Wadi Faynan 16 — a 12,000-year-old ancient site you probably never heard of
Excavations of the site revealed, to the surprise of archaeologists, a dense cluster of half-buried oval structures that have been dated back to between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Of all the truly ancient sites on Earth, most are familiar with Göbekli Tepe, an ancient site believed to date back about 12,000 years, located in present-day Anatolia (Turkey, the Fertile Crescent).
- Why is Turkey so important with so many extraordinary things like Noah's Ark or Sumerian Ark of Atra-Hasis, from the Epic of Gilgamesh, or the underground worlds of caves, corridors, and caverns carved into rock where tens of thousands survived cataclysms, the oldest human body in...
The archeological site is unprecedented for more reasons than one, but primarily because of its complexity and size. Although Gobekli Tepe was discovered more than three decades ago, we have only managed to excavate only around 5% of the entire complex.
- [And as reported by Bright Insight's Jimmy Corsetti, that will not be continuing so we will not be shown any more than we have already seen of this extraordinary site, by no means the oldest. The pyramids in Mexico, which includes the largest (Cholula), the Americas, Egypt (the most famous), Syria (the largest number and the least known), the staggeringly large ones in Bosnia and Indonesia, China and Antarctica, Mars and elsewhere.]
But this isn’t about Göbekli Tepe. It is about an ancient site also discovered almost three decades ago, dating back to around 12,000 years ago. Unlike Göbekli Tepe’s catchy name, this site is known as WF16 or Wadi Faynan 16.
The 12,000-year-old ancient site you probably never heard about
In 1996, archeologists stumbled across the site when they identified flint tools and large stone mortars on the surface of a knoll.
The site is located in present-day Jordan, not far from a steep climb to the Jordanian Plateau. Its importance resides in the fact that it is home to some of the most ancient development of the Neolithic, featuring a clear separation from hunting and gathering food to the production of food [farming], a sedentary lifestyle, and a community.
Excavations eventually revealed numerous workshops, houses, and public spaces for communal activities such as religious or ceremonial rites.
Dense cluster of semi-subterranean structures
Excavations of the site revealed, to the surprise of archaeologists, a dense cluster of half-buried oval structures which have been dated back to between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. The site is believed to have reached its peak around 11,200 years ago.
The structures were intricately covered with a mud and plant mixture, which helped keep the structures firmly in place. This material was used for the walls that supported flat wooden roofs and other buildings at the site.
The structures at WF16 vary in size, suggesting specific uses for each building. Some were used for domestic activities and others for storage and workshops. But one structure stands out. It is perhaps one of the first amphitheater-like structures ever found. More: Wadi Faynan 16- Ivan Petricevic, curiosmos.com, Feb. 7, 2023; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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