Khirbet el-'Ormeh

Khirbet el-'Ormeh (خربة العرمة) or Horvat Ormah (חורבת עורמה) is an archaeological site located in the West Bank, around ten kilometers southeast of the Palestinian city of Nablus. The site contains the remains of a Hasmonean-Herodian fortress consisting of a fortification wall, rectangular towers constructed in the Hellenistic style, and a series of large cisterns for storing rainwater. The site is in Area B of the West Bank, under partial control of the State of Palestine, and has been designated as a Palestinian Heritage Site. In recent years, it has become the site of a conflict between Israeli settlers and Palestinians. According to an investigation in 2021 by Israeli website Ynet, part of the site has been damaged or dismantled by the Palestinian Authority. A new mosque ("mosque of the martyrs") and a solar power system have been built nearby. Khirbet el-'Ormeh is situated atop a hill known as Mount Al-Arma or Mount Al-Urma (جبل العرمة), on an altitude of 843 meters above sea level. It is located about 1.5 km northwest of the Palestinian town of Aqraba, and southeast of the Israeli settlement of Itamar. In the 1995 Oslo Accords, the site was classified as Area B (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control). Khirbet el-'Ormeh is commonly identified with Arumah, a biblical toponym mentioned in the Book of Judges (9:41): "Then Abimelek stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem." The reference is in the context of story describing a local revolt against Abimelech, the king of Shechem and the son of judge Gideon. It is believed that the Arabic name preserves the ancient biblical name. In 1851-2 C.W.M Van De Velde passed by and noted "I believe I may recognise the Arumah of Judges ix 41". The site appears on his maps of Palestine and Jerusalem. In 1870 Victor Guérin visited. In 1877 Herbert Kitchener of the Palestine Exploration Fund travelled in the area, as part of The Survey of Western Palestine. Kitchener reported: "I rode out and examined the fine site of El'Ormah, south-east of Nablus.