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Rujm el-Hiri (Golan Heights) - Ancient

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Ancient Archaeoastronomy in the Golan Heights

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Rujm el Hiri in the Golan Heights. Shii

by K. Kris Hirst
Updated April 08, 2016

SixteenkilometerseastoftheSeaofGalileeinthewesternpartofthehistoricBashanplain
oftheGolanHeights(acontestedareaclaimedbybothSyriaandIsrael)aretheruinsofa
mostunusualstructure,whichscholarsbelievewasbuiltatleastinpartfor
archaeoastronomicalpurposes.Locatedat515metersabovesealevel,RujmelHiriconsists
ofacentralcairnwithasetofconcentricringsencirclingit.

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BuiltduringthelateChalcolithicorEarlyBronzeAgeabout5000yearsago,RujmelHiri
(alsocalledRogemHiriorGilgalRephaim)ismadeofanestimated40,000tonsofuncut
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blackvolcanicbasaltfieldstonespiledandwedgedintobetweenfiveandnineconcentric
rings(dependingonhowyoucountthem),withheightsreachingto1to2.5meters(38feet)
high.

NINE RINGS AT RUJM EL-HIRI

Theoutermost,largestring(Wall1)measures145meters(475feet)eastwestand155m
(500ft)northsouth.Thewallmeasuresconsistentlybetween3.23.3m(10.510.8ft)thick,
andinplacesstandsupto2m(6ft)inheight.Twoopeningsintotheringarecurrently
blockedbyfallenboulders:thenortheasternmeasuressome29m(95ft)widethe
southeasternopeningmeasures26m(85ft).

NotalloftheinternalringsarecompletesomeofthemaremoreovalthanWall1,andin
particularly,Wall3hasapronouncedbulgetothesouth.

Someoftheringsareconnectedbyaseriesof36spokelikewalls,whichmakeupchambers,
andseemtoberandomlyspaced.Atthecenteroftheinnermostringisacairnprotectinga
burialthecairnandburialcomeaftertheinitialconstructionoftheringsbyperhapsaslong
as1500years.Thecairnisanirregularstoneheapmeasuringsome2025m(6580ft)in
diameterand4.55m(1516ft)inheight.

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DATING THE SITE

VeryfewartifactshavebeenrecoveredfromRujmelHiri,andnosuitableorganicmaterials
havebeenrecoveredforradiocarbondating.Basedonwhatlittleartifactswererecovered,
theearliestconstructionsweretheringsduringtheEarlyBronzeAge,ofthe3rdmillennium
BCthecairnwasbuiltduringthelateBronzeAgeofthelate2ndmillennium.

Thehugestructure(andaseriesofdolmensnearby)maybetheoriginofthemythsofthe
ancientraceofgiants,mentionedintheOldTestamentoftheJudeoChristianbibleasledby
Og,KingoftheBashan.ArchaeologistsYonathanMizrachiandAnthonyAveni,studyingthe
structuresincethelate1980s,haveanotherpossibleinterpretation:acelestialobservatory.

SUMMER SOLSTICE AT RUJM EL HIRI

RecentworkbyAveniandMizrachihasnotedthattheentrancewaytothecenteropenson
sunriseofthesummersolstice.Othernotchesinthewallsindicatethespringandfall
equinoxes.Excavationsintothewalledchambersdidnotrecoverartifactsindicatingthatthe

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roomswereeverusedeitherforstorageorresidence.Calculationsofwhentheastronomical
alignmentswouldhavematchedstarssupportsthedatingoftheringsathavingbeenbuiltat
about3000BC+/250years.

ThewallsatRujmelHiriseemtohavepointedtostarrisingsfortheperiod,andmayhave
beenpredictorsoftherainyseason,acrucialbitofinformationforthesheepherdersofthe
Bashanplainin3000BC.

SOURCES

ThisglossaryentryisapartoftheAbout.comguidetoAstronomicalObservatories,andthe
DictionaryofArchaeology.

Aveni,AnthonyandYonathanMizrachi1998TheGeometryandAstronomyofRujmelHiri,
aMegalithicSiteintheSouthernLevant.JournalofFieldArchaeology25(4):475496.

PolcaroA,andPolcaroVF.2009.Manandsky:problemsandmethodsof
Archaeoastronomy.ArcheologiaeCalcolatori20:223245.

NeumannF,SchlzelC,LittT,HenseA,andSteinM.2007.Holocenevegetationand
climatehistoryofthenorthernGolanheights(NearEast).VegetationHistoryand
Archaeobotany16(4):329346.

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