7 June 2023 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.

Banner
Related Post

Archaeologists have found an intriguing Iron Age “shrine” in the Yorkshire Wolds

19 September 2021

19 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered an interesting ancient Iron Age “shrine” in the Yorkshire Wolds, which was marked out by meticulously placed...

Gold coin hoard discovered in a cup beneath a North Yorkshire kitchen floor is being auctioned off

7 September 2022

7 September 2022

A couple in North Yorkshire found an early 18th-century gold coin hoard buried under the floorboards of their kitchen. The...

1,500-year-old secret underground passage uncovered in Istanbul

15 May 2023

15 May 2023

During the ongoing excavations in the ruins of Saint Polyeuktos Church in Istanbul’s Saraçhane neighborhood, which was destroyed during the...

Archaeologists are deciphering Roman history along Dere Street, one of the oldest roadways in Britain

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

Final archaeological finds uncovered as part of a major road improvement in the north of England have shed new insight...

Roman Bath Complex Found under Spain’s Caños de Meca beach

22 May 2021

22 May 2021

A well-preserved ancient Roman bath complex emerged from the sand of a beach in the Andalusian region of southwestern Spain....

Egypt opens King Djoser’s 4,500-year-old tomb after a 15-year restoration

15 September 2021

15 September 2021

Egypt on Tuesday showcased an ancient tomb structure belonging to the cemetery complex of King Djoser, a pharaoh who lived more than 4,500...

A center on the Anatolian Mesopotamian trade route; Tavsanli Mound

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Excavations at Tavşanlı mound, which is known to be the first settlement in Western Anatolia during the Bronze Age, continue....

The first Dutch Neanderthal’s ‘Krijn’ face was reconstructed

7 September 2021

7 September 2021

World-renowned “paleo-artists” Kennis brothers have reconstructed the face of the first Neanderthal in the Netherlands. After more than 50,000 years,...

Places to Visit in Oman

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

There are many places to visit in Oman. In this article, we wanted to talk about a wonderful country that...

Dog Kajtuś uncovers Poland’s biggest treasure of the past 100 years

21 April 2022

21 April 2022

A dog named Kajtuś discovered the biggest treasure found in Poland in the last 100 years. The treasure was found...

Naked Venus statue discovered in a Roman garbage dump in France

29 March 2023

29 March 2023

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventative Archaeological Research (Inrap) has been uncovered a trove of artifacts, including two...

Ancient tomb with prayer-related murals found in China’s Shanxi

25 December 2021

25 December 2021

Archaeologists in north China’s Shanxi Province have found an ancient tomb dating back to the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) with murals...

‘Australia’s silk road’: the quarries of Mithaka Country dating back 2100 years

4 April 2022

4 April 2022

In Queensland’s remote Channel Country of red dirt and gibber rock, traditional owners and archaeologists have unearthed what researchers have...

Scientists recreate Stone Age cave lighting

17 June 2021

17 June 2021

For early hunter-gatherer societies that were lucky enough to live near caves, these natural underground homes provided ideal protection from...

A 2,000-Year-Old Shoe Discovered in a German Bog

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

Archaeologists discovered a leather shoe that had been lost in a bog for 2,000 years and believe it may have...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *