A mysterious ancient stone structure in the Golan Heights that has intrigued researchers for decades — often called the ‘Stonehenge of the East’ or the ‘Wheel of Ghosts’ — may not be unique after all. New research has identified 28 similar sites within a 25-kilometer radius, dramatically reshaping how archaeologists understand one of the Levant’s strangest prehistoric monuments.
For years, Rujm el-Hiri was treated as a singular enigma: an isolated ringed stone complex in the Golan Heights made of tens of thousands of tons of basalt. But artificial intelligence and high-resolution remote sensing have now revealed a broader pattern hidden across the landscape. Instead of one impossible mystery, researchers may be looking at an entire regional tradition.
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What Is Rujm el-Hiri?
Rujm el-Hiri, also known as Gilgal Refaim, was first identified in 1968 through aerial military photography. The site consists of multiple concentric rings of basalt stones surrounding a central mound and is estimated to contain roughly 40,000 tons of rock. Depending on which interpretation archaeologists favor, it may date anywhere from about 6,500 to 3,500 years ago.
Its strange circular design has inspired comparisons to Stonehenge, though the monument is structurally distinct. Over the years, researchers have suggested it may have served as a burial site, astronomical marker, ceremonial gathering place, territorial monument, or some combination of all four.
According to The Times of Israel, the new findings challenge the long-standing assumption that Rujm el-Hiri was a one-off structure with a special, isolated purpose.
How AI Found 28 More Sites
The breakthrough came from a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists and physicists who used high-resolution satellite imagery from 2004 to 2024, including data analyzed through tools such as Google Earth Pro and CNES/Airbus platforms. Artificial intelligence was then used to process the imagery and enhance subtle traces of ancient human intervention.
This mattered because seasonal vegetation, shadows, erosion, and terrain variation can obscure archaeological forms that are difficult to spot with the human eye alone. AI helped researchers isolate repeated circular patterns that resemble the layout of Rujm el-Hiri.
As reported in the peer-reviewed PLOS ONE study, researchers documented 28 large circular structures in the immediate region, with additional comparable sites identified in Galilee and Lebanon.
