Massive submerged structure stumps Israeli archaeologists

The massive circular structure appears to be an archaeologists dream: a recently discovered antiquity that could reveal secrets of ancient life in the Middle East and is just waiting to be excavated.

It's thousands of years old -- a conical, manmade behemoth weighing hundreds of tons, practically begging to be explored.

The monumental structure, made of boulders and stones with a diameter of 230 feet, emerged from a routine sonar scan in 2003.


The authors conclude the structure is man-made, made of stones that originated nearby, and it weighs about 60,000 tons. The authors write it "is indicative of a complex, well-organized society, with planning skills and economic ability."



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013...-stumps-israeli-archaeologists/#ixzz2U7gFVbLM

Atlantis!

What is the ridge that runs from left to right and goes right through the circle?

mysteriew said:

What is the ridge that runs from left to right and goes right through the circle?

Click to expand...

Yeah what is that thing in the middle?

I wonder what the proximity of this structure is to Magdala/Migdal...

I absolutely loved comparative religion in college, as well as ancient history, and I wonder if this structure is religious in nature. I especially wonder if it holds any kind of biblical importance.

Here's an earlier article...

http://news.discovery.com/earth/rocks-fossils/ancient-structure-under-sea-of-galilee-130412.htm

Stone Mystery in Sea of Galilee
APR 12, 2013 10:45 AM ET // BY OWEN JARUS, LIVESCIENCE

Snipped:
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.

Snipped:
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."

Another bit of info...

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

Mysterious Stone Structure Discovered Beneath Sea of Galilee
Owen Jarus, LiveScience ContributorDate: 09 April 2013 Time: 11:08 AM ET

Snipped:
An ancient city

If the third-millennium B.C. date idea proves correct it would put the structure about a mile to the north of a city that researchers call "Bet Yerah" or "Khirbet Kerak."

During the third millennium B.C. the city was one of the biggest sites in the region, Paz said. "It's the most powerful and fortified town in this region and, as a matter of fact, in the whole of Israel."

Archaeologist Raphael Greenberg describes it in a chapter of the book "Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant" (Eisenbrauns, 2011) as being a heavily fortified 74-acre (30 hectares) site with up to 5,000 inhabitants.

With paved streets and towering defenses its people were clearly well organized. "They also indicate the existence of some kind of municipal authority able to maintain public structures ..." Greenberg writes.

The research team says that, like the leaders of Bet Yerah, whoever built the newly discovered Sea of Galilee structure needed sophisticated organization and planning skills to construct it. The "effort invested in such an enterprise is indicative of a complex, well-organized society, with planning skills and economic ability," they write in their journal paper.

Paz added that "in order to build such a structure a lot of working hours were required" in an organized community effort.

..... Much more info at link .....

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/underwater-mystery-mound-provokes-archaeologists

These days, the cairn sits about 30 feet underwater,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...e7c36c-c372-11e2-9642-a56177f1cdf7_story.html

The monumental structure, made of boulders and stones with a diameter of 70 meters (230 feet), emerged from a routine sonar scan in 2003

So 10 years later and 30 feet under water and they still don't know?? I'd say move on.

Elley Mae said:

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/underwater-mystery-mound-provokes-archaeologists

These days, the cairn sits about 30 feet underwater,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...e7c36c-c372-11e2-9642-a56177f1cdf7_story.html

The monumental structure, made of boulders and stones with a diameter of 70 meters (230 feet), emerged from a routine sonar scan in 2003

So 10 years later and 30 feet under water and they still don't know?? I'd say move on.

Click to expand...

But they don't know bc it hasn't been excavated yet, only viewed & documented via scuba. They need funding bc the process can be lengthy & the integrity of excavation costs $ to be protected.

mysteriew said:

What is the ridge that runs from left to right and goes right through the circle?

Click to expand...

A deli counter???? Just putting that out there.

In the Book of Joshua, Chapter 20, is described "six cities of refuge".
One of these cities of refuge was in Galilee.

The Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, Designate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood."
(Joshua 20:1-4).

"So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali . . ." (Joshua 20:7).

In chapter 21 ~
"And from the tribe of Naphtali, they gave Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands and Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands; three cities." (Joshua 21:32).

How many years prior to Jesus was Joshua? The book of Joshua must have been written before 1200 B.C. (according to my New American Standard version Bible). Joshua did not write the entire book of Joshua himself (per scholars). The last chapter records is death when he was 110 years old.

It seems the descriptions in the book of Joshua could have taken place three to four thousand years ago possibly. The book describes how the different groups of people were designated cities to live in. The groups are referred to as "sons of" whomever and "tribes".