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An ancient and enigmatic stone circle in the Middle East may not be a prehistorical astronomical observatory after all , according to a newfangled study of satellite images . But some of the criticisms may be misguided , an expert on ancient astronomy recount Live Science .
Archaeologists think the oldest constituent of Rujm el - Hiri ( which means " Heap of Stones of the Wildcat " in Arabic ) were ramp up more than 6,000 year ago . The site is in the dispute Golan Heights neighborhood , which is claim by both Israel and Syria .
Archaeologists think the oldest parts of the Rujm el-Hiri stone circle in the Golan Heights were built more than 6,000 years ago.
Some earlier investigations purpose that breach in the stone circle align with astronomic event , such as the summer andwinter solstice — the shortest and longest nights , respectively — and the monument has been likened to England’sStonehenge .
But the raw study ’s geomagnetic analysis and architectonic Reconstruction Period designate that the intact landscape around Rujm el - Hiri and the nearby Sea of Galilee has strike over fourth dimension , according to the subject area put out Nov. 14 in the journalRemote Sensing .
" The Rujm el - Hiri ’s location shifted from its original locating for 10 of meter for the thousands of years of the physical object ’s existence , " the authors indite — a finding that raises question about whether it process as an ancient astronomical observation tower .
New research suggests the entire landscape containing the ancient stone circle has rotated and moved geologically since Rujm el-Hiri was built.
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But astronomerE.C. Krupp , director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles , told Live Science that the dislocation was not quantified in the new research , so it could not determine whether Rujm el - Hiri once depict astronomic alinement .
The ancient stones of Rujm el-Hiri
Study lead authorOlga Khabarova , a space physicist at Tel Aviv University in Israel , told Live Science that the research worker had used orbiter photograph to study Rujm el - Hiri and the surrounding landscape — an especially useful method in remote realm or in politically tender territories like the Golan Heights .
The research unveil that Rujm el - Hiri was just one of thousands of prehistorical structures that had been built in the region , let in circular complex body part ; enclosures with stone walls that seem to have been used for agriculture ; and " tumuli , " cumulus that may have been used for burial , dwellings or repositing .
The ancient stone rope is in the Golan Heights , which was occupied by Israel during the Six - Day War in 1967 , but the territory is still take by Syria . It consists of several concentrical circle , the declamatory of which is about 500 fundament ( 150 meters ) across , that are made from jalopy of basalt stones that still fend up to 8 ft ( 2.5 m ) high .
(Image credit: Khabarova et al., 2024, Remote Sensing;CC BY 4.0)
The monument is called Gilgal Refaim in Hebrew ( think of " Wheel of Giants " ) and is opened to the public , but it can be reached only on dirt road and few people now guess there , Khabarova said . Even when the stone rotary was built , the region must have been a rugged upland beside the more favorable shoring of the Sea of Galilee , she said .
The late study used satellite photographs of the ancient stone set at Rujm el - Hiri to reveal young details about its construction .
The study present Rujm el - Hiri lies amid of stacks of prehistoric complex body part , and indicate the entire landscape has go around and moved geologically since the I. F. Stone circle was progress .
(Image credit: Khabarova et al., 2024, Remote Sensing;CC BY 4.0)
Disputed alignments
Khabarova say the new analytic thinking indicated geological processes had rotated the nearby landscape counterclockwise after Rujm el - Hiri was make , which mean it was unlikely that any valid galactic alinement could be inferred from its current position .
The analysis of Rujm el - Hiri ’s localization is only a short plane section of the new newspaper , but the astronomic angle has been seize upon by several media electric outlet , including theTimes of Israel .
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Krupp , an expert on ancient astronomy and the source of " replication of the Ancient Skies : The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations " ( Dover , 2003 ) , noted that the1998 paperthat propose astronomical alignments at Rujm el - Hiri had not claimed it was a prehistoric observatory . rather , that paper argued only that Rujm el - Hiri may have been " a ritual space that incorporated certain celestial alignment to fulfil a symbolic function , " he said in an e-mail .
In increase , the late inquiry paper did not quantify how much the landscape had rotated and so how far it had moved from its original position , so it was not potential to set if any propose astronomical coalition were incorrect , Krupp said .
