Israel’s strange Wheel of Ghosts, first discovered in 1968, turns out not to be so unusual after all, as new research combining remote sensing and AI now confirms the presence of many similar sites in the region.
Situated in the Golan Heights and composed of 40,000 tons of rock, archaeologists estimate the structure to date back between 3,500 and 6,500 years. Commonly referred to as the “Stonehenge of the East,” the site’s official name is Rujm el-Hiri, and it is cast in a decidedly new light in a recent paper published in PLOS One, revealing many similar structures.
INTERPRETING THE WHEEL OF GHOSTS
Existing interpretations have diverged in their explanations of what the Wheel of Ghosts meant to the people who built it. Those explanations run the gamut of what is generally assumed of these mysterious ancient sites: a ceremonial space, a burial mound, or an astronomical observatory.
However, these interpretations all relied on a major assumption that has proven false: that the Wheel of Ghosts is unique to the area.
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