“Stonehenge of the East” has been quietly moving for thousands of years deepening the mystery of its purpose

Tectonic forces add a new twist to the mystery of Rujm el-Hiri’s concentric circles.

Rujm el-Hiri is a vast stone monument near the Sea of Galilee, which has long puzzled archaeologists. Often called the “Stonehenge of the East” or the “Wheel of Ghosts,” the nearly 5,000-year-old maze-like structure spans a diameter of 492 feet. Despite decades of study, its true purpose remains elusive.

But the mystery has taken an unexpected turn. It turns out that the enormous stone circles may not be so unusual after all.

Researchers have identified 28 other large circular stone structures scattered across the surrounding region, most of them previously undocumented. Some are even bigger than Rujm el-Hiri itself. The findings suggest that the famous monument was not an isolated architectural oddity but the most elaborate example of a much wider ancient building tradition.

Beyond the Stones

In the original study, published in November 2024, researchers at Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev used satellite imagery to identify hundreds of archaeological features, including tumuli, linear stone walls, and circular “flower-like” enclosures.

Their work suggested that Rujm el-Hiri was part of a complex archaeological landscape rather than an isolated relic. But a follow-up study, published in March 2026 in PLOS One, has revealed just how extensive that landscape may have been.

By examining high-resolution satellite images taken between 2004 and 2024, the researchers documented 28 large circular structures within 25 kilometers (16 miles) of Rujm el-Hiri. Most had escaped previous archaeological surveys.

Many share striking architectural similarities: thick basalt walls arranged in concentric circles, sometimes connected by shorter walls that divide the interior into sections. Their diameters range from roughly 50 to 250 meters (164 to 820 feet).

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One particularly impressive example, known as Circle 9, measures around 250 meters across. It surrounds a small volcanic cone, with four stone walls extending inward toward its center.

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The researchers also noticed a geographical pattern. Many of the circles sit near seasonal streams and appear integrated into ancient networks of field walls and enclosures. Some stand close to dolmens, ancient stone burial structures.

This raises the possibility that the monuments played roles in communities whose lives revolved around farming, livestock, and seasonal gatherings. They may have been ceremonial spaces, territorial markers, or places where scattered groups came together.

But their exact functions remain uncertain. Most have yet to be excavated, and their construction dates are largely unknown.

A Monument to What?

Rather than solving the mystery of Rujm el-Hiri, the discoveries have transformed it. Archaeologists must now explain not only why ancient people built this immense monument, but why similar structures appeared across the region.

The earlier research offers one important clue about what the monument probably wasn’t.

The site has rotated counterclockwise and shifted from its original location by tens of meters, according to the researchers’ geological reconstruction. Each year, tectonic plates in the area move between 0.3 and 0.6 inches. Over millennia, this seemingly minor movement adds up considerably.

“This implies that the primary axes of Rujm el-Hiri have rotated over time along with the entire region, casting significant doubt on the popular theory that Rujm el-Hiri was an observatory,” the authors wrote.

The 2026 research adds another reason for caution. If Rujm el-Hiri belonged to a widespread architectural tradition, its unusual layout may have reflected cultural practices rather than a unique effort to track the heavens.

That doesn’t rule out astronomical symbolism altogether. But it weakens interpretations that depend on the monument’s present-day orientation.

First discovered in 1968, Rujm el-Hiri features a central cairn surrounded by concentric basalt rings and radial walls. Its size and design suggest it served a significant function, but what that was remains unclear.

The monument’s concentric design also has echoes elsewhere in the Mediterranean and Near East, including circular structures in Crete and Egypt. Such similarities are intriguing, although they do not establish a direct cultural connection.

For now, Rujm el-Hiri remains an ancient puzzle. Only now, archaeologists have dozens of other circles to help them work out what the builders had in mind.

The studies appeared in Remote Sensing (2024) and PLOS One (2026).

Transparency note, November 3, 2026: This article was originally published in 2025. It has been substantially updated to include a March 2026 archaeological study identifying 28 large stone circles around Rujm el-Hiri, new evidence about their architectural similarities, and further discussion of the monument’s possible purpose.