Hundreds of confusing portals in Google Earth photos

Google Earth satellite image reveals the existence of 400 thousand-year-old stone buildings surrounding the crater that confused archaeologists.

Nearly 400 stone works dating back thousands of years were discovered in Saudi Arabia. Some of these wall-like structures are lined up along long-standing lava domes, Live Science reported on October 17.

Many stone walls similar in shape to the gate when viewed from above should be called the "gate" by the research team . They are clustered in the Harrat Khaybar area in the middle of Saudi Arabia. Archaeologists do not know for sure the purpose of construction and the exact date of the gates. Discovered mainly through satellite images, several gates are on the flank of the volcanic arch that erupts lava from basalt.

Some lava flows are 5 million years old, but the age of stone gates is far beyond that number.(Photo: NASA).

The gates were built of stone in a rudimentary manner and the walls were low. It seems to be the oldest man-made structures in the scene, according to David Kennedy, a professor at the University of Western Australia, author of the study published in the November issue of Arabian Archeology and Epigraphy.

The smallest gate spreads 13m, while the longest building is 518m. Several structures include many stone walls designed in rectangular form. Others called Type I gates have only one stone wall with stacks of stones at each end.

"The gates are found almost entirely in deserted lava fields with no life, scarcity of water or plants, places that do not seem to welcome people," Kennedy wrote. Other stone structures of kite-shaped figures used to hunt animals and wheel shapes were also discovered on this lava field.

According to the volcano house, Vic Camp, the lava arch no longer works, and in the past, lava from basalt has covered some stone works, including gates. One of the hardened lava rock works partially covered the photograph. Camp estimated the lava arches were built about 7,000 years ago.

The archeology team will need field research to determine what the gates are and when they are born.