Al-Thula Desert Kite Field (Jubbah Basin – Ha'il)
Thula Kite Swarm Ha'il · Jubbah Piedmont Kites · Ha'il Desert Trap Field
Neolithic humid phase (Holocene)·Jubbah lake-shore hunters·🇸🇦 Ha'il Region, Jubbah–Umm Sanman basin, 90 km NW of Ha'il city, Al-Thula piedmont, Saudi Arabia
About
About Al-Thula Desert Kite Field (Jubbah Basin – Ha'il)
Piedmont apron (820 m) at the foot of Jebel Umm Sanman sandstone massif, 18 km south of Jubbah rock-art lakes (UNESCO 1117), 90 km NW of Ha'il city. 16 kites on deflated pediment where sandstone grus meets basalt hamada, 2-4 km from Jubbah paleolake shore. Kites funnel type 180-450 m walls, pens 20-28 m with 2-4 pits, walls of sandstone slab + basalt mix. Jubbah paleolake cores show Holocene humid phase 7500-5000 BCE with hippo remains—kites target lake-marginal gazelle herds converging on water.
Associated with Jubbah 1500 ha rock-art panels (Thamudic) overlaying kite walls, providing terminus ante quem. Satellite discovery (H. Hathaway 2019) via Jubbah–Ha'il rail lidar. Threatened by Ha'il–Jubbah rail embankment cutting 3 kites.
Why it mattersPaleolake hippo-phase kite ecology + UNESCO rock-art stratigraphic overlay.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Rail cutting mitigation 3 kites
Theories
- 01Humid vs arid phase attribution
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.6500-5000 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic humid phase (Holocene)
- Culture
- Jubbah lake-shore hunters
- Builders
- Ha'il–Jubbah piedmont kite builders
- Purpose
- Paleolake-margin gazelle interception during Jubbah humid phase with hippo cohabitat
- Abandoned
- c.4500 BCE (aridification)
- Rediscovered
- 2019 Hathaway lidar; 2020 Jubbah paleolake kite correlation
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
2019
Hathaway lidar 16 kite discovery at Al-Thula piedmont
2020
Jubbah lake core hippo phase linked to kite phase
On the ground
Structures & features
27.9500° N · 39.9500° E · 820 m · 2 mapped features
Al-Thula Kite AT-7 Lakefront
desert kite320-m funnel with 26-m pen 2.1 km from Jubbah paleolake shore
27.9520° N · 39.9480° EUmm Sanman Rock-Art Overlay
palimpsestThamudic panel overlaying kite wall providing TAQ
27.9480° N · 39.9550° E
Gallery