The mysterious concentric stone structure known as Rujm el-Hiri—or Gilgal Refaim—was first identified by modern archaeological surveys in 1967 during extensive aerial mapping of the Golan Heights, a volcanic plateau in the Levant. Although partially visible from ground level, its true scale remained unknown until Israeli archaeologist Dr. Yonathan Aharoni and his team documented it through high-alтιтude reconnaissance. Radiocarbon analysis of ᴀssociated organic remains discovered in nearby sediment layers dates the site to approximately 3000–2700 BCE, placing its construction firmly within the Early Bronze Age. Its placement on an open basalt plain makes it one of the largest prehistoric megalithic installations in the Middle East.
Rujm el-Hiri consists of five mᴀssive concentric rings, built from more than 40,000 tons of uncut basalt fieldstones. The outer ring measures approximately 150 meters in diameter, while the inner rings gradually тιԍнтen toward a central cairn rising nearly 5 meters high. The basalt, abundant in the Golan region, was shaped minimally—suggesting deliberate selection rather than sculptural modification. Despite the roughness of individual stones, the rings maintain an unexpectedly consistent curvature, implying the builders possessed surveying techniques beyond what is commonly attributed to Early Bronze Age pastoral societies.
Excavations conducted between 1988 and 2003 by the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) and later by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem revealed significant construction sophistication. The ring walls were built using dry-stone masonry, with inner voids filled using smaller basalt fragments to stabilize weight distribution. The corridors leading between rings appear aligned with the solsтιтial sunrise, suggesting an intentional astronomical orientation. The central tumulus, composed of interlocking basalt slabs, shows evidence of progressive rebuilding over centuries—likely the result of ritual renovations rather than functional repair. The structure’s scale indicates a coordinated labor force, possibly organized across multiple pastoral clans.
Scholars continue to debate the purpose of Rujm el-Hiri. The absence of domestic artifacts rules out habitation, while the lack of burial remains challenges interpretations of it as a tomb. Current theories suggest a ritual, calendrical, or ceremonial function. Astronomer Dr. Anthony Aveni has noted that certain radial openings align with the June solstice sunrise, allowing the site to function as an agricultural or ritual calendar. Others argue that the structure served as a mortuary complex, where the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ were laid out temporarily before later burial elsewhere. The spiral-like plan may symbolize cosmological beliefs involving cycles of life, death, and celestial movement.
Today, Rujm el-Hiri is recognized as one of the most enigmatic structures of the Early Bronze Age Levant. Its discovery challenged long-held ᴀssumptions about the technological capacity of prehistoric nomadic communities in the Golan Heights. Ongoing surveys by the Rujm el-Hiri Archaeological Project, founded in 2015, use drone-based pH๏τogrammetry and ground-penetrating radar to search for substructures beneath the rings. Although interpretations remain contested, the site has become a crucial reference point for understanding ancient ritual landscapes, early engineering traditions, and the symbolic role of monumental architecture in Bronze Age societies. As new methods of analysis emerge, researchers hope to resolve the long-standing question of why such an immense stone monument was built in this remote expanse of basalt desert nearly five millennia ago.
