Wadi Rashid Kite Field (Wadi Rashid Basalt Hamada)
Rashid Hamada Kites · Wadi Rashid Kite Cluster
Late Neolithic to Early Bronze·Badia Late Neolithic–EBA onager hunters·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Wadi Rashid, Black Desert Hamada, Jordan
About
About Wadi Rashid Kite Field (Wadi Rashid Basalt Hamada)
Hamada kite field on Wadi Rashid flat (695 m) 22 km east of Wadi al-Qattafi. Comprises 5 dispersed hamada kites on open desert pavement (no wadi/mesa topography), each with 85–190 m arms, 15–25 m pen, single deep pit 2.4 m with plastered sides — deeper than typical 1.4 m, interpreted as onager (wild ass) trap vs gazelle. Hamada walls use low chert slabs 12 cm high nearly invisible at distance, relying on gazelle herd panic rather than visual barrier. Lithics: Late Neolithic–Early Bronze transitional.
Why it mattersOnly near-invisible low-wall hamada kites; deep plastered pits unique.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Onager vs gazelle—deep pit necessity
Theories
- 01Low-wall panic herd 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.6000 – 3800 BCE
- Period
- Late Neolithic to Early Bronze
- Culture
- Badia Late Neolithic–EBA onager hunters
- Builders
- Rashid hamada hunters
- Purpose
- Open hamada onager traps with near-invisible low walls
- Abandoned
- c.3500 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2019 Hamada systematic survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
6000 BCE
Earliest hamada kites
2019
Systematic hamada mapping
On the ground
Structures & features
32.1200° N · 37.3800° E · 695 m · 2 mapped features
Deep Plastered Pit Kite R-3
desert kite25-m pen with 2.4 m plastered pit
32.1220° N · 37.3780° ELow Chert Slab Wall
wall190-m 12-cm high chert slab wall
32.1180° N · 37.3820° E