Al-Rawda

Al-Rawda (Arabic: الروضة) is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in the Syrian steppe, east of Hama. It was a large urban site with city walls and several temples, occupied in the late Early Bronze Age, between 2400–2000 BC. A French–Syrian mission has been excavating the site since 2002.

Al-Rawda is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of Hama and 70 km from ancient Qatna. Both now and in the past, the area received less than 200 millimetres (7.9 in) of rainfall per year, which means that reliable agriculture without irrigation is impossible. The survey of the microregion around Al-Rawda revealed that the site is located in a fayda, a depression that collects runoff water from a wide region, and next to a wadi. Al-Rawda was surrounded by hydrological installations intended to harness runoff water for irrigation. The site itself is an almost circular tell with a maximum height of 2 metres (6.6 ft).

The site was occupied for a relatively short period during the late third millennium BC, roughly coinciding with the Early Bronze IIIB (c. 2500-2350 BCE), Early Bronze IVA (c. 2350-2150 BCE) and Early Bronze IVB (c. 2150-2000 BCE) periods. From 2500 BCE, climate became drier with major drought events around 2200-2150 (4.2 ka event) and 2020 BCE. It was founded between 2560 and 2430 BC and finally abandoned in circa 2000 BC.

The magnetometric survey revealed a circular street pattern with streets radiating away from the centre of the site. Both the temple and the circular street pattern find parallels in Tell Chuera, located in a similar environment to the northeast of Al-Rawda. The settlement occupies a total of 15–16 hectares (37–40 acres) with the circular city walls enclosing 11 hectares (27 acres) and an outer town of 4 hectares (9.9 acres). The southwestern part of the site is occupied by modern houses.

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).