The Floating Rock of Saudi Arabia or Jerusalem

A giant rock has supposedly raised off the ground for 30 minutes, every April since 1989, with images as “proof” of this miraculous event. Is it real?

It’s fake.

The original version of the story claims that a terrorist was shot dead while hiding behind the rock in 1989, and since that time the rock has miraculously risen off the ground for 30 minutes in April of each year. Although the first version of this tale set the story in Saudi Arabia, it has recently been told as occurring in Jerusalem.

Below are two videos which show the actual rock, which is certainly not floating, but merely resting on a smaller base of material which has been eroded below it. From certain angles, it might appear that this rock is indeed floating, but it is firmly attached to the ground.

Digital Manipulation

Some have digitally edited photos of the rock to “prove” the false story by removing the rocks holding up the boulder, as seen in the popularly-shared image above. The small base has simply been edited out.

No Corroboration

If this story were true, there would certainly be news reports covering such a miracle. The regularity of the event would be easy to prove with film and independent scrutiny. Aside from a few edited photos, however, there is no verifiable evidence that this rock has ever lifted off of the ground. We could find no news reports of this event.

Other Images

There is footage (below) of this rock, along with photos which show the unaltered structure.

Google Trends

The Google Trends chart below shows search popularity on the topic of “floating rock” and you can see that it has been rather consistent since about 2007.

Bottom Line

The floating rock of Saudi Arabia or Jerusalem only exists in the world of digital image editing. It is a large boulder held up by a small base or rocks which is sometimes edited out to give the appearance of a floating boulder.

Revised November 9, 2015
Originally published February 2013