El-Hamma
| Al-Hamma | |
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Former railway station of Al-Hamma, with a sign in Arabic reading "al-Hama".
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 Al-Hamma
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| Arabic | الحمّة |
| Subdistrict | Tiberias |
| Coordinates | 32°41′10″N 35°39′51″E / 32.68611°N 35.66417°ECoordinates: 32°41′10″N 35°39′51″E / 32.68611°N 35.66417°E |
| Palestine grid | 212/232 |
| Population | 290 (1945) |
| Area | 1,692 dunams |
| Date of depopulation | July 1949 |
| Current localities | Hamat Gader |
Al-Hamma (Arabic: الحمّة) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Tiberias Subdistrict, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of Tiberias. Situated on a narrow strip of land in the Yarmouk Valley, it was one of the stations on the Jezreel Valley railway, linking the Hejaz Railway to Haifa. It was depopulated in July 1949.
During the Roman Empire it was known as Emmatha. During this period, Al-Hamma belonged to the district of Gadara. The place was famous for its hot springs, which were considered therapeutic as they had a high sulphur content. The place attracted many visitors in Roman times, and remains have been found of an amphitheater, baths, a synagogue, burial grounds, columns, and a shrine.
The town was damaged by an earthquake in 633, and renovated during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I. Recent excavations have revealed a large Umayyad public building comprising several rooms with mosaic floors, set with red, black and white tesserae. The building seems to have been destroyed by the 749 Golan earthquake, but was rebuilt and used until finally abandoned after the earthquake of 1033.
Al-Hamma appeared in Ottoman tax registers compiled in 1596 under the name of Hammat Jur, in the Nahiyas of Gawr, of the Liwa of Ajloun. It was indicated as empty (hali), though taxes were paid on a watermill, in addition to a fixed sum.
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