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Post by UKarchaeology on Nov 11, 2015 20:55:02 GMT
 Reuters/Reuters - A general aerial view shows a prehistoric stone monument, known as Rujm el-Hiri in Arabic, meaning "stone heap of the wild cat", as a paraglider surfs above it in this July 24, 2014 picture. REUTERS/Chen Katz/Files GOLAN HEIGHTS (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 territory from Syria in a 1967 war, archaeologists studying an aerial survey spotted a pattern of stone circles not visible from the ground. Subsequent excavations revealed it was one of the oldest and largest structures in the region. Known as Rujm el-Hiri in Arabic, meaning the "stone heap of the wild cat", the complex has five concentric circles, the largest more than 500 feet (152 m) 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 5,000 years old, according to most estimates, making it a contemporary of England's Stonehenge. Unlike the more famous monument built with about 100 huge stones topped by lintels, the Golan structure is made of piles of thousands of smaller basalt rocks that together weigh over 40,000 tons. "It's an enigmatic site. We have bits of information, but not the whole picture," said Uri Berger, an expert on megalithic tombs with the Israel Antiquities Authority. "Scientists come and are amazed by the site and think up their own theories." Full story: uk.news.yahoo.com/prehistoric-stonehenge-monument-golan-heights-fuels-mystery-151652041.html#bZKPPss |
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Post by UKarchaeology on Nov 27, 2015 14:26:50 GMT
Another article on the matter;  The Gilgal Refa’im – Rujm el-Hiri structure. Is this Israel’s own version of Stonehenge? (Photo: אסף.צ/ Wiki Commons)Is Stonehenge-Like Structure in Israel Biblical Jacob’s Monument?So now come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.’ Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Jacob said to his kinsmen, ‘Gather stones.’ So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Now Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.” (Genesis 31:44-45)After the Six-Day War in 1967, archaeologists studying an aerial map of Israel discovered a strange formation of five concentric rings of loose rock. The formation is not recognizable from the ground, appearing as random piles of rocks, but from above it is quite impressive, with an outer ring more than 152 meters (nearly 500 feet) wide. It is called Rujm el-Hiri in Arabic, meaning the “stone heap of the wild cat”, and in Hebrew as Gilgal Refaim, or Wheel of the Giants. At its center is a mound of loose stones 20 meters (over 65 feet) in diameter and five meters (over 16 feet) tall, covering a six-meter-long (almost 20 feet) burial chamber. The entire formation is composed of over 40,000 tons of loose basalt rocks. Estimates as to when it was built vary widely. Scholars generally place the beginning of the construction as early as 3500 BCE. In many ways, it resembles the formation of Stonehenge in England, which may have been built at the same time. Like Stonehenge, the purpose of Gilgal Refaim is still a mystery and the focus of scholarly debate. There are opinions that it was used as a part of the burial process. Dr. Rami Arav, long-time co-director of the Bethsaida excavations northeast of the coast of the Sea of Galilee and Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Nebraska, theorized that bodies were left there, exposed to the elements and vultures, until the flesh was gone The bones would then be placed in small boxes, called ossuaries, in another permanent location. This was known to be the ancient Zoroastrian practice. No human remains were found within the tomb or anywhere on the site. In fact, very few organic artifacts were found, making dating the site difficult. Full story: www.breakingisraelnews.com/54551/stonehenge-like-structure-leaves-archaeologists-israel-baffled-jerusalem/#AbVRPLZDwgX7JRyl.99 |
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