Wadi Rashid North Meander Kites (Northern Loop Meander Field)
Rashid North Meander Kites · Wadi Rashid Meander Loop Traps
PPNB Late–PN·Wadi Rashid meander peninsula trappers·🇯🇴 Mafraq Governorate, Wadi Rashid North Meander Loop, basalt hamada plain 18 km NW of Qattafi, Jordan
About
About Wadi Rashid North Meander Kites (Northern Loop Meander Field)
8 km enclosed on three sides by 18 m wadi cliffs. Ideal natural enclosure supplemented by only two short walls 220 m and 280 m closing loop gap — minimal artificial construction maximal natural topography. Peninsula tip holds star pen 24 m with 5 pits. 2 km natural cliffs. 5) to close 18 m cliff gap. Loop traps gazelle grazing peninsula. Upper hamada has dense Late Neolithic camp (Wadi Rashid type site). OSL wall 8000 BP. Adjacent wadi pools in meander floor water 8 months.
Why it mattersMost naturalized kite globally — 86% natural cliff enclosure — extremes of topography vs labour tradeoff.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why tall 0.9 m only here vs 0.5 elsewhere — gap closure height
Theories
- 01Natural enclosure efficiency vs labour saving - minimal kite
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.7100 – 6000 BCE (OSL 8000 BP)
- Period
- PPNB Late–PN
- Culture
- Wadi Rashid meander peninsula trappers
- Builders
- Rashid north meander peninsula trappers
- Purpose
- Minimal-wall natural enclosure trap — 3.2 km natural cliffs plus 500 m walls to seal peninsula as giant pen
- Abandoned
- c.5500 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2022 Rashid north meander meander peninsula mapping
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
2022
North meander peninsula 1.2×0.8 km kite mapped
2022
OSL 8000 BP tall wall 0.9 m
2017
Hill notes Rashid field
On the ground
Structures & features
32.3500° N · 37.0500° E · 700 m · 2 mapped features
Peninsula Star Pen (24 m)
desert kite24 m star pen with 5 pits at peninsula tip 1.2×0.8 km cliffs
32.3510° N · 37.0510° ETall Gap-Closure Wall (280 m × 0.9 m)
earthwork280 m unusually tall 0.9 m wall closing 18 m cliff gap at loop neck
32.3490° N · 37.0490° E