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Israel’s Stonehenge Is Not an Astronomical Observatory, Researchers Say | Ancient Origins
Israel's Stonehenge is not an astronomical observatory, researchers say. Archaeologists and historians have long pondered the true meaning and purpose of the ancient megalithic stone circles built in the early Bronze Age, 3000 to 2700 BC, at the Rum el-Hiri site in the Golan Heights of Israel. Given their uncanny resemblance to other megalithic stone circles found around the world, including Stonehenge, it was natural to conclude, as many experts have, that the concentric circles constructed at Rum el-Hiri reflected an interest in sacred astronomy, as such building projects did elsewhere. But according to new research, this assumption is an error. While other stone monuments do have a connection to the structure and movements of the night sky, it seems that Rum el-Hiri doesn't match that familiar pattern. Remote sensing debunks the observatory theory. In a new article appearing in the Journal Remote Sensing, a team of experts from Tel Aviv University and Bengirian University make their case that Rum el-Hiri, the so-called Stonehenge of Israel, has been misidentified as an ancient observatory. Evidence of ancient megalithic culture in Massachusetts revealed for the first time, the legend of Atlantis, between ancient ruins and a philosopher's tale. The previous belief was that the walls and entrances to the set of concentric stone circles installed in the Golan Heights five thousand years ago were specifically aligned to match the positions and/or movements of certain objects in the night sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, etc. However, the researchers involved in this new remote sensing study are convinced that their work has disproved this theory. Remote sensing techniques allow researchers to obtain detailed information about the positioning and contours of objects located at ground level. But sensing studies harvest data from satellite images, aerial photographs, and the ground penetrating scanning system known as LiDAR to make more accurate and precise measurements than would be possible studying these objects directly. In this case, what they discovered is that the stones of the Rum el-Hiri circles have rotated counterclockwise in the five thousand years since they were first constructed, meaning they were in a different position at the time they were built than they are now. So any correlations between the stone circles and ancient astronomical developments are simply coincidence and not proof of anything, resurrecting the ancient Israelites from the valley of dry bones. Junipani stone circles, India's astronomical megalithic tombs, the research team, which was led by Dr. Olga Cabarova and Professor Lev Epelbaum of the Department of Geophysics at Tel Aviv University and Dr. Michael Birkenfeld of the Department of Archaeology at Bengirian University, analyzed satellite data collected over multiple years to track the minuscule movements of the ground in the Golan Heights region, which remains an ongoing process. Correlating this information with data obtained from geomagnetic analysis and the reconstruction of past tectonic movements, they were able to calculate that the ground in the Rum el-Hiri area of the Golan Heights has been moving at an average rate of eight to fifteen millimeters per year for a long time, carrying the stones on top of it along for the ride. This may not sound like much, but if this calculation is accurate, it means the gigantic stones of Rum el-Hiri have all likely moved at least several meters off their original positions, which obviously represents a significant deviation. The findings show that the entrances and radial walls during that historical period were entirely different, reopening the question of the site's purpose. The researchers wrote, shutting the door on the astronomical observatory hypothesis, finally solving the mystery of Rum el-Hiri. The Arabic name Rum el-Hiri means stone heap of the wildcat, while its Hebrew name, Gilgal refame, means wheel of giants. The four concentric circles and the central rock mound burial chamber, Tumulus, that comprise the monument were constructed from more than 42,000 basalt rocks. At its widest point, the entire structure is 520 feet, 160 meters in diameter. The highest wall reaches a height of 8 feet, 2.4 meters, while the Tumulus in the middle is 15 feet, 4.6 meters tall. It is known that several early Bronze Age settlements were built within walking distance of the megalithic structure. Using remote sensing technology, the researchers were able to survey a broad area around Rum el-Hiri, and they discovered the ruins of ancient buildings, walls, and burial mounds within an 18-mile, 30-kilometer radius of the site. While rejecting the idea that Rum el-Hiri was an astronomical observatory or solar calendar, the researchers do note similarities between this monument and similar structures in the Mediterranean area that were also built during the early Bronze Age. The similarities in structure, such as concentric circles and radial walls, highlight the need for further interdisciplinary research that combines archaeological, geophysical, and paleo-environmental data to understand these monuments, origins, and purposes better. The researchers concluded in their Remote Sensing article, suggesting that the answer to the riddle of Rum el-Hiri won't be found by studying this single monument alone, but by looking more closely at the regional culture at the time it was created. Source. Abraham Graser/CCBISA 4.0. By Nathan fault.