Lumina VR
9 Oct 2022
A hunting site dating back to 8000 BCE was found in the Arabian desert. Kites are such large structures that it is difficult to see them from the ground. Archeologists at Oxford utilised open-source data such as Google Earth mapping in order to discover this site.
These kites have been previously recorded in eastern Jordan and southern Syria, though this newly found information suggests that the structures are present almost 400km (250 miles) further east in northern Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq.
What is significant about kites?
Evidence reveals that there were substantial resources required to build and construct and upkeep the kites. The procedure of hunting and returning the remains to the communities was likewise resource-intensive, and for that reason, kites were more than simply hunting grounds. The scale and form of the kites indicate expressions of identity and territoriality. In Jordan, kites have appeared in rock art. This shows that kites were important symbols of the era.
At the new sites, researchers discovered the stone walls ran in straight lines for over 4km (2.5 miles), even when the topography fluctuated. This is a mark of the amazing capability of the community considering the time these kites were constructed. Not only are kites significantly bigger than any other buildings constructed throughout those times, but the absence of permanent structures around seems to indicate that the builders lived in temporary settlements during construction, of which no trace is left of their existence.