28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

7,000-year-old Ritual Complex Found In Jordan Desert

The team of French and Jordanian archaeologists has discovered a 7,000-year-old ritualistic complex near what is thought to be the earliest known large human-built structure worldwide deep in the Jordanian desert.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Nayef Al Fayez on Tuesday announced the discovery of a “unique ritual installation” dedicated to mass hunting of gazelles during the Neolithic period using gigantic traps called “desert kites” in the south-eastern Badia by a joint Jordanian-French archaeological team in Al Jafr’s Khashabiyah Mountains.

Archeologists also found over 250 artifacts at the site, including exquisite animal figurines which they believe were used in rituals to invoke supernatural forces for successful hunts.

The objects, which include two stone statues with carvings of human faces, are among some of the oldest artistic pieces ever found in the Middle East.

The archeological team said during a press briefing at the Department of Antiquities that the site comprises eight kites that span 20 kilometers from north to south and are linked to the “Ghassanid Occupation,” as they employed these stone traps to hunt deer and catch animals in semi-circular chambers.

Two stones shaped in human forms named Abu Ghassan and Ghassan are displayed during a press conference at the Department of Antiquities in Amman on Tuesday (Photo by Amjad Ghsoun)

Although such structures, known as “desert kites” can also be found elsewhere in the arid landscapes of the Middle East and southwest Asia, these are believed to be the oldest, best-preserved, and the largest, the experts said.

According to the archeology team, the facility also contains a “ritual installation”, which has two standing steles (Abu Ghassan and Ghassan), in addition to an altar, as well as various artifacts, 149 marine fossils, animal dolls, and exceptional flint tools.

“Collective hunting was central to the ritual practices of the Ghassanid,” the archeologists said, noting that the significance of the facility lies in the fact it was dedicated for worship.

Fayez, during the press conference, highlighted Jordan as a “cradle of civilisations which continues to amaze the world with new archaeological discoveries, not only at a local scale but also at an international level”.

The Neolithic-era ritual site was discovered inside a larger campsite last October by a joint French-Jordanian team called the South Eastern Badia Archaeological Project.

The nearby desert kites in Jibal al-Khashabiyeh are “the earliest large-scale human built structures worldwide known to date,” said a statement by the SEBA Project.

The “desert kites”are: Constituted of two or more long walls converging towards an enclosure, these mega structures can reach over several kilometers in length, and they are sometimes organized in chains of contiguous and uninterrupted structures, maximizing the potential for wild game capture, the statement said.

Related Articles

Archaeologists discover secondary gate of old Bazira city in Pakistan

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

Archaeologists claimed to have discovered the secondary gate of the city of Bazira during new excavations at Barikot in Pakistan’s...

A still life fresco discovered in new excavations of Pompeii Regio IX

28 June 2023

28 June 2023

Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a gorgeous still-life fresco depicting a platter covered in food and...

The world’s oldest wine discovered in liquid form was found in a Roman tomb in Spain

18 June 2024

18 June 2024

Archaeologists discovered an urn with a reddish liquid in a family mausoleum dating to the 1st century AD in the...

Archaeologists Uncover 4,800-Year-Old Bronze Age Tombs in Başur Höyük, Türkiye, Where Teenage Girls Were Ritually Sacrificed

30 March 2025

30 March 2025

As the first civilizations began to emerge in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, significant transformations in social structure, economy, and culture took...

4,400-Year-Old Jade Cylinder Seal Found in Western Türkiye

6 December 2024

6 December 2024

A cylindrical seal made of jade stone dating back to 4,400 years ago was found in Kütahya Seyitömer Höyük (Seyitömer...

Archaeologists Found 1,600-year-old Burials of Noble Women and Gold Jewelry in the Mountains of Crimea

4 December 2024

4 December 2024

Archaeologists found burials of noble women filled with gold and silver jewelry in the Crimean mountains in the Bakhchisaray region...

16 New Ancient Rock Art Sites Discovered In Jalapão, Brazil

13 March 2024

13 March 2024

Archaeologists at Brazil’s National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) discovered 16 new archaeological sites while surveying a large...

Magnificent Discovery: A Major Tomb Filled with Gold and Ceramic Artifacts was Discovered in Panama

3 March 2024

3 March 2024

In an archaeological find in the El Caño Archaeological Park, located in the district of Natá, province of Coclé, in...

Grain Barns dating back 6,000 years unearthed in China

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

Chinese archaeologists have revealed a cluster of 16 ancient granaries that traced back to the mid-late period of the Yangshao...

Mysterious Handprints Found in the Ancient Mayan Cave

1 May 2021

1 May 2021

In Mexico, home to ancient civilizations such as the Maya, Aztec, and Inca, archaeologist Sergio Grosjean found dozens of mysterious...

2,200-year-old Greek sling bullet may have been used against Jews

9 December 2022

9 December 2022

A 2,200-year-old lead sling bullet was discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the central Israeli city of Yavne,...

2,500-Year-Old Burial Site in Negev Highlands Reveals Ancient Trade Routes and Evidence of Human Trafficking

5 February 2025

5 February 2025

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday the discovery of a 2,500-year-old burial site in the Negev Highlands. This significant...

1600-Year-Old Rare Roman Glass Diatreta with Gladiator Scene Unearthed in Doclea, Montenegro

13 June 2025

13 June 2025

An extraordinary archaeological discovery has been made in the ancient Roman city of Doclea, located near Podgorica, Montenegro. During recent...

The 11-meter giant statue of the island of Naxos “Dionysus of Apollonas”

22 March 2023

22 March 2023

One of the two ancient marble quarries, thought to have begun the sculpture, the greatest art of antiquity, is located...

3,000-year-old weavings discovered in Alaska’s Alutiiq settlement

3 September 2023

3 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old during excavations at an ancestral sod...