Shahma
| Shahma | |
|---|---|
 Shahma
|
|
| Arabic | شحمة |
| Name meaning | from personal name |
| Also spelled | Shameh |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
| Coordinates | 31°49′26″N 34°48′40″E / 31.82389°N 34.81111°ECoordinates: 31°49′26″N 34°48′40″E / 31.82389°N 34.81111°E |
| Palestine grid | 132/136 |
| Population | 280 (1945) |
| Area | 6,875 dunams 6.9 km² |
| Date of depopulation | May 14, 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
Shahma (Arabic: شحمة) was a Palestinian Arab village located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) southwest of Ramla. Depopulated on the eve of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the village lands today form part of a fenced in area used by the Israeli Air Force.
The village was situated on the coastal plain, 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) southwest of Ramla, in a flat area that was slightly higher that the terrain to the south and southeast. Wadi al-Sarar ran about 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) southwest of it, and a secondary road linked Shahma to al-Ramla. During World War II, the British built RAF Aqir military airport just north of the village, Shahma military base lay to the north and east.
In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village, in the Er-Ramleh District.
In 1852 van de Velde passed by Shammeh, and found two old ponds and "traces of high antiquity" there. He further noted that the village belonged to Sheikh Mosleh, of Bayt Jibrin. In 1863, Victor Guérin noted the village just after he had passed a group of ruins, which he called Khirbet Merebba.
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 noted Schahme south east of Yibna, in the District of Ramle. It noted 23 houses and 31 persons, though the population count included men, only.
In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Shahma as a small village built of adobe bricks, whose inhabitants drew their water from a well to the south of the village. On the SWP map drawn by Conder & Kitchener in 1878 the village located southeast of "Yebnah" is called "Shahmeh".
...
Wikipedia