Back رجم الهري Arabic Колелото на душите Bulgarian Rujm al Hirrī CEB Rogem Hiri Czech Rujm el-Hiri Danish Rujm el-Hiri German Rujm el-Hiri Spanish گیلگال رفعیم Persian Rujm el-Hiri French גלגל רפאים HE
 Rujm el-Hiri – Gilgal Refaim | |
  Shown within the Golan Heights | |
| Alternative name | Rogem Hiri, Galgal Refaim |
|---|---|
| Location | Golan Heights |
| Coordinates | 32°54′31″N 35°48′03″E / 32.908705°N 35.800705°E |
Rujm el-Hiri (Arabic: رجم الهري, romanized: Rujm al-Hīrī; Hebrew: גִּלְגַּל רְפָאִים, romanized: Gilgal Refaʾim ) is an ancient megalith consisting of concentric circles of stone with a tumulus at center.[1] It is located in the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights some 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) east of the coast of the Sea of Galilee, in the middle of a large plateau covered with hundreds of dolmens.[1][2]
Made up of more than 42,000 basalt rocks arranged in concentric circles, Rujm al-Hiri has a mound 15 feet (4.6 m) tall at its center.[2] Some circles are complete, others incomplete. The outermost wall is 520 feet (160 m) in diameter and 8 feet (2.4 m) high. The establishment of the site, and other nearby ancient settlements, is dated by archaeologists to the Early Bronze Age II period (3000–2700 BCE).[1]
Since excavations have yielded very few material remains, Israeli archeologists theorize that the site was not a defensive position or a residential quarter but most likely a ritual center featuring ritual activity to placate the gods,[3] or possibly linked to the cult of the dead.[4] However, there is no consensus regarding its function, as no similar structure has been found in the Near East.[5]
- ^ a b c Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon (July 2005). Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 207, 443, 518. ISBN 978-0-8264-8571-7. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ a b Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (28 February 2008). The Holy Land: An Oxford archaeological guide from earliest times to 1700. Oxford University Press. p. 531. ISBN 978-0-19-164766-6. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ The Utah Monolith Has an Ancient History, Haaretz
- ^ Friedman, Matti (3 November 2011). "Grisly theory for Holy Land mystery". Associated Press Online. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017.
- ^ "Rogem Hiri: A megalithic monument in the Golan, Mattanyah Zohar" (Press release). Hebrew University of Jerusalem. JSTOR 27926134.