Desert kite

Desert kites (Arabic: مصائد صحراوية, romanized: maṣāʾid ṣaḥrāwiyya, lit.

[3] There are a number of different shapes that are referred to as "desert kites",[4] but one common feature of all such structure are the lines forming two walls ("antennae") that converge into an enclosure ("head") with attached cells.

[8] The kites enclose surface areas with a median of 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft), but much larger and much smaller sizes are also known.

[17] Clearing vegetation around the lines or using rocks with a different colour from the background has been documented in volcanic terrain.

[20] Some kites have been overprinted by later archaeological structures,[21] destroyed,[22] eroded or submerged,[23] or built out over time to form more complex shapes.

[24] In some places, structures like cairns, tombs or square walls occur alongside kites.

[25] Kites are known from the Middle East and Central Asia, with examples known mainly from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt and Libya.

[31] Both archaeological studies and ethnographic accounts from the 19th and 20th century indicate that desert kites in the Middle East and North Africa were used as traps for wild game.

[39] The construction of kites would have required coordinated work from multiple people and are thus indicative of social organization, even if the trapping of animals is a comparatively simple hunting technique.

[51] Engraved depictions of the layout of desert kites have been found,[52] some of which are schematic and others are like scaled models.