Ancient lake structure: An unknown circle-shaped structure was discovered under the Sea of Galilee in Israel, it was reported.
The structure, which is around the length of a passenger plane, was found in 2003, but scientists still don’t know what it is.
“Usually the bottom of the lake is quite smooth. We were surprised to find a large mound. Initially we didn’t realize the importance of this but we consulted with a couple of archaeologists, and they said it looked like an unusually large Bronze Age statue,” Tel Aviv University geophysicist Shmuel Marco told CNN.
Archaeologists suspect that the structure was made out of basalt but was created on dry land before water submerged it
“If the site was inland, it would be much easier to investigate. By now we would have excavated, but because it’s submerged we haven’t yet been able to. It is a much harder process, both physically and financially. It is very expensive to raise support for such an enterprise,” archaeologist Yitzhak Paz told the network.
Researchers believe that the structure, which is somewhat cone-shaped, weighs an estimated 60,000 tons, according to Live Science in a report earlier this month. They believe that it is a giant cairn, based on other similar structures found around the world.
“Close inspection by scuba diving revealed that the structure is made of basalt boulders up to 1 meter long with no apparent construction pattern,” researchers said in an article, according to Live Science. “The boulders have natural faces with no signs of cutting or chiselling. Similarly, we did not find any sign of arrangement or walls that delineate this structure.”
They say that it was most definitely made by humans.
