Archaeologica.org

Ancient 150-km-long wall in Jordan puzzles archaeologists

http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot. ... tC76ebQNQF

For a clue look @ who those people were-pastoralists - those who's lives revolve around herding animals.

Yes, but that would be one big corral, Sam.

Maybe it was an early WPA project?

Minimalist wrote:Yes, but that would be one big corral...

Not a corral but a fence to stop semi domesticated herds from wandering in the 'wrong' direction.

Could be but it seems like that should be the herder's job. That just seems like a tremendous undertaking to keep sheep from shitting on the wrong side of a border.

From a layman's perch I would question the effectiveness of a three foot tall barrier keeping in almost any domestic animal. I would look toward a long standing boundary that was important but would allow animals to cross it as needed. Maybe some type of spiritual designation?

More likely either a territorial designation or maybe something to cause a herd of animals to change their direction of travel while fleeing humans who hunt them... Sort of a crude, one sided chute to direct animals toward hidden hunters???

Lots of clans/tribes put up markers...almost totems, if you would to denote their territory. Building a continuous wall seems like a lot of work.

Springhead wrote:From a layman's perch I would question the effectiveness of a three foot tall barrier keeping in almost any domestic animal.

Sheep in particular were a lot smaller back then.

There's probably a great joke there, Sam, but I'm going to let it slide.