Description : 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 between 2400–2000 BC. A French–Syrian mission has been excavating the site since 2002. The site was occupied for a relatively short period during the late third and early second millennium BC, roughly coinciding with the Early Bronze IV period. It was founded around 2400 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. At least three temples were identified, of which one has been excavated. The largest temple excavated had an entrance with a columned front porch, a square cella and faces a 50 metres (160 ft) long sacred enclosure to the outside. Offerings that were found in this temple include alabaster from Egypt, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and agate from India. The city was defended by a double rampart built of mudbricks on a stone foundation and two ditches. The town was accessible through five gates. The urban site indicates that it was a part of several trade networks of different scales. Al-Rawda probably served as a stopping place for caravans that crossed the plateau between the Euphrates valley and the region of Qatna. The site also served as a religious center for the region, with a large sanctuary that was likely dedicated to the city's patron god, and it played a major part in the development of extensive pastoralism and wool production at the end of the third millennium BC.
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