Jordan announces discovering 9,000-year-old archeological site

Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2022 shows carved standing stones discovered at an archeological site during a press conference in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

AMMAN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Tuesday a discovery of an archeological site for religious rituals that has a history of roughly 9,000 years in the southeastern part of the country.

Archeologists found a shrine at the site with a unique ritual installation in the Neolithic time, the ministry said in a statement.

The installations, called "desert kites," were used as mass traps for hunting gazelles. They were widespread across the Middle Eastern and Southwest Asian arid landscapes, the ministry said, adding it believed the installation at the site was used for religious purposes.

"This discovery is unprecedented, as it constitutes a unique testimony of a complex ritual arrangement, dating back to the Neolithic period," the statement said.

The ministry stressed the importance of the discovery, saying it highlighted Jordan as a "cradle of civilizations which continues to amaze the world with new archaeological discoveries." 

Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2022 shows carved standing stones discovered at an archeological site during a press conference in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2022 shows a carved standing stone discovered at an archeological site during a press conference in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2022 shows a carved standing stone discovered at an archeological site during a press conference in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2022 shows a carved standing stone discovered at an archeological site during a press conference in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2022 shows a carved standing stone discovered at an archeological site during a press conference in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)