Rimal Isdud

Rimāl Isdūd (Arabic: رِمَال إِسْدُود, lit. "The Sands of Isdūd") is a historical coastal dunefield located west of the Palestinian village of Isdud (modern Ashdod), on the southern Levantine coast. The area underwent agricultural development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries during the Late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Though once regarded as barren mawwāt land, it became a site of extensive sand/dune agriculture cultivated by Palestinian villagers and Bedouins using traditional techniques.

Rimal Isdud is an exceptional example of the sand/dune cultural landscape of the southern levantine coastline.

Geography

Rimāl Isdūd is part of a belt of Holocene coastal aeolian dunefields that extend along the Eastern Mediterranean. The area is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west and fertile alluvial plains to the east. The landscape includes semi-consolidated sand dunes, kurkar ridges, and interdune depressions, with a shallow water table and seasonal lakes that enabled localized agriculture.

Ashdod Sand Dune

The Ashdod Sand Dune in Rimal Isdud is one of the last remaining large-scale coastal sand dune systems in Israel, located south of the city of Ashdod along the Mediterranean coast. Once part of an extensive dune belt that stretched across the southern Levant, the area represents a unique ecological and geological landscape shaped by aeolian processes. The dune system is home to diverse flora and fauna and has been the focus of environmental preservation efforts amid growing urban development. Portions of the dunes have been incorporated into the proposed Sand Dune Park, which aims to protect the site's natural heritage and biodiversity.

Historical background

The dunefields were historically attached to the lands of Isdud, a major agricultural village in the Gaza Subdistrict. The name "Rimāl Isdūd" reflects their association with the village. For centuries, the dunes were used mainly for grazing, while cultivation remained limited to the adjacent loamy plains.

Agricultural transformation

Late Ottoman Period (c. 1870–1917)

During the Ottoman period, Rimāl Isdūd was largely classified as mawwāt (uncultivable state land). While local residents began planting fig and grape orchards along the eastern dune margins, the interior dunefield remained uncultivated.

British Mandate Period (1917–1948)

Population growth, migration from Egypt, and market demands during the Mandate period led to intensified cultivation. Agricultural activity expanded into the dunes through traditional practices such as:

* Mawasi agriculture: Interdune plot-and-berm farming using shallow wells and soil embankments.
* Kurūm and basātīn: Vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees planted in sandy and loamy soils.
* Huqūl: Open-field plots planted with wheat, barley, and vetch on more stable sandy patches.

Land ownership and colonial policy

Despite widespread local cultivation, British authorities classified the dunes as state land and initiated dune fixation efforts through afforestation and sand removal to protect infrastructure such as the Al-Qantara – Lydda railway. Land settlement files show a tension between indigenous land improvement practices and colonial regulatory frameworks.

Legacy

Rimāl Isdūd challenges colonial-era perceptions of the Middle Eastern environment as static and barren. It exemplifies how local Palestinian knowledge and agrarian traditions enabled the reclamation of marginal landscapes. The site stands as a case study in rural adaptation and environmental transformation under shifting political and economic conditions.

See also

* Ashdod-Yam

References

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Dunes of Asia
Landforms of West Asia