Al-Mirr المرّ / المحمودية Molendina desubter Mirabellum | |
|---|---|
 Remains of Mill building | |
| Etymology: "The passage".[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Mirr (click the buttons) | |
  Al-Mirr Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°06′43″N34°54′57″E / 32.11194°N 34.91583°E /32.11194; 34.91583 | |
| Palestine grid | 142/168 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jaffa |
| Date of depopulation | February or March, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 51dunams (5.1 ha; 13 acres) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 170[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
Al-Mirr, also namedMahmudiyeh ("the property of Mahmud"),[1] was aPalestinianArab village in theJaffa Subdistrict, which wasdepopulated during the1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on February 1, 1948.
The village was located 16.5 kilometers (10.3 mi) northeast ofJaffa, on the southern bank of theal-'Awja river. A short, secondary track linked it to therailway line running betweenRas al-Ayn andPetah Tikva.[5]
Amill anddam built at this site in lateRoman/earlyByzantine period were repaired inCrusader times. The mill was mentioned in Crusader sources in 1158/9 C.E.[6]
Excavations of the mill have recovered several 14th-century coins, which indicate that it was in use in theMamluk period.[7]
The modern village was founded during the reign of theMahmud II (1808–39), theSultan of theOttoman Empire, and was also known as "Al Mahmudiyya".[5] In 1856 the village was namedel Mir onKiepert's map of Palestine published that year.[8]
In 1870Victor Guérin visited and described the village (which he calledMa'moudieh): "It contains at most two hundred inhabitants, who live in houses built ofadobe. Severalmills are set in motion by the cascading waterfalls along theNahr el-A'oudjeh. A small bridge over the river makes it possible to cross it at this point".[9] An Ottoman village list from about the same year indicated 30 houses and a population of 69, though the population count included men only.[10][11]
ThePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine in 1882 described al-Mirr as "a smallmud village, with mills close to the river."[12]
During theBritish Mandate for Palestine, the population was recorded as 75Muslims in the1922 census,[13] and the village was classified as ahamlet in thePalestine Index Gazetteer.[5] In the1931 censusMahmudiya had 101 inhabitants, still all Muslims, in 25 houses.[14]
In the1945 statistics the population numbered 170 Muslims,[2] who worked in agriculture and with transportation. Cultivated lands in the village in 1944-45 included 2 dunums planted with citrus and bananas, and 31 dunums planted withcereals.[5][15] 2 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[16]
Before the outbreak of the1948 Arab-Israeli war, al-Mirr's inhabitants left on February 3, 1948, out of fear of Jewish attack.[17] According toBenny Morris, some of the inhabitants returned on February 15, but fled for the final time one month later.[17] However, according toWalid Khalidi, citingThe New York Times, the villagers apparently returned yet again, as Jewish forces attacked the village in mid-May.[18] The 13 May attack would have occurred around the same time as an attack into the area byIrgun.[5]
The remains of a Turkish bridge lies where the village was.[5]
Andrew Petersen, an archaeologist specializing inIslamic architecture, visited themill in 1991. He found that it had probably been built in several phases. Presently, it consists of arectangular building, 60 m.NS x 10 mEW, on two levels.[19] At the lower level are at least 13 parallel water inlets. These inlets are of two different types, (indicating different construction date); a flat slab roof, and pointedvaulted roof. Between the two levels are holes in the floor, presumably this is where themillstones were connected to the turbines.[19]
