Atlit, Haifa District, Israel

History | Bronze Age | Crusader period | Foundation | British Mandate period | State of Israel | Archaeology | Neighborhoods

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Atlit is a coastal town located south of Haifa, Israel. The community is in the Hof HaCarmel Regional Council in the Haifa District of Israel. Off the coast of Atlit is a submerged Neolithic village. The town of Atlit is named after the nearby Crusader outpost and fortified town of Atlit, also known as Chรขteau Pรจlerin, which although in ruins remained populated until 1948.

The town was established in 1903 under the auspices of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, approximately two km south of the historical site which was then a small Palestinian village. The Atlit detainee camp is nearby, which was used by the British to intern Jewish refugees and is now a museum. From 1950 until the unification of the municipalities in 2003, Atlit was a local council whose jurisdiction was 14,000 dunams. In 2021 the population was 10,475.

History Atlit Yam is an ancient submerged Neolithic village off the coast of Atlit. Atlit-Yam provides the earliest known evidence for an agro-pastoral-marine subsistence system on the Levantine coast.

Bronze Age Atlit shows evidence of human habitation since the early Bronze Age.

Crusader period The Crusaders built the historical settlement of Atlit, also known as Chรขteau Pรจlerin. It was the one of the largest citadels in the Holy Land, and became the last remaining Crusader outpost (see also: Fall of Ruad), remaining in Crusader's hands until 1291.

The ruins of the citadel are still visible in modern times. Immediately to the north also lies a large medieval Christian cemetery hosting the graves of men, women and children who lived in the surrounding during the 13th century.

Foundation In 1903, Jewish settlers began to built a nearby village approximately 2 km south of the ancient site which they also called Atlit. The village was established by Edmond James de Rothschild, with most of the land bought from Arab fishermen. A hundred families settled there but much of it was swampland, and many residents succumbed to malaria. Aaron Aaronsohn established an agricultural station in Atlit in 1911, and during World War I the village was used as a base by the Nili organisation.

British Mandate period In the 1922 census of Palestine, during the British Mandate of Palestine period Athlit Colony had a population of 78 Jews and 3 Muslims, while Athlit Salt works had a population of 196 Jews, 1 Muslim and 1 Christian.

The population of the wider had increased in the 1931 census to 413 Muslims, 496 Jews and 39 Christians; in a total of 193 houses; in addition to historical Atlit, this included Atlit Salt Co., Atlit Labour Group, Atlit Quarry, Aaronson Farm, Atlit Station and Atlit Police Post.

The Arab presence underwent a sharp decline in the 1940s due to land sales, so that by the 1945 statistics there were only 150 Arabs still living there (90 Muslims and 60 Christians) alongside 510 Jews.

State of Israel The circumstances under which the remaining Arabs left in 1948 are unknown. The Atlit detainee camp was used by the British authorities to detain Jewish migrants to Palestine.

It is now a museum of the Ha'apala (illegal Jewish immigration 1934โ€“48). The headquarters of Shayetet 13 marine commandos is located at Atlit naval base on the Atlit promontory, placing the Crusader ruins there off-limits for regular visitors.

Atlit was declared a local council in 1950, but in 2004 was incorporated in the Hof HaCarmel Regional Council as one of a handful of Regional Councils. The late Knesset member Pesah Grupper lived in Atlit. He was head of its local council in the years 1959โ€“1962 and 1969โ€“1971.

Archaeology In August 2021, marine archeologists headed by Yaakov Sharvit from Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of 1,700-year-old coins weighing a total of 6 kg., dated back to the 4th century AD. According to Sharvit, coins demonstrated that they were assembled together and agglutinated because of oxidation of the metals.

Neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Atlit are Neve Moshe, Yamit, Giv'at HaPrahim, Giv'at HaBrekhot, Giv'at Sharon, Shoshanat HaYam, HaGoren, Yafe Nof, Argaman, Hofit, Savyonei Atlit and Allon. Atlit is in immediate vicinity of the villages Neve Yam and Ein Carmel.

Jerusalem Time 
Jerusalem Time
Image: Adobe Stock Roman #335874250

Atlit has a population of over 10,639 people. Atlit also forms part of the wider Hof HaCarmel District which has a population of over 28,500 people. Atlit is situated near Haifa.

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Atlit has links with:

๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Arad, Romania ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Nardรฒ, Italy
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Atlit is: -145.067,-32.683

Locations Near: Atlit 34.9333,32.6833

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Haifa 34.989,32.816 d: 15.6  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Kiryat Ata 35.1,32.8 d: 20.3  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Kiryat Motzkin 35.079,32.83 d: 21.3  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Hadera 34.926,32.437 d: 27.4  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Umm al-Fahm 35.15,32.517 d: 27.5  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Acre 35.095,32.925 d: 30.8  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netanya 34.867,32.343 d: 38.3  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Nahariyya 35.083,33 d: 37.9  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Afula 35.288,32.61 d: 34.2  

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Nazareth 35.298,32.702 d: 34.2  

Antipodal to: Atlit -145.067,-32.683

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ซ Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 18271.6  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ธ Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16711.8  

๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ด Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16776.5  

๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ธ Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16594.1  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 14090.9  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 13955  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 13935.9  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 13935.2  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 13934.8  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 13860.6  

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