The structure was initially discovered by Professor Gonen Sharon of Tel Hai College’s antiquities study program. It is located in Upper Galilee, near Kibbutz Shamir.
“What makes this dolmen so unique is its huge dimensions, the structure surrounding it, and most importantly, the artistic decorations engraved in its ceiling,” the Antiquities Authority has stated.
The carvings found on the dolmen have so far proven to be a bit of a mystery.
“The engraved shapes depict a straight line going to the centre of an arc,” said study partner Uri Berger. “No parallels exist for these shapes in the engraved rock drawings of the Middle East and their significance remains a mystery.”
There are hundreds of known dolmens across the middle east, and the structure themselves have been found in other countries such as Ireland and Korea. The basic shape of a dolmen is similar to a table, surrounded by piles of stones.
The discovered dolmen was enclosed with a large stone heap 20m in diameter, with the stones estimated to weight well over 400 tons.
