A spate of recent satellite images and drone surveys carried out in the ʿUwayriḍ desert of Saudi Arabia have helped scientists prove a theory they have long pursued but been unable to prove.
Researchers have been wondering about the original purpose of thousands of huge stone structures, visible from the sky and spanning vast areas across the Arabian peninsula, from Jordan to Saudi Arabia to Syria, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Iraq.
Twitter screenshot of ancient desert "kites".
© Photo : Twitter
Hailing back to a bygone era when the deserts were populated by ancient civilizations, the V-shaped stone patterns have been dubbed by archaeologists as “desert kites”. After dozens of previously unknown such structures were found in ʿUwayriḍ, the common conclusion was that they used to serve as mass hunting traps used by ancient nomadic peoples.
There were certain variations in the design of these stone constructions, with some narrowing down towards a pit, and others to a cliff or an enclosure.
"The hunting of animals, most commonly gazelle and other herbivorous ungulates, possibly ibex, wild equids, and ostriches, is now accepted as the most common use of these structures," authors of a new study concluded.
The research made use of a combination of data gathered through satellite remote sensing and aerial survey as part of the Aerial Archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Al Ula Project (AAKSAU). The satellite imagery of AlUla County was made freely available.
Twitter screenshot of ancient desert "kites" in Jordan.
© Photo : Twitter