Science baffled by ancient Middle East ruins

12 November 2015 - 02:16 By Reuters

Driving past it, one of the most mysterious structures in the Middle East is easy to miss. The prehistoric stone monument went unnoticed for centuries in a bare expanse of field on the Golan Heights. After Israel captured the heights from Syria in the 1967 war, archaeologists studying pictures shot for an aerial survey spotted a pattern of stone circles not visible from the ground. Excavations revealed that what they had found was one of the oldest and biggest structures in the region.Known as Rujm el-Hiri in Arabic, meaning "cairn of the wild cat", the complex has five concentric circles, the largest more than 152m wide, and a massive burial chamber in the middle. Its Hebrew name, Gilgal Refaim, or "wheel of giants", refers to an ancient race of giants mentioned in the Bible.It is up to 5000 years old, by most estimates, making it a contemporary of England's Stonehenge. The Golan structure is made of piles of thousands of basalt rocks that together weigh more than 40000t."It's an enigmatic site. We have bits of information but not the whole picture," said Uri Berger, an expert on megalithic tombs at the Israel Antiquities Authority."Scientists are amazed by the site and think up their own theories."No one knows who built it, he said. Some think it might have been a nomadic civilisation that settled in the area, but it would have required a tremendous support network that itinerants were unlikely to have.There could be an astrological significance. On the shortest and longest days of the year - the June and December solstices - the sunrise lines up with openings in the rocks, Berger said.From the ground, the complex looks like a labyrinth of crumbling stone walls overgrown with weeds. From the top of the 5m-high burial mound it is possible to see a circular pattern. But only from the air does the impressive, huge bull's-eye emerge.Shards of pottery and flint tools have been found in excavations and will help to date the site.Scholars generally agree that construction started as early as 3500BC and parts might have been added over the next 2000 years. ..

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