The entrances were discovered in June 1983 by Americans W. Don Davison, Jr. (nickname: D2) and his wife, Cheryl S. Jones. Don, a hydrogeologist, who was employed by the government of Oman's Public Authority for Water Resources (PAWR), which later became the Ministry of Water Resources. The cave was located and mapped as part of the PAWR's Karst Research Program.
Exploration of Majlis Al Jinn began on 23 June 1983, when Don rappelled down the 118m First Drop. Cheryl's Drop was first negotiated on 1 March 1984, by Cheryl Jones. The 158m drop is deepest free rappel into a cave known in Oman and the Persian peninsula. Finally, Don descended the Asterisk on 22 April 1985.[3]
Don and Cheryl surveyed and photographed the cave in April and May, 1985. The map and cross sections they created, as well as photos, were originally published in the special PAWR report and have been reproduced many times since.
Omanis living in the area of the Selma Plateau told Don and Cheryl that they didn't have names for any of the holes on the plateau that served as entrances to the caves. So Cheryl gave the cave its name, referring to the Omani belief that jinn[13] live in caves. Years later locals said they call the cave "Khoshilat Maqandeli" from the refuge for goats near one of the entrances. Nowadays locals refer to this cave as Khoshilat Maqandeli, while internationally it is known as Majlis al Jinn.[4]
Don authored the first published account of the cave's discovery as a special report Majlis Al Jinn Cave, Sultanate of Oman, issued by the PAWR in October, 1985. A second article by Don, Meeting Room of the Spirits, was featured in the September–October, 1990, issue of Aramco World magazine.[5] Majlis al Jinn was included in a story in the April, 2003, issue of National Geographic Magazine.[14]