Wadi al-Hasa Kite Cluster (Kerak–Tafila plateau, Jordan)
Hasa Highlands Kites · Edom Plateau Traps
Chalcolithic to Early Bronze I (Timnian to EB I)·Timnian–Ghassulian to EB I plateau pastoralists·🇯🇴 Kerak Governorate / Tafila Governorate, Wadi al-Hasa headwaters, Edom Plateau, Jordan
About
About Wadi al-Hasa Kite Cluster (Kerak–Tafila plateau, Jordan)
Kerak–Tafila plateau kite province overlooking Wadi al-Hasa gorge — Jordan's second-largest kite cluster after Azraq–Harraat: APAAME 2009–2016 photographed 28 kites and 15 isolated meadows (cleared circles) along the 900-m Edom rim. Kites are 150–280 m arms with 12–20 m circular enclosures; meadows 25 m diameter downslope served as summer pasture gazelle luring. Chalcolithic–EB I (4500–3000 BCE) attribution via Timnian lithics and EB I sherds at kite pits. Unlike Harrat kites, Hasa kites sit on Cenomanian limestone pavement requiring slab quarrying, indicating organized labor. Edomite Iron Age reuse as watch enclosures is documented.
Why it mattersLinks Harraat kite tradition to Moab–Edom highlands and meadow pasture management.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Meadow lure function
Theories
- 01Chalcolithic grazed-meadow hunting
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.4500 – 3000 BCE
- Period
- Chalcolithic to Early Bronze I (Timnian to EB I)
- Culture
- Timnian–Ghassulian to EB I plateau pastoralists
- Builders
- Timnian–Chalcolithic transhumant hunter–herders
- Purpose
- Gazelle/Ibex drive enclosures with meadow pasture management
- Abandoned
- c.2800 BCE (EB urbanization)
- Rediscovered
- 1998 APAAME aerial; 2011 Hasa ground survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
4500 BCE
Earliest Timnian kite foundation
2016
APAAME maps 28 kites + 15 meadows
On the ground
Structures & features
31.0500° N · 35.7000° E · 950 m · 2 mapped features
Kite 14 Circular Enclosure (16 m)
kite16-m pit-enclosure at apex of 240-m kite
31.0520° N · 35.7020° EMeadow Circle 6 (25 m)
earthwork25-m cleared meadow downslope of kite 8
31.0480° N · 35.6980° E