Birkat al-Nabatiyya, the Eastern Reservoir of Bosra

East of ancient Bosra, outside the walls, lies a large square open-air reservoir. Locally it is called Birkat al-Nabatiyya, the Nabataeans’ pool. Both its name and its date come from its stones: the masons’ marks on the lower courses are shaped like Nabataean letters. It matches the town’s other great reservoir, Birket al-Hajj, in scale and belongs to the same water system. No dated source on its present state could be found.

Where it is

East of the ancient city, outside the walls. The two large reservoirs are about 500 metres apart: Birket al-Hajj lies east of the theatre, in the south-east corner of the ancient city, and the eastern reservoir lies beyond it.

Because the reservoir is outside the walls, take care. According to SANA on 10 September 2026, Daraa civil defence carried out controlled detonations of mines left from the war near Bosra. Stay on the clear path and keep out of the surrounding fields and empty ground.

What it is like

The reservoir is square, each side close to 150 metres, and is edged by a quay. As at Birket al-Hajj, its inner face is lined with rusticated stones that step back in regular courses. The same masonry is repeated on the outer face to strengthen the walls. A channel coming from the east entered at the south-east corner.

How we know it is Nabataean

The lower courses of the inner and outer faces carry many masons’ marks. All are shaped like Nabataean letters. That is where both its name and its date come from. The two reservoirs sit in the eastern quarter, laid out on a monumental scale in the 1st century under the last Nabataean kings, whose kingdom ruled Bosra before Rome annexed it. The channel that fed them was most likely part of the same Nabataean building programme.

Where the water came from

Seasonal water of middling quality was gathered in a side valley about 5 km east of Bosra. Part of it went to irrigation, part to the town. The channel follows the contour lines. To cross the valley it drops steeply into it and pours into a lake behind a dam fitted with an overflow spillway. Near the town it splits in two, one branch running to the eastern reservoir and the other to Birket al-Hajj.

What not to miss

Look closely at the lower courses of the walls and search for the masons’ marks. They are small letters. They are also the proof that the reservoir is Nabataean.

Current state

In the flood of April 2018 the eastern reservoir also went under water. No dated source could be found on whether it holds water today or what condition the site is in. The ancient city of Bosra is visited; according to SANA on 14 September 2026, the number of tourist groups coming to the town is rising.