Baysamun بيسمون Beisamun, En Besamun, Basimun[1] | |
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.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Baysamun (click the buttons) | |
  Baysamun Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°5′51″N35°34′54″E / 33.09750°N 35.58167°E /33.09750; 35.58167 | |
| Palestine grid | 204/278 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Date of depopulation | May 25, 1948[3] |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 20[2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Whispering campaign |
Baysamun orBeisamoun (Arabic:بيسمون,Beisamûn) was a smallPalestinianArab village, located 16.5 kilometers (10.3 mi) in the marshyHula Valley northeast ofSafad. In 1945, it had a population of 20.[4] It was depopulated during the1948 War on May 25, 1948, by thePalmach's First Battalion inOperation Yiftach.
Beisamoun is an important archaeological site for the Neolithic period, with twoplastered human skulls, cremation signs and house floors found there. It stood in close proximity to another majorNatufian ("Final Old Stone Age") site,'Ain Mallaha.
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 Interactive map of Beisamoun (archaeological site) | |
| History | |
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| Periods | Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (mainly),Pottery Neolithic,Bronze Age |
Kathleen Kenyon notes that Beisamoun disappeared under modern drainage systems set up byIsrael; in the fish ponds created,Neolithic remains were found that included houses and twoplastered skulls.[5] Rectangular houses with plastered floors show striking similarities to those atByblos.[5][6] These "Levantine pier house[s]" were also found inYiftahel,Ayn Ghazal, andJericho.[7]
A main period of habitation was during thePre-Pottery Neolithic B era, but alsoPottery Neolithic andBronze Age remains have been found.[8]
The population of Baysamun in the1922 census of Palestine consisted of 41 Muslims,[9] increasing to 50 Muslims in 11 houses by1931.[10]
In the1945 statistics the population was 20 Muslims,[2] with a total of 2,102 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[11] Of this, 107 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,817 for cereals;[12] while 133 dunams was non-cultivable area.[13]
It was depopulated during the1948 War on May 25, 1948, by thePalmach's First Battalion inOperation Yiftach in aWhispering campaign.[3][14]
In 1992 the village site was described: "No traces of the houses remain. The site is occupied by warehouses for agricultural implements used by KibbutzManara, which had been established in 1943. The land around the site is cultivated and fish ponds have been constructed close to it."[15]
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