Ajanjul
عجنجول
'Ajanjul, Ajenjul[1]
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| Etymology: Kh. Junjul: The ruin of Junjul[2] | |
A series of historical maps of the area around Ajanjul (click the buttons)
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  Ajanjul Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°52′17″N 35°01′26″E / 31.87139°N 35.02389°E / 31.87139; 35.02389 | |
| Palestine grid | 152/142 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
Ajanjul (Arabic: عجنجول, Ajanjǔl) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle SubdistrictofMandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine.
The name /ʽglgwl/ is of Aramaic extraction, meaning a "small calf".[3]
The Abu Ghosh family took up residence in Ajanjul in the 18th century. The village is described as a place "from where they (the Abu Ghosh) controlled the Valley of Ayalon, including the important village of Bayt Liqya".[4]
In 1838, it was noted as a place "in ruins or deserted."[1]
In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine found at Kh. Junjul: "traces of ruins".[5]
By the beginning of the 20th century, residents from Beit 'Anan settled the site, establishing it as a dependency – or satellite village – of their home village.[6]
According to a census conducted in 1931 by the British Mandate authorities, Ajanjul had a population of 19, in 5 houses.[7]
In the 1945 statistics the population of Beit Nuba and Ajanjul was 1,240, all Muslims,[8] while the total land area was 11,401 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[9] Of this, 1,002 dunams were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 6,997 for cereals,[10] while 74 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[11]
There is no record of what happened to the villagers in 1948.[12]
In 1992 the village site was described: ”The stone debris of houses, concentrated in a small spot and overgrown with wild vegetation, are all that remains of the village. Fig, almond, and mulberry trees also grow on and around the site. On the southern side of the village there is a rocky structure containing two graves; southwest of it lies the village cemetery, where two stone graves are visible. The area is closed and is located along the 1967 border between Jordan and Israel."[12]
