Jisr Isdud or Isdud Bridge, also known as the

Ad Halom Ad Halom ( he, עַד הֲלוֹם) is a site at the eastern entrance to the city of Ashdod, Israel, where three bridges cross the Lakhish River. Battle Ad Halom (lit. "no further" or "up to here") refers to the northernmost point reached by ...

Bridge,Petersen, A. (2008): ''Bridges in Medieval Palestine'', in U. Vermeulen & K. Dhulster (eds.)
History of Egypt & Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid & Mamluk Eras V
V. Peeters, Leuven was a 13th century

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

bridge built over the

Lakhish River Lakhish River ( he, נחל לכיש, ''Naḥal Lakhish'') is a river in Israel that flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the city of Ashdod. It is also known as Wadi Kabiba (inland section) and Wadi Sukhrir (Ashdod section) in Arabic. History The b ...

(Wadi Sukrir/Wadi Fakhira). It is located approximately 1.5 km north of the

junction. The bridge is similar in style and history to the nearby

Jisr Jindas Jisr Jindas, Arabic for "Jindas Bridge", also known as Baybars Bridge, was built in 1273 CE. It crosses a small wadi, known in Hebrew as the Ayalon River, on the old road leading south to Lod and Ramla.Petersen, 2001, p183/ref> The bridge is name ...

and

Yibna Bridge The Yibna Bridge or Nahr Rubin Bridge is a Mamluk arch bridge near Yibna, which crosses the river Nahal Sorek (formerly known as Nahr Rubin, or Wadi al-Tahuna). It was previously used by Route 410 to Rehovot, and was known as the Jumping Bridge du ...

. The bridge is used today by pedestrians and cyclists.

Description

It is made of dressed

kurkar Kurkar ( ar, كركار / he, כורכר) is the term used in Palestinian Arabic and modern Hebrew for the rock type of which lithified sea sand dunes consist. The equivalent term used in Lebanon is ramleh. lancet arches. According to the Archaeological Survey of Israel, the south arch "reveals earlier masonry work, perhaps from the Mamluk period, if not earlier. Flooding in the wadi exposed remains of ancient buildings, built of dressed kurkar stones, near the NW section of the bridge."

History

The bridge was a tactical location in the 1917 Battle of Mughar Ridge. It was blown up in 1946 by the Haganah in the Night of the Bridges, and again in 1948 by the Golani Brigade in early stages of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was subsequently reconstructed and upgraded, and carried heavy traffic for many years. In 2010 it was upgraded with archaeological support led by preservation architect Saadia Mendel. The concrete middle arch was dismantles and rebuilt using Mamluk-era techniques.

References

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