Khirbet Jarra'a Explained

Khirbet Jarra'a
Map Type:West Bank
Location:West Bank
Coordinates:32.1586°N 35.1952°W
Type:ruin
Epochs:Crusader/Ayyubid to Ottoman period
Condition:In ruins
Grid Name:PAL
Grid Position:168/173

Khirbet Jarra'a (Arabic: الجراعة) also Khirbet Jerr'a is an archaeological site located in the West Bank, containing remnants of a medieval settlement.

Archaeology

The site was surveyed by Porat and then by Finkelstein et al. Potsherds found here date from the Crusader/Ayyubid, Mamluk and early Ottoman periods, alongside two potsherds from Iron Age II.[1]

Described as "well-preserved" by Finkelstein et al., the site features scattered buildings, some retaining their original vaults.

Porat's observations include the presence of a mosque. Records from the Mandatory Antiquities department also make note of a mosque with a mihrab.

History

Khirbet Jarra'a is the site of Gerraa, a medieval town mentioned in a Frankish text dating back to 1166. The town is documented alongside several other nearby sites. Conder and Kitchener identified Khirbet Jarra'a with Garia, as depicted in Marino Sanuto's map.

Es-Sakhawi mentions a prominent Hanbali scholar born in Khirbet Jarra'a in 1422.

Ottoman defters list Khirbet Jarra'a as a small settlement, possibly an izba.

According to E. H. Palmer, the name means: "The ruin of the sandhill on which vegetation thrives."[2]

Sources

  1. Book: Highlands of Many Cultures: The Southern Samaria Survey, The Sites . Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University . 1997 . Finkelstein . Israel . 2 . Tel Aviv . 503–504 . Lederman . Zvi . Bunimovitz . Shlomo.
  2. Palmer, 1881, p. 234