Jabal Wisad Desert Kites (Wisad Pools Black Desert)
Wisad Pools Kite Field · Jebel Wisad Hunting Traps · Black Desert Wisad Kites
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B to Pottery Neolithic·Black Desert pastoral foragers·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Harrat al-Sham Black Desert, Jabal Wisad plateau, Jordan
About
About Jabal Wisad Desert Kites (Wisad Pools Black Desert)
Basalt plateau (720 m) crowning Jabal Wisad inselberg in the Harrat al-Sham (Syrian Black Desert), 85 km east-northeast of Azraq oasis, Mafraq Governorate. 2 m deep) lined with basalt slabs. Walls follow basalt hamada contour to corral gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) during autumn migration. Wisad Pools 2 km south provides perennial water and Neolithic camps (7100-6000 BCE). Hill & Rowan 2017 radiocarbon: charcoal in kite pit 8200±120 BP (Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B).
Associated with 9,000-year-old ritual shrine (SEBAP 2022) 400 m from kite WA-1. Oldest dated kite field globally contending with Harrat al-Shaam eastern corridor.
Why it mattersAmong oldest dated kites globally (8200 BP); kite-shrine ritual pairing at desert waterhole.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Kite function debate: gazelle vs onager
Theories
- 01Wisad pools as year-round settlement vs seasonal camp
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.7200-6000 BCE (PPNB Late, charcoal 8200 BP)
- Period
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic B to Pottery Neolithic
- Culture
- Black Desert pastoral foragers
- Builders
- Wisad Pools–Maitland mobile hunters
- Purpose
- Mass gazelle trap for communal hunt and ritual feasting at pools
- Abandoned
- c.5500 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1927 Maitland aerial; 2013 Rowan–Hill SEBAP; 2022 shrine discovery
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1927
Maitland RAF notes Wisad mesa kite-like enclosures
2013
SEBAP Wisad Pools kite survey 14 kites
2022
9,000-yr shrine found 400 m from kite WA-1
On the ground
Structures & features
32.4300° N · 37.4300° E · 720 m · 2 mapped features
Wisad Kite WA-1 Star Pen
desert kite32-m star-shaped killing pen with 6 pits at funnel apex
32.4320° N · 37.4280° EWisad Pools Shrine
shrine9,000-yr ritual shrine 400 m from kite WA-1 with desert-kite model stones
32.4280° N · 37.4320° E
Gallery