What is the 'Purpose' Behind A Great Mystery?
Examining the questions and takeaways of Rujm el-Hiri
The site of Rujm el-Hiri, located in modern day Syria. Photo by Hebrew Wikipedia user אסף.צ, CC BY-SA 3.0
Rujm el-Hiri has confounded archeologists since its discovery in 1968. Most agree that the site, located along the borders of modern day Syria and Israel, was first constructed in the early Bronze Age, probably between 5,000 and 5,500 years ago. What purpose the structure served, however, is far less in consensus. The three primary theories suggest a defensive fortress, a burial marker for some important person, or a celestial observatory. All might have been correct at some point or another.
As for the original purpose—the motivation prompting the construction of the very first components—since the late 90s, a celestial observatory has been held by some as the most probable. In 1998, a study provided strong evidence supporting this conclusion. The paper remains (annoyingly) locked behind a paywall, but the authors stated the following in the abstract:
Data drawn from archaeological, astronomical, ethnohistorical, and biblical sources reveal the sophistication of the 3rd millennium B.C. construction phase of the Rujm el-Hiri complex. Among the finds reported are the systematic use of a measuring unit to construct the site; the establishment of an accurate alignment system for both celestial and non-celestial elements in the landscape; the organization of an orientation calendar as a basis for economic activities; and the hints of a rich cosmology.
Following the publication of that study, the thought was that the alignment of the structure indicated the importance of astronomical phenomena to its builders and users. If true, then the function may have been religious. It also could have been used to predict seasonal shifts in the climate, either from a religious or scientific viewpoint. A new study sheds doubt on these arguments.
What makes Rujm el-Hiri so mysterious
Yonathan Mizrachi and team performed the most comprehensive analysis of the site to date. They described the physical layout as follows:
The site consists of a massive, carefully constructed central cairn (c. 20 m diameter; 4.5 m high) encircled by several concentric stone circles (outermost one: c. 156 m diameter; c. 500 m circumference). These walls, some preserved up to 2.5 m high 3.5 m wide, are connected by a series of radial walls. The circular complex has two monumental entryways, facing north-east and south-east, and together with hundreds of dolmens, straight shallow stone walls surrounding the monument, and petroglyphs reported from the monument and its environs, constitute a large megalithic complex.1
From Mizrachi et. al. See footnote 1 for the citation.
Researchers have struggled to determine the structure’s purpose because very little contextual evidence has been located there. Only some scattered pottery shards remain. Everything else seems to have disintegrated in the harsh environment. The only additional clues have been garnered from analyses of other sites in the same geographic region.
Dating the site alone has been challenging. Experts on ancient architecture in the area see Aegean influence in its design, which was common throughout the region during the Late Bronze era. The structure itself appears to have been built in at least two phases, however, which is why scholars posit a rather broad range of time for its construction. The cairns and proximal walls could be as much as 5,500 years old. The latter builds could be many hundreds of years younger.
The lack of a specific date makes it even harder to determine why it was originally built, but in some ways hints at the overly monolithic way purpose is sometimes viewed. Rujm el-Hiri was built over centuries or possibly a millennium. Like a skyscraper in modern cities, people may have changed how it was used as needs changed. It may be for this reason that there were new pieces added later. But, this evolution of use could have occurred even during the earliest stages of building, which makes it especially challenging to determine any original intent now, some 5,000 years later.
One might conclude that Rujm el-Hiri started as a funerary and evolved into a broader religious complex based on the centrality of the cairn and construction of the outermost walls a long time later. For reference, a cairn is essentially the equivalent of a tombstone. It consists of piled rock, which can range from very simple to highly sophisticated, that typically commemorates the death of a person. Such symbols often contain an actual body, but not in every instance.
Examples of cairns. Top left: a mountaintop cairn in Graubünden, Switzerland (by Tinelot Wittermans, CC BY-SA 3.0); Top right: Cairn of the Neolithic-era passage tomb on Gavrinis island, Brittany (by Man vyi, Public Domain); Bottom right: Ancient cairns in Qa'ableh, Somaliland (by Abdirisak, CC BY-SA 3.0).
Cairns throughout the region around Rujm el-Hiri were often accompanied by ‘associate structures’ that seemed to play an important role in funerary ceremonies. Evidence of significant gatherings have been found at these sites, such as copious amounts of animals bones one would find collected from a feast. At Rujm el-Hiri, though, such evidence is largely absent.2
The cairn there could be merely symbolic, an ode to a person’s trip to some divine plane rather than a burial, which would give cause to align it with some element of the cosmos. The site might also have been designed as an observatory from the outset and the cairn merely signified the primary sponsor of the project.
Rujm el-Hiri’s ostensible coordination with celestial position seemed to provide the strongest clue. Olga Khabarova, Michal Birkenfeld, and Lev V. Eppelbaum have, however, called this into question.
The Khabarova study
Compared to geological information about the studied region, our analysis suggests that Rujm el-Hiri’s historical function was unlikely to involve astronomical observations.3
—Khabarova, et. al.
