Kherbet Selm ( ar, خربة سلم) is a village in southern
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
.
The municipality of Khirbet Selm is located in the Kaza of Bent Jbayl, one of the eight mohafazats (governorates) of Lebanon. Khirbet Selm is 104 kilometers (64.6256 mi) away from
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
the capital of Lebanon.
The village's elevation is 630 meters (2067.03 ft - 688.968 yd) above sea level. Khirbet Selm surface stretches for 379 hectares (12.60 km² - 9.46294 mi²).
Name
The name of the town means "the ruins of Selem". ''Khirbeh'' means ruins, and Selem is likely
Salem, a
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
ite deity.
History
In 1875
Victor Guérin
Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...
described it: “In the middle of a deep and broad ravine the Wady el-Hadjr, a sort of rocky islet lying north and south. Oblong and narrow, it serves as the site of a village called Kh. Selem, which contains a population of 130
Metawileh
Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...
.”
He further noted: “Here are found the remains of an ancient church, such as cut stones, shafts more or less broken, and a circular
baptismal font. Here I also saw several Greek crosses engraved on
lintels of doors,
cisterns, presses cut in the rock, and even some houses still standing which may be older than the Mussulman invasion.”
In 1881, the
PEF's
''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described it: “A village, built of stone, containing 200 Metawileh, on ridge, with spring and cisterns ; arable cultivation around.”
They further noted: "South of the village there is a level area of rock, in the middle of which one
column is standing. Another column and two or three pedestals form part of a wall on the west. There are no
capitals. This was probably a Christian church. The columns are not well dressed."
[Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p]
121
/ref>
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 2:
IAAWikimedia commonsKhirbet Selm
Localiban
{{Bint Jbeil District
Populated places in the Israeli security zone 1985–2000
Populated places in Bint Jbeil District
Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon