Rogem Hiri
The megalithic complex of
Rogem Hiri (Rujm al-Hiri in Arabic, meaning “stone heap of the wild
cat”) is located in the central Golan,
some 16 km. east of the Sea
of Galilee, on a desolate plateau of basalt boulders. Since its
discovery in a survey of the Golan in the late 1960s, this mysterious site has aroused the curiosity of
archeologists. Between 1988 and 1991, archeological excavations and
research were conducted in order to establish facts and determine the
time of its construction and its function.
Rogem Hiri is a monumental
construction of local basalt fieldstones of various sizes. It
consists of two architectural units: four concentric circles
enclosing a central, round cairn. The outer, largest circle is about
500 m. long and 156 m. in diameter. The walls are of varying width,
of up to 3.5 m., and have been preserved to a height of 2.5 m.,
obliterated in some parts by stone collapse. Several radial walls
connect the circular walls, creating a labyrinth-like structure which
has only two entryways, one facing northeast, the other southeast.
At the center of the circles
is a cairn, an irregular heap of stones. It is 20-25 m. in diameter
and preserved to a height of 6 m. The cairn consists of a central
mound of stones surrounded by a lower belt, which gives it the
appearance of a stepped, truncated cone. A geophysical survey using
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) revealed the pile of stones to be
hollow. A built burial chamber, with a narrow corridor leading to it,
was discovered there. The chamber is round, roughly 2 m. in diameter,
built of large stone plates arranged on top of each other, but
slightly slanting inwards. It was covered by two massive slabs of
basalt, each weighing over 5.5 tons, which created a semi-corbelled
dome over the burial chamber.
Rogem Hiri is one of the
most intriguing archeological sites in Israel. A variety of theories
concerning the function of this structure, which has no parallel in
the Middle East, had been proposed prior to the current research: a
religious center; a defensive enclosure; a large burial complex; a
center for astronomical observation; and a calendrical device. The
structure was even identified as the tomb of Og, King of the Bashan
and last of the giants. (Deuteronomy
3:11)
Rogem Hiri was also regarded
as an astronomical observatory – a sort of Middle Eastern
Stonehenge. This theory is supported by the fact that the eastern
side, facing the rising sun, was built with much greater care. Also,
the only two entryways are located on that side, the northeastern one
roughly oriented towards the solstitial sunrise on 21 June.
The archeologists who
excavated the site offer other possible explanations. According to
one view, the concentric circles were built during the Early Bronze
Age, in the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, as a cultic and
ceremonial center, where nomadic people in the process of becoming
sedentary gathered annually; and that much later, during the late
Bronze Age (1400 – 1300 BCE) the cairn containing the burial
chamber was added (it was robbed of its contents in antiquity and
only a few artifacts were found, including gold earrings and bronze
arrowheads). Measurements revealed that the cairn is not located in
the center of the concentric circles, supporting the view that the
stone pile was a later addition.
According to another view,
the architecture of Rogem Hiri proves that both the concentric
circles and the cairn were parts of a single structure. There is no
evidence for a cultic structure below the cairn and artifacts typical
of known cultic centers of that period were not found. Rogem Hiri was
therefore a monumental commemorative tomb – the mausoleum of an
Early Bronze Age leader in the Golan; the tomb was cleared of its
early burial remains in the Late Bronze Age, and then reused for
burial. The size of the site reflects centralized organization and
leadership capable of carrying out an engineering project of such
proportions (it is estimated that 42,000 tons of stones had to be
transported!).
The riddle of Rogem Hiri
remains unsolved. Those who built it some 5,000 years ago left the
stage of history and took with them the secrets of this unusual site.
Sources: Israeli Foreign Ministry |