Scientists have found that the 6,000-year-old stone circle known as the Wheel of the Spirits or Rujm el-Hiri, which is located in the Golan Heights in the Middle East, was not built to serve as an astronomical observatory.. But the true meaning of this structure remains a mystery.. The study was published in the journal Remote Sensing, writes Live Science.

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The megalithic structure The Wheel of Spirits, with a diameter of 150 meters, was first discovered in 1968. Since then, scientists have been trying to understand its true purpose.. It was believed that this huge stone circle, which consists of several concentric circles consisting of stones up to 2.5 meters high, was built by ancient people to observe the stars and other celestial objects. Now scientists have come to the conclusion that this object could not be an ancient astronomical observatory.

The Wheel of Spirits is located in the Golan Heights, a disputed area between Israel and Syria.. It is believed that this structure was built more than 6,000 thousand years ago. Earlier research suggested that gaps in the stone circle coincided with astronomical events such as the summer and winter solstices, meaning the placement of the stones could be used for astronomical observations.

A new study shows that tectonic plates near the megalithic structure, which has been compared to Stonehenge, have been moving every year for more than 4,000 years, effectively ruling out the possibility that the site was built as an astronomical observatory. That is, the ancient monument has shifted. from its original position by tens of meters over thousands of years of the object’s existence.

Every year, the tectonic plates in the Golan Heights region shift by several centimeters, which means that over thousands of years the Wheel of Spirits has shifted by about 40 meters and thus the alignment of the stone circles in relation to astronomical phenomena has completely changed. This means the current orientation of the stone circles and spaces in them was not the same as thousands of years ago, scientists say.

The study found that the Spirit Wheel is just one of thousands of prehistoric structures built in the region, including those used for agriculture and for burying the dead..

At the same time, scientists do not know exactly why the Wheel of Spirits was built, because few clues have been discovered that could clarify the situation. In the center of the object there is a mound and this place could be used both for burying the dead and for religious ceremonies.

As Focus already wrote, scientists have discovered a hidden structure inside the Earth's core. Researchers believe new data could change understanding of the nature of our planet's inner core.

Focus also wrote that archaeologists found in England more than 300 perfectly preserved silver coins that were hidden in the 11th century. One of the rarest finds of its kind.