A discovery in the Sea of Galilee has archeologists baffled. Under the water there is a giant stone structure, which gives no clues as to its purpose or time.
It is conical in shape, probably of a rock composed of basalt, and with a weight estimated at 60,000 tons.
That is massive heft, which could be compared to the weight of say a modern warship.
It is 10 meters high, and 70 meters in diameter, which makes it twice as wide as Stonehenge.
The structure seems to be a cairn, or a structure in which several sections of stone were piled onto each other. But structures like this are usually seen in other places on earth to mark a burial spot. What is puzzling everyone is the mass of the structure.
The structure was found in 2003, and since then divers have gone down to try to understand what the purpose of the structure was and by whom and when it was made.
What scientists also believe, is that it once was standing on land, and was covered by the water as the water level rose in the Galilee sea.
That could put its date of construction at more than 4,000 years ago.
In fact other monuments have been found in the Sea before that are even older than than. Three concentric circles of stone, of which the largest was 56 meters were found at Khirbet Beteiha.
What scientists believe, is that this conical structure could be part of a larger fortification area that probably housed around 5,000 people.
Source: Live Science 4.15.13
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