Works of the Old Men | Archaeological Hub & Map Aggregator

About This Project

What are the "Works of the Old Men"?

The "Works of the Old Men" (Arabic: أعمال الأولين) is the name given by Bedouin tribes to the vast arrays of ancient stone structures found across the Arabian Peninsula—from Syria and Jordan in the north, through Saudi Arabia, to Yemen and Oman in the south, extending across the Red Sea into Djibouti and Ethiopia.

First brought to scholarly attention by RAF pilots in the 1920s, these structures include:

Desert Kites — Massive hunting traps with long driving walls
Wheels — Circular stone arrangements with spokes, likely funerary
Pendants — Strings of burial cairns with tail structures
Mustatils / Gates — Monumental rectangular structures (20–600m long)
Meandering Walls — Long, sinuous stone walls
Cairns & Tombs — Burial structures of various forms

Data Sources

GlobalKites Project (CNRS/Université Lyon 2) — 6,721+ desert kites [Zenodo]
EAMENA (Oxford/Leicester/Durham) — Endangered archaeology across MENA [Zenodo]
Wasfy Mustatils Complex — Mustatil & pendant structures, Central Arabia [Zenodo]
Western Nafud Survey — NW Saudi Arabia & SE Jordan [Zenodo]

Purpose

This hub aggregates dispersed datasets onto one unified map for researchers, heritage professionals, and enthusiasts. Use the Layers panel to toggle datasets, and Tools to upload data, mark structures, or export.

License & Attribution

Open source (MIT License). Data layers retain original licenses (CC BY 4.0 for GlobalKites).

Basemaps: Esri World Imagery · Built with Leaflet

📂 View Source on GitHub

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Tools

Upload a GeoJSON file to add it as a new layer on the map. It will appear in the Layers panel under "Datasets".

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Click Start Adding, then click anywhere on the map to place a marker. The panel will stay open — fill in the details and save.

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