Sharon Plain

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completely resolved, and as a result the region is intensively cultivated (citrus fruits) and densely populated.

History

The plain of Sharon was settled by man from early Canaanite times. Weapons and tools dating from that period were found in 1962 in the tell of Kefar Monash (9km/6mi northeast of Netanya), a moshav founded by British ex-servicemen in 1946 and named after the Australian General Monash.

The old settlements were destroyed by the Assyrians and Babylonians (seventh-sixth century B.C.); then in the fifth century B.C. the site was occupied by Phoenicians. Around 100 B.C. Sharon was incorporated in Judaea. In 25 B.C. Herod founded the port of Caesarea, which in Roman and Byzantine times became capital of the province. After the Mameluke invasion in the 13th century the drainage system fell into disrepair and the plain reverted to marshland, which was almost completely uninhabited. The situation began to change when Jewish settlers established themselves in the area. In 1878 they founded Petah Tiqwa on the banks of the Yarqon to the south, and in 1890 Hadera to the north. Thereafter the drainage of the area was systematically pursued, and since then numerous new settlements have been founded, including large towns like Herzliya and Netanya.