Study shows ancient Golan stone circle was not an astronomical observatory after all

A new study utilizing advanced remote sensing technology and data analysis has found it is unlikely that Rujm el-Hiri, an ancient stone megalithic structure in the Golan Heights, was used as an observatory as many had surmised, Tel Aviv University said in a press release this week.

By using “geomagnetic analysis and tectonic reconstruction” of land movement in the Golan over time, the team discovered that Rujm el-Hiri has shifted and rotated at an average rate of 8-15 mm per year — meaning it had moved tens of meters since its construction around 3000–2700 BCE.

Rujm el-Hiri is located on a flat plateau in the central Golan Heights, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. The site is open to the public, but accessible only via dirt roads.

“This finding challenges the widely held theory that the structure was used as an astronomical observatory, as the original alignment of the walls and entrances does not correspond to celestial observations, as previously hypothesized,” the university said.

In the study, the researchers noted that “the Rujm el-Hiri site has rotated counterclockwise and shifted from its original location by tens of meters” so speculations that the site was “aligned with celestial bodies of the past are not supported. Therefore, Rujm el-Hiri was unlikely an observatory.”

The study, “Discussion Points of the Remote Sensing Study and Integrated Analysis of the Archaeological Landscape of Rujm el-Hiri,” was published in November in the peer-reviewed journal Remote Sensing.

It was conducted by Dr. Olga Khabarova of the Tel Aviv University Geosciences Department, Dr. Michal Birkenfeld of Ben-Gurion University’s Department of Archaeology, and Dr. Lev Eppelbaum of the Geophysics Department at Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University.

Rujm el-Hiri, sometimes called “Stonehenge of the East” or the “Wheel of Ghosts,” is a series of concentric stone circles encircling a central burial mound with a small chamber. Constructed of up to 40,000 tons of rock, the site’s purpose is unknown, but some researchers have speculated that it was used for religious rituals related to the solstices.

By “aligning the directions of the solstices, equinoxes, and other celestial bodies as they appeared between 2500–3500 BCE, coordinated with the symmetry and entrances of Rujm el-Hiri in its current position… 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 said.

The plain around Rujm el-Hiri contains numerous man-made structures dating to the same period, and by utilizing satellite and remote sensing technology, the team was able to provide “the first comprehensive mapping of the archaeological landscape” in the area, the notice said.

The team discovered “unique landscape features,” they said, “including circular structures with 40–90 meter diameters, thick walls, and round enclosures approximately 20 meters in diameter, which appeared to serve agricultural or herding purposes. Dozens of burial mounds (tumuli) were documented in the area, some of which were likely used as storage facilities, shelters, or dwellings, in addition to their traditional role as burial sites.”

In their conclusion, the researchers noted that their findings invite “comparative studies with other megalithic structures and tumuli worldwide” and “highlight the need for further interdisciplinary research that combines archaeological, geophysical, and paleoenvironmental data to understand these monuments’ origins and purposes better.”

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