovered
- 1996 survey; 1997 Mithen–Finlayson
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.11600 cal BP
Pithouse hamlet founded
c.11000 cal BP
Structure O75 amphitheatre built
c.10200 cal BP
Abandoned before PPNB
On the ground
Structures & features
30.6400° N · 35.4600° E · 220 m · 3 mapped features
Wadi Faynan WF16 — Structure O75
amphitheatreGiant pisé amphitheatre 20×18 m with tiered benches
30.6405° N · 35.4600° EWadi Faynan WF16 — Pit-house cluster
house40 semi-sub pit-houses, central area
30.6400° N · 35.4605° EWadi Faynan WF16 — Midden O60
midden32000 lithic midden with wild barley
30.6395° N · 35.4595° E
Gallery