Ancient mystery beneath Sea of Galilee

An Israeli couple relax on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Archaeologists have discovered a massive rock structure they believe could be more than 4000 years old beneath the waves. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

ARCHAELOLOGISTS have discovered a mysterious, ancient monumental stone structure in the waters of the Sea of Galilee.

The giant structure is cone-shaped, made of "unhewn basalt cobbles and boulders," and weighs around 54,400 tonnes, researchers wrote in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

The mysterious rock pile is 10 metres high and 70 metres in diameter - about twice the diameter of Stonehenge.

Researchers believe the structure is a giant cairn, or rock pile that is often used to mark burials.

"The shape and composition of the submerged structure does not resemble any natural feature. We therefore conclude that it is a man-made and might be termed a cairn," researchers wrote. They speculated it was either built under water to attract fish, or was built on dry land that has since been covered by rising sea levels.

The structure was first spotted during a sonar scan of the Sea of Galilee, prompting researchers to don scuba gear for a closer look. The structure is made up of large boulders around 1-metre long. There appear to be no walls, divisions or construction pattern.

The "effort invested in such an enterprise is indicative of a complex, well-organised society, with planning skills and economic ability," researchers wrote in their paper.

The large underwater structure consists of a pile of 1-metre tall boulders in a circular pile, with a diameter twice that of Stonehenge, above. Picture: Thinkstock

One of the researchers, Ben-Gurion University's Israel Antiquity Authority Yitzhak Paz said the structure could be 4000 years old, similar to other ancient structures found nearby.

"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," Mr Paz told LiveScience.

The ancient Khirbet Beteiha, which is made up of three concentric stone circles and dates to the Bronze Age, is 30 km north east of the underwater discovery.

The Sea of Galilee find is also just north of the site of ancient city Khirbet Kerak, which was one of Israel's largest and most heavily guarded cities in third millennium BC, researchers said.

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