Meiser (Arabic: ميسر; Hebrew: מֵיסַר, also known as Shaykh Maysar or Khirbat Maysar) is an Arab village in northern Israel. Located half a kilometre west of the Green Line, north of the city of Baqa al-Gharbiyye in the triangle area of Wadi Ara, it is one of three Arab villages under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 2,115.[2]

Meiser
מֵיסִר
ميسر
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • unofficialShaykh Maysar, Shaykh Maysir, Khirbat Maysar
Etymology: Sheikh Meisir, p.n.; meaning a certain gambling game with arrows.[1]
Meiser is located in Haifa region of Israel
Meiser
Meiser
Meiser is located in Israel
Meiser
Meiser
Coordinates: 32°26′41″N 35°2′31″E / 32.44472°N 35.04194°E / 32.44472; 35.04194
Grid position203/705 ITM
154/205 PAL
Country Israel
DistrictHaifa
CouncilMenashe
Population
 (2022)[2]
2,115

History

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Antiquity

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Remains from the Early Roman era (end of the first century BCE–beginning of the first century CE) have been found here.[3][4][5]

Three strata from the Roman-Byzantine periods was excavated in the centre of the village.[6] A bathhouse, dating from the same time, has also been found.[7]

Ceramics and other remains from the Byzantine era have been found here.[4][8][9]

An excavation revealed remains dating from the end of the Byzantine period (7th century CE), and above it were remains of a residential house from the Abbasid period (9th–10th centuries CE).[10]

Ottoman era

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In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) found at Sheikh Meisir "foundations near a modern Mukam" (Muslim tomb).[11] In spite of this, Andrew Petersen, who inspected the Maqam in 1994, suggested "that the building may be considerably older than the nineteenth century."[12]

British Mandate era

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In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kherbet Maisir had a population of 49 Muslims.[13]

In the 1945 statistics Meiser was counted with Qaffin and Kh. el Aqaba, together they had a population of 1,570 Muslims,[14] with a land area of 23,755 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[15] Of this, 5,863 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 8,371 were used for cereals,[16] while 40 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[17]

 
View of Meiser, 2006

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 152
  2. ^ a b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  3. ^ Dagot, 2007, Horbat Mesar
  4. ^ a b Zertal, 2016, pp. 292-294
  5. ^ Massarwa, 2010, Horbat Mesar
  6. ^ Sa‘id, 2009, Horbat Mesar
  7. ^ Tabar and Gendelman, 2013, Horbat Mesar
  8. ^ Dauphin, 1998, p. 752
  9. ^ Massarwa, 2009, Horbat Mesar (North)
  10. ^ Sa‘id, 2008, Horbat Mesar
  11. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 68
  12. ^ Petersen, 2001, p. 283
  13. ^ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. 30
  14. ^ Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 21
  15. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 76
  16. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 127
  17. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 177

Bibliography

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