Sataf 4.39

Sataf was a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was located 10 km west of Jerusalem, with Sorek Valley bordering to the east.Two springs, Ein Sataf and Ein Bikura flow from the site into the riverbed below.A monastery located across the valley from Sataf, i.e. south of Wadi as-Sarar, known by local Arabs as Ein el-Habis, is officially called Monastery of St. John in the Wilderness.Today it is a tourist site showcasing ancient agricultural techniques used in the Jerusalem Mountains.HistoryChalcolithic periodRemains of a 4,000 BCE Chalcolithic village were discovered at the site. The related traces of agricultural activities number among the oldest in the region.Byzantine periodMost ancient remains date to the Byzantine period.Mamluk periodThe first written mention of the site is from the Mamluk era.Ottoman periodSataf was noted in the Ottoman tax records of 1525-1526 and 1538-1539, as being located in the Sanjak of Al-Quds. In 1838 it was described as a Muslim village, located in the Beni Hasan district, west of Jerusalem.