The Neolithic site of 'Ain Ghazal was found in the outskirts of Amman. At its height, around 7000 BC, it had an area of  and was inhabited by ca. 3000 people (four to five times the population of contemporary Jericho). At that time the site was a typical aceramic Neolithic village. Its houses were rectangular mud-bricked buildings that included a main square living room, whose walls were made up of lime plaster. The site was discovered in 1974 as construction workers were working on a road crossing the area. By 1982, when the excavations started, around  of road ran through the site. Despite the damage brought by urban expansion, the remains of 'Ain Ghazal provided a wealth of information.