Rujm el-Hiri. More than half a century after its discovery, archaeologists still don't know why it was built. Credit: mosherf / Wikimedia CommonsWas Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights an astronomical observatory, a burial structure or something else entirely? Every summer solstice, the enigmatic rock monument draws archaeologists, neo-pagans, meditators and seekers of spiritual renewal08:52 AM • July 18 2026 IDTThirty-three years ago, Nicolas Namiech first heard about Rujm el-Hiri. His girlfriend, who later became his wife, had heard about the ancient, mysterious site in the Golan Heights and wanted to see it. At the time, and for years afterward, there were no signs directing visitors there. Armed with directions written by a friend, they parked at Daliot Junction and set out on foot, only to get lost, as many others have. The site is easy to spot from space but remarkably easy to miss from the ground, even when you're standing right beside it.In the News'Before 1948, Hummus Was an Arab Food. Most European Jews Never Ate It'Kuwait: Intercepting Iranian Missiles and Drones After IRGC Threatens EscalationThe Most Optimistic Israeli in Jerusalem Is Leaving the CountryU.S. Strikes Iran for Seventh Night as Gulf Tensions EscalateIsraeli Settlers Filmed Taking Palestinians' Livestock Under IDF ProtectionRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIInside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's LeaderNetanyahu's Biggest Challenger: Who Is Gadi Eisenkot and What Does He Stand For?103 House Democrats Vote to Cut U.S. Aid to Israel in Landmark Symbolic VoteEisenkot Is Quietly Gaining Ground in Likud Territory. Enough to Beat Netanyahu?Ro Khanna, U.S. Lawmaker & Israel Critic, Says West Bank Settlers 'Detained' HimI Joined Rep. Ro Khanna on His West Bank Visit. Here's What I Saw