in 1875, french explorer victor guérin visited mi'ar, and noted that it contained "several trunks of columns, three broken capitals, and a certain number old cut stones, coming from some ancient building. i observed also many blocks of ancient appearance disposed round threshing-floors. there are also cisterns, walls, and caves cut in the rock, which belong to times more or less remote." he found mi'ar to be inhabited by 500 muslims.