Stone slab incised with a repeated array of concentric irregular squares.

A line of three slabs bearing this decoration were found in a wall inside Structure 2 at Wadi al-Hammeh 27. They were supported by a backing of rubble, with their decorated sides facing south-east. The slabs had been exposed to fire, which caused the limestone to crack and fracture.

The three slabs constitute a sculpted piece of around 1.55m length. The central slab is exhibited here, while the two end slabs are at the Dar as-Saraya Museum in Irbid and the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Other than being the earliest known large-scale sculpted piece in the Middle East, this is one of the best examples of non-figurative Natufian art.

Site: Wadi al-Hammeh 27 in the northern Jordan Valley.

Period: Natufian around 12,000 BC.