Archaeologists using artificial intelligence and high-resolution satellite imagery have identified dozens of large circular stone structures across the Golan Heights and nearby areas, overturning the long-held view that Israel’s enigmatic Rujm el-Hiri—often called the “Wheel of Giants” or “Israeli Stonehenge”—stands alone, according to HeritageDaily. The research, based on multi-temporal satellite datasets captured between 2004 and 2024, documented more than 30 large basalt circles within about 25 kilometers of Rujm el-Hiri, including 28 that had not been recorded before.
Researchers processed archives from multiple satellite platforms and applied AI techniques to reduce interference from shadows and seasonal vegetation, enabling the identification of features that had remained invisible in conventional surveys. The findings were presented in a paper in PLOS One.
Rujm el-Hiri
Rujm el-Hiri, first detected in 1968 via aerial reconnaissance, consists of a central cairn encircled by multiple concentric stone rings and spans more than 150 meters in diameter. Estimates place its construction between 3,500 and 6,500 years ago, and the complex contains roughly 40,000 tons of stone.
Newly identified circles share a consistent architectural logic—substantial outer walls of basalt fieldstones arranged in concentric patterns, with internal divisions that are radial or orthogonal—and some range roughly 50 to 250 feet (15 to 76 meters) in diameter. While these sites cluster in particular topographic settings—often on gently sloping ground or high plateaus and, at times, near seasonal water—they vary in scale and preservation, with many smaller and more degraded than the Wheel of Giants.
The clustering pattern and frequent proximity to dolmens, tumuli, and field-wall networks indicate these monuments formed parts of a broader cultural landscape tied to ritual, territorial, and socio-economic functions.
Challenging older interpretations
The new mapping challenges older interpretations built on the assumption that the Wheel of Giants was unique, a premise now contradicted by the concentration of analogous structures in the region.
In addition to the Golan discoveries, the research notes similar-looking sites farther afield in Galilee and Lebanon.
Researchers involved in the new analysis emphasize that Rujm el-Hiri, or Gilgal Refaim, remains the most elaborate example of the tradition but is no longer an anomaly. “Gilgal Refaim is, of course, a very well-known site, and it was always considered to be a very unique site in the area,” said researcher Michal Birkenfeld. “Most [of the sites we discovered] were not as elaborate and were of different sizes and levels of preservation, but they still have the same type of logic,” he added.
A theory that the structure functioned as an astronomical observatory had already been weakened by a 2025 paper co-authored by Birkenfeld that calculated average rotational movement of 8 to 15 millimeters per year, implying significant shifts since construction and undermining inferences about original alignments “If this is not a unique structure, I find more leverage in the idea that this was an area to get together,” Birkenfeld said.
To find the circles, researchers cross-referencing two decades of satellite coverage from platforms including Google Earth Pro and CNES/Airbus and then applied AI to the images to highlight human-made patterns masked by vegetation, shadows, and surface noise.