Wadi al-Hasa Desert Kites (Karak Plateau)
Hasa Basin Kite Field · Mujib-Hasa Divide Kites
Neolithic (PPNB to Late Neolithic)·Southern Jordan Neolithic·🇯🇴 Karak Governorate, Wadi al-Hasa basin, southern Mujib watershed, Jordan
About
About Wadi al-Hasa Desert Kites (Karak Plateau)
Southernmost Jordanian kite field on the Karak limestone plateau (620 m, 31°03′N 35°45′E) above Wadi al-Hasa gorge (tributary of Mujib). 14 kites arrayed on plateau edge exploiting 300 m escarpment drop to valley, walls 70-320 m basalt/limestone kerb directing gazelle along rift-side. Unlike Harrat kites, walls use Karak Flint-Limestone, not basalt, adapted to Mujib basin geology. Early Holocene Saharo-Arabian fauna corridor (600 km migration Gazella marica Chenor model) includes Wadi Sirhan-Araq link; Hasa kites sit on the 50 km Karak spur feeder. No modern tillage preserves plan intact; photo by Kennedy APAAME.
Why it mattersSouthern gateway kite field to Rift Valley migration corridor.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Mujib vs Hamad periodic use
Theories
- 01Escarpment trap specialisation
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.7000-5800 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic (PPNB to Late Neolithic)
- Culture
- Southern Jordan Neolithic
- Builders
- Karak plateau mass-hunters
- Purpose
- Gazelle migration intercept on Rift escarpment
- Abandoned
- c.5500 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2010 Kennedy APAAME aerial
- Excavation
- Unexcavated
2010
APAAME aerial kite inventory
2022
Oxford Badia model gap filling
On the ground
Structures & features
31.0500° N · 35.7500° E · 620 m · 2 mapped features
Wadi al-Hasa Escarpment Kite A
desert kite320-m kite using natural gorge lip pit
31.0520° N · 35.7520° EKarak Plateau Converging Walls
desert kite180-m converging wings on plateau crest
31.0480° N · 35.7480° E