Tall al-Turmus تل الترمس Tell at-Turmus | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: "The mound of thelupine"[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Tall al-Turmus (click the buttons) | |
  Tall al-Turmus Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°43′33″N34°46′22″E / 31.72583°N 34.77278°E /31.72583; 34.77278 | |
| Palestine grid | 128/125 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Date of depopulation | July, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 11,508dunams (11.508 km2; 4.443 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 760[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
| Current Localities | Timorim[5] |
Tall al-Turmus (Arabic:تل الترمس) was aPalestinian Arab village in theGaza Subdistrict, located on a low hill on the coastal plain ofPalestine, 38 kilometers (24 mi) northeast ofGaza. In 1945, it had a population of 760 and a land area of 11,508dunams. The village was depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War.[5]
In 1838,Edward Robinson saw Tall al-Turmus located northwest ofTell es-Safi, where he was staying.[6] He further noted that the name meant "Hill of lupines".[7]
In 1863 the French explorerVictor Guérin visited the village, where he found about 100 houses. The villagers had a very deep well, and used animals to draw water from it.[8] An Ottoman village list of about 1870 counted 17 houses and a population of 34, though the population count included men only.[9][10]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Tall al-Turnus had a population of 384 inhabitants, allMuslims,[11] increasing in the1931 census, to 504 Muslims in 136 houses.[12]
In the1945 statistics the population of Tell et Turmus consisted of 760, all Muslims,[2] and the total land area was 11,508dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, 154 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 627 for plantations and irrigable land, 10,403 for cereals,[13] while 35 dunams were built-up areas.[14]
The villagers constructed their houses ofadobe, building them first on the hill and later expanding the village site eastward and westward. It shared a school with the neighboring village ofQastina, and the school had 160 pupils by the mid-1940s. Agriculture was the mainstay of the economy.[5]
Israeli forces from the First Battalion of theGivati Brigade captured Tall al-Turmus early inOperation An-Far on July 9–10, 1948. During this operation, the inhabitants of the village were among a minority of Palestinian villagers in the area to have been driven from their village towards theGaza Strip rather than eastwards towardsHebron. Following the war the area was incorporated into theState of Israel and themoshav ofTimorim was established the lands of Tall at-Turmus in 1954.[5]
The Israeli settlement ofArugot is close by,[15] but on the land ofQastina, not Tall al-Turmus.[16]
In 1992 the village site was described:"The debris of the houses are strewn over the site and can be found near the clumps of cactuses and the sycamore and eucalyptus trees that grow there."[5]
A salvage excavation at Tell Turmus was conducted by theIsrael Antiquities Authority in April 2000 prior to the installation of a water pipe. The remains of a pear-shaped hearth were uncovered, surrounded by pieces of burnt clay that probably used to line the hearth. Inside were two pottery vessels containing burnt animal bones, organic material and a bone implement embedded with stone blades probably used as a sickle. The hearth may date to theChalcolithic period orEarly Bronze Age.[17] Two fragments of a Chalcolithic incisedscapula were found at Tall al-Turmus.[18]
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