Unlocking the Mystery of Rogem Hiri

I suspect that some BAR readers have become hooked, as I have, on the mysterious site in the Golan known as Rogem Hiri (Rujm el-Hiri in Arabic). In the cover story of BAR 18:04 (see “Mystery Circles,”), Dr. Yonathan Mizrachi speculated that these immense concentric stone circles, constructed in the Early Bronze Age (3150–2200 B.C.E.), were used as a ceremonial site and that later, in the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 B.C.E.), a burial cairn was built in the center.

In the BAR 19:01 (see Queries & Comments), Professor Moshe Kochavi takes a somewhat different view: He says that the circles and the burial site in the center were constructed at the same time (in the Early Bronze Age) and that the site, rather than having a ceremonial or cultic installation, was the burial site of a great chieftain.