Digs above the ground: Middle East aerial archaeology

10:26 22 September 2011

David Kennedy at the University of Western Australia in Perth is an armchair archaeologist. He has just found thousands of ancient stone structures in the Middle East that are reminiscent of the Nazca lines of Peru ? simply by using Google Earth and vintage aerial photographs. New Scientist takes a virtual tour.

Read more: "Google Earth reveals Nazca-like structures in Arabia"

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Grounded kite

Using Google Earth and aerial photographs taken in the 1920s, Kennedy uncovered over 2000 "kites" throughout the Arabian peninsula.

These stony structures, each with a number of graceful "tails", were used as animal traps. Gazelle and oryx were funnelled between the tails towards the kite's "head". Kennedy says that once the head was packed with animals, the tail was blocked and the hunters killed the game.

Found in Jordan, the head of this structure ? the Safawi kite ? is around 200 metres across, and its tails are 600, 900 and 1300 metres long.

(Image: Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East)

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/18bf24a4/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cgallery0Cmiddle0Eeast0Eaerial0Earchaeology0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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