Israeli researchers have identified at least 28 additional large stone circles around the site known as "Israel's Stonehenge," and suggest that it may be part of a broader cultural, agricultural, and social landscape from the proto-historic period.
For decades, Rujum al-Hiri in the Golan Heights has been considered one of the most unusual and mysterious archaeological sites in the southern Levant. Often nicknamed “Israel’s Stonehenge,” the site was seen as a unique structure: a central stone mound, about five meters high and twenty meters in diameter, surrounded by four concentric basalt stone rings, with a total diameter exceeding 150 meters. However, a new study, published on March 18, 2026 in the journal PLOS One, now offers a completely different picture: Rujum al-Hiri is not an isolated anomaly in the landscape, but the most impressive site within a much wider regional complex of large stone circles.
The study, led by Dr. Michal Birkenfeld from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, was based on a combination of high-resolution satellite imagery, geophysical models, and comparative spatial analysis. The researchers used an image database collected over two decades, between 2004 and 2024, from sources such as Google Earth Pro, CNES/Airbus, and the Pleiades satellite constellation, and performed the analysis using ArcGIS Pro and the ArcPy tool. As part of the work, 28 large circular structures were located within a radius of about 25 kilometers from Rujum al-Hiri, most of which had not previously been documented in organized archaeological surveys.
Distinctive architectural pattern
The article suggests that this is not a random collection of stone wheels, but a distinct architectural pattern. Most of the structures found were built of local basalt stones, usually 50 to 250 meters in diameter, with thick outer walls about two to three meters wide and sometimes also internal partitions, radial walls or additional internal rings. Many of them were only partially preserved, and therefore difficult to identify from the ground. It is precisely the multi-seasonal view from the air, in different lighting conditions and at different angles of the sun, that can reveal their shape. The researchers note that some of the sites are only clearly visible in dry season photographs or in low light, a fact that explains why they have so far eluded documentation. (PLOS)
One of the most important findings concerns the location of the circles in the landscape. Most are located on gentle slopes or small plateaus, near seasonal water channels, and usually as part of wider systems of field walls, agricultural enclosures, and sometimes dolmen fields. According to the researchers, this context suggests that the structures were not used solely as isolated ceremonial sites, but were integrated into the life patterns of ancient pastoral-agricultural communities. They may have served as seasonal gathering points, territory markers, or sites with both ritual and social functions. In other words, rather than seeing Rojum al-Hiri as a one-time mystery, the study suggests understanding it as part of a regional system of organizing space, resources, and movement in the landscape.
Probably not an observatory
The findings also have implications for one of the most famous hypotheses about the site: the idea that Rujum al-Hiri served as an ancient astronomical observatory. The article mentions that for years, special importance was attributed to the northeastern entrance of the site, which was considered by some scholars to be aligned with the sunrise on the summer solstice. However, more recent studies, on which the authors of the new article also rely, show that the site and the surrounding rocks have undergone cumulative tectonic rotation over thousands of years. Therefore, the directions measured today are not necessarily the original directions in which the walls and openings were built. If we add to this the fact that it is now clear that the site is not unique, the interpretation that sees it as a unique astronomical observatory is further weakened.
The study was written by Dr. Michal Birkenfeld, Dr. Olga Khabarova from the University of Luxembourg, Prof. Lev Appelbaum from Tel Aviv University and the Azerbaijan Petroleum and Industrial University, and Uri Berger from Ben-Gurion University and the Israel Antiquities Authority. Beyond its importance for understanding Rujum al-Hiri itself, the study demonstrates how remote sensing technologies are changing archaeology today: no longer relying exclusively on what can be seen in a ground survey, but a combination of satellites, image processing, time layers, and environmental analysis that make it possible to reveal entire regional patterns. In the case of the Golan Heights, this means that it is possible that beneath our eyes, or rather above them, an even wider network of ancient monuments is still hidden, waiting to be discovered.
for the article inPLOS
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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Look at a picture of this sensational discovery. In my opinion, if many more wheels were found, they were simply cattle barns.
Interesting thank you