The authors of this study adopted an interesting approach to examining the celestial alignment of the site. They compared the current scholarship on the archeology of the region to its geological history. From this, they concluded:
[T]he entire region rotated over time, leading to no alignment of the original Rujm el-Hiri’s structural features with astronomical bodies.
To determine this, these researchers employed a multi-faceted approach. First, they examined satellite imagery of the area covering several years, taken at different times of the day and year. From this, they established a visual evolution of the site to use as a baseline reference. Such an analysis helped identify important features of its construction that are less obvious from the ground, which enabled them to more accurately identify its archeological stratifications (the ‘layers’ indicating alterations or new construction during different temporal eras).
Satellite imagery captured over the broader area—in this case approximately 30 sq. km. (11.6 sq. mi.) around Rujm el-Hiri—gave a better view of any relevant patterns related to the structure and its surroundings. As the team put it:
Modern remote sensing methods allow solving the problem of the “Nasca lines effect” when a landscape feature much larger than a human body is not interpreted by a human brain as a unit but rather as a local obstacle or a set of irregular features.
With this mapping completed, the researchers turned to examining the geological past of the region. They noted that the volcanic soil was not conducive to intensive farming, so inhabitants tended toward herding grazing animals instead. Long, linear structures dotting the area around Rujm el-Hiri may indicate a version of fencing for livestock or a demarcation of property lines.
The size and style of those walls or fencing provide clues about the changes in the climate in the region. For example, many built in the Bronze age are currently underwater, possibly the result of manmade damming that was built after them to collect water during long periods of drought. Rujm el-Hiri’s walls are of similar height.
These, and the other evidence outlined in the study, are why archeologists confidently conclude that Rujm el-Hiri was first built around 3100 BCE, with additional features added perhaps as recently as 2200 BCE.
The role of shifting earth
It is now widely recognized that assuming buildings, structures, or landscapes serve the same purpose based solely on their form may overlook the complex social, cultural, and environmental factors that influence their design and use.
These researchers believe it is probable that at the time of Rujm el-Hiri’s development, the main entranceways and radial walls did not align with any specific celestial point. This is because the tectonic plates of the region have not been stationary. In fact, they have been moving continuously “along an elliptical trajectory in a counterclockwise direction” between 8 and 15 millimeters (0.3 to 0.6 inches) per year.
By calculating backwards, the researchers determined that “the Rujm el-Hiri site has rotated counterclockwise and shifted from its original location by tens of meters.” The position of stars at the time have been extensively mapped. Comparing their positioning to the probable orientation of Rujm el-Hiri at its construction strongly suggests that its builders did not have celestial orientation in mind. If so, then it is highly unlikely that the site served as an observatory of any kind. It also calls into question whether the position of the stars had any relevance if spirituality was a factor in the motivation for its design.
Thus, what it was first built for remains a mystery.
The takeaway
In my view, there are two key insights gained from the Khabarova study. The first is that we can utilize modern technologies in novel, clever ways to analyze the very distant past. Satellite imagery provides a wholly different perspective toward viewing broad regions and enables us to see larger patterns that are not visible from the ground. It is a way of joining micro and macro analyses together more exquisitely than we ever could before. We are essentially limited only by our creativity.
A second, perhaps more important, understanding we gain from studies like this is that societies were no more monolithic thousands of years ago than they are today. This is not to say that some generalities are inapt descriptors, but we should not assume that such presumptions universally apply. The apparent celestial alignment of a curious structure does not conclusively prove its purpose. Beginning from a mistaken supposition may misinform us and misdirect future inquiry. The case of Rujm el-Hiri was an exemplary of this issue for decades.
Rather than presuming that previous civilizations were comprised of relative simpletons who focused all their greatest efforts on satisfying some archaic mythological imperative, it is far more useful to start from the view that they functioned in a complex environment informed by a canon of knowledge that has since changed over time and remains somewhat opaque to us.
That our predecessors found a way to survive the vicissitudes of the early ages effectively proves their capacity to prioritize practicality over the fantastical when necessary. Indeed, future judges of our present epoch may be far less forgiving.
See you Wednesday.
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I am the executive director of the EALS Global Foundation. You can find me at the Evidence Files Medium page for essays on law, politics, and history; follow the Evidence Files Facebook for regular updates, or Buy me A Coffee if you wish to support my work.
Mizrachi,Yonathan et. al. “The 1988–1991 Excavations at Rogem Hiri, Golan Heights,” Israel Exploration Journal, Vol. 46, No. 3/4 (1996), pp. 167-195, at 167.
Wael Abu-Azizeh et. al. “Variability within consistency: Cairns and funerary practices of the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic in the Al-Thulaythuwat area, southern Jordan,” Levant, Vol. 46, No. 2 (August 2014). pp. 161-185, DOI 10.1179/0075891414Z.00000000040.
Khabarova, Olga et. al. “Discussion Points of the Remote Sensing Study and Integrated Analysis of the Archaeological Landscape of Rujm el-Hiri,” Remote Sens, Vol. 16, No. 22 (2024), 4239; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16224239.