Yarda ياردا | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Well at Yarda | |
| Etymology: Kh. Wakkâs, the ruin of the man with a broken neck[1] Kh. Lôzîyeh, the ruin of the almond tree[2] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Yarda, Safad (click the buttons) | |
  Yarda Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°0′27″N35°35′38″E / 33.00750°N 35.59389°E /33.00750; 35.59389 | |
| Palestine grid | 205/268 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 20[3][4] |
| Current Localities | Ayyelet ha-Shahar[5] andMishmar ha-Yarden[5] |
Yarda was aPalestinianhamlet in theSafad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1947–1949 Palestine war. It was located 10.5 km northeast ofSafad. The area is now part of Israel.
The name Yarda isAramaic, and means 'the water spring'.[6]
Khirbat Waqqas was located west-northwest of Yarda, and is recognised as the place theCanaanites referred to asHazor.Victor Guérin found atKh. Waqqas in 1875: 'Near a small enclosure, in the centre of which is a broken column consecrated to a santon, are shown the remains of an edifice oriented east and west, once probably a church. It was ornamented with monolithic columns in ordinary limestone, some broken pieces of which are still lying about. Other similar fragments are found in the neighbouring houses. Here and there I remarked cut stones, which no doubt belonged to this monument. A little to the south, a hillock is also covered with ruins of houses.'[7] In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) found atKh. Wakkas only cattle-sheds.[8]
Yarda itself was located at a place calledKh el Loziyeh in the lateOttoman era. In 1881, the SWP found here: "Caves and ruined cattle sheds".[9]
In the1931 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Yarda had a population of 13Muslims, in a total of 3 houses.[10]
In the1945 statistics, the population was 20 Muslims,[3] who owned 1,367dunams of land.[4] Of this, 1,359 dunams were used for cereals,[11] while 8 dunams were classified as un-cultivable area.[12]
After Yarda became depopulated,Ayyelet ha-Shahar took over some of the village land, while in 1949Mishmar ha-Yarden was also settled on village land.[5]
In 1992 the village site was described: "The truncated walls of some houses still stand, as well as those of akhan, orcaravansary. The site is strewn with stones from crumbled houses. A portion of the land is used as pasture."[13]
