{{Short description|Settlement in Saudi Arabia}} thumb|right|A Jar from Al-Rabadha '''Al-Rabatha''' (Arabic الربذة) is a settlement in Saudi Arabia located some 200 km to the north-east of Medina on the pilgrim route from Kufa to Mecca, known as Darb Zubaydah. The archaeological excavations directed by the King Saud University, have shown that, Al-Rabadha yields important information for the early phases of Islamic culture.<ref>[http://www.ksu.edu.sa/sites/Colleges/RelicAndTourismCollege/Archaeologicalsites/Pages/Al-Rabadha.aspx Brief description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426152501/https://www.ksu.edu.sa/sites/Colleges/RelicAndTourismCollege/Archaeologicalsites/Pages/Al-Rabadha.aspx |date=2020-04-26 }} of Al- Rabadha at a website at the King Saud University.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zmvNogJO2ZgC&dq=Al-Rabadha&pg=PA491 Entry for "Al-Rabadha"] in the book "A dictionary of archaeology, by Ian Shaw and Robert Jameson", pages 190-191</ref> The town is also known as the place Abu Dharr al-Ghifari spent his last years and died at.
The excavations at Al-Rabadha give a good insight into urban housing in the Early Islamic Period. The site is dominated by a palace structure, consisting of 13 rooms all with doors opening on a central courtyard.<ref>Rashid, S. 1986 ''Al-Rabadhah: Portrait of early Islamic Civilisation in Saudi Arabia''. Riyadh: King Saud University. p.26</ref> Each room is likely to have served a different purpose, with evidence for ovens, grain storage and a furnace for glass-making found in separate areas.<ref>Rashid p.28</ref> A more typical house from the site is similar in its design, but smaller in area, with divided rooms averaging 3x2m.<ref>Rashid p.31</ref> In contrast with Western Europe, timber is not used in construction, with all houses being made from sun-dried mud brick, with stone foundations.
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Category:Archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia