Wadi Al-Qattafi East Arm Kites (Eastern Mesa Kite Line)
Qattafi East Mesa Kites · Wadi Qattafi East Arm Chain
PPNB to Chalcolithic·Eastern Badia Neolithic–Chalcolithic·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Wadi al-Qattafi East Arm Mesas, Jordan
About
About Wadi Al-Qattafi East Arm Kites (Eastern Mesa Kite Line)
East arm mesa-edge kite line 6 km northeast of Qa' al-Qattafi playa (670 m) on 40-m basalt mesas above wadi bed. Comprises 6 kites perched on mesa lips with guiding arms descending 35 m scarp to wadi floor, each 18–32 m pen, walls 90–310 m. Mesa-top position allows driving gazelles off mesa edge into wadi funnel. Kite QA-E03 has integral 'wheel' enclosure 12 m adjacent to pen interpreted as hunting shrine. Lithic assemblage PPNB–Chalcolithic. Intervisible across 3 km to central arm kites.
Why it mattersOnly mesa-edge (vs plain) kite drive documented in Jordan Black Desert.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Wheel beside pen—ritual vs butchery
Theories
- 01Mesa-edge drop drive
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.8200 – 5000 BCE
- Period
- PPNB to Chalcolithic
- Culture
- Eastern Badia Neolithic–Chalcolithic
- Builders
- Wadi al-Qattafi pastoral-hunters
- Purpose
- Mesa-edge drive to wadi funnel at playa margin
- Abandoned
- c.4500 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2017 Hill and Rowan Wadi al-Qattafi survey; 2020 Hill et al mesas 40–60 m
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
8200 BCE
Earliest mesa-lip kites
2020
Hill et al characterize 40–60 m mesas
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0800° N · 37.2200° E · 670 m · 2 mapped features
Mesa-Lip Kite QA-E03 Wheel Pen
desert kite32-m pen with 12-m wheel enclosure
32.0820° N · 37.2180° EEast Arm Scarp Wall
wall310-m wall descending 35 m scarp
32.0780° N · 37.2220° E