Pile of rocks found in Sea of Galilee.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Mysterious Stone Structure Discovered Beneath Sea of Galilee

A giant "monumental" stone structure discovered beneath the waters of the Sea of Galilee in Israel has archaeologists puzzled as to its purpose and even how long ago it was built.

The mysterious structure is cone shaped, made of "unhewn basalt cobbles and boulders," and weighs an estimated 60,000 tons the researchers said. That makes it heavier than most modern-day warships.

Rising nearly 32 feet (10 meters) high, it has a diameter of about 230 feet (70 meters). To put that in perspective, the outer stone circle of Stonehenge has a diameter just half that with its tallest stones not reaching that height.

It appears to be a giant cairn, rocks piled on top of each other. Structures like this are known from elsewhere in the world and are sometimes used to mark burials. Researchers do not know if the newly discovered structure was used for this purpose.

The structure was first detected in the summer of 2003 during a sonar survey of the southwest portion of the sea. Divers have since been down to investigate, they write in the latest issue of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

"Close inspection by scuba diving revealed that the structure is made of basalt boulders up to 1 m (3.2 feet) long with no apparent construction pattern," the researchers write in their journal article. "The boulders have natural faces with no signs of cutting or chiselling. Similarly, we did not find any sign of arrangement or walls that delineate this structure."

They say it is definitely human-made and probably was built on land, only later to be covered by the Sea of Galilee as the water level rose. "The shape and composition of the submerged structure does not resemble any natural feature. We therefore conclude that it is man-made and might be termed a cairn," the researchers write.

More than 4,000 years old?

Underwater archaeological excavation is needed so scientists can find associated artifacts and determine the structure's date and purpose, the researchers said.

Researcher Yitzhak Paz, of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ben-Gurion University, believes it could date back more than 4,000 years. "The more logical possibility is that it belongs to the third millennium B.C., because there are other megalithic phenomena [from that time] that are found close by," Paz told LiveScience in an interview, noting that those sites are associated with fortified settlements.

The researchers list several examples of megalithic structures found close to the Sea of Galilee that are more than 4,000 years-old. One example is the monumental site of Khirbet Beteiha, located some 19 miles (30 kilometers) north-east of the submerged stone structure, the researchers write. It "comprises three concentric stone circles, the largest of which is 56 m [184 feet] in diameter."

http://www.livescience.com/28567-ancient-structure-under-sea-of-galilee.html

[decocker 7,198]

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I wonder who, or what, is buried under those rocks.

Cthulhu

Edited April 11, 2013 by The Patriot

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I wonder who, or what, is buried under those rocks.

Cthulhu

If it's not something that can be linked to Jewish history, but is instead evidence of another people in the land, it won't be nearly as interesting to the news media and will be dropped quicker than a hot potato. So you'll be hearing about it real soon if they find anything that seems Hebrew down there.

[decocker 7,198]

I wonder who, or what, is buried under those rocks.

Cthulhu

me too. new material for ancient aliens!

[Dakine10 5,452]

"The shape and composition of the submerged structure does not resemble any natural feature. We therefore conclude that it is man-made ..." the researchers write.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Dakine10

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Maybe it's the remains of Pharaoh's army that was drowned when Moses parted the Red Sea?

[decocker 7,198]

Maybe it's the remains of Pharaoh's army that was drowned when Moses parted the Red Sea?

boring.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Maybe it's the remains of Pharaoh's army that was drowned when Moses parted the Red Sea?

Aside from the fact that there's no archeological evidence of any of that story, how would these human remains transport themselves some 300 miles from the bottom of the Red Sea to the bottom of the Sea of Galilee ?

Milagro milagro !

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Aside from the fact that there's no archeological evidence of any of that story, how would these human remains transport themselves some 300 miles from the bottom of the Red Sea to the bottom of the Sea of Galilee ?

Milagro milagro !

Anything is possible over there.

[GandD 5,966]

C'mon Alien space ship!!

I swear if i die before we find aliens I'm gonna be so pissed.

[himher 634]

If it's not something that can be linked to Jewish history, but is instead evidence of another people in the land, it won't be nearly as interesting to the news media and will be dropped quicker than a hot potato. So you'll be hearing about it real soon if they find anything that seems Hebrew down there.

4000 BC would predate Abraham I believe.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

4000 BC would predate Abraham I believe.

I don't know that anyone has actually determined when exactly Abraham existed, but 4000 BC would definitely predate most theories about him.

But they said the pile of rocks was 4000 years old (or more) - which means it could date from as late as 2000 BC (approximately 4000 years ago,) or possibly earlier.

The standard Hebrew text of Genesis places Abraham somewhere in the early part of the 2nd millennium BC, but the Greek Septuagint and the Samaritan Torah place him much earlier. Of course there is no archeological evidence of him to help solve the mystery.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

2000 bce would be Middle Kingdom, I do believe, well before Moses and the Israelites.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

2000 bce would be Middle Kingdom, I do believe, well before Moses and the Israelites.

Well again, nothing has been definitively established on the chronology of this stuff. But 2000 BC would be roughly within the ballpark of the dates given in the Hebrew texts for the birth and death of Abraham.

However, this pile of rocks is likely unrelated. I was just responding to the "4000 BC" oops.