The palace of Urwah (قصر عروة بن الزبير), also known as the Castle of Urwah was discovered and excavated in 2013. The connection between the Urwah ibn Zubair ibn Awaam could not be established, it was merely named after him. The castle, which was built on a mountain, overlooks Al-Aqeeq Valley and its walls and foundations were built with stones cut from the nearby mountains. Its gate was on the southern side and its architectural units spreading around its three courtyards.

According to tradition Urwah bin Zubair purchased a portion of Khawwat bin Jubair's and converted it into a farm and also built a large fortress on it. Urwah also had a well dug near this complex to water his land for the purpose of cultivation. In 2013, the historical ruins of an Ottoman era castle were unearthed in excavations carried out by a team of archeologists from the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). Among the discoveries were pottery, glass, tools made of stone, and steatite utensils, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

Situated approximately 3.5 kilometers west of the Prophet’s Mosque and adjacent to the route leading to the Miqat of Dhul-Hulayfah, the Palace overlooks the fertile floodplain of Wadi al-Aqīq and occupies a strategically visible hillside position. The site is among the most prominent surviving secular archaeological complexes in the Medina region from the first centuries of Islamic history, juxtaposed with other palaces erected in the valley such as those associated with Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀs and Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam. The extant remains consist of foundational walls and architectural units distributed around interior courtyards, with associated wells that attest to the estate’s role in water management and agricultural exploitation.

circa 1800 CE

ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr was the son of al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (a companion of the Prophet Muḥammad) and Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr, situating him within the Qurayshite aristocracy of Medina. He was counted among the Seven Jurists of Medina and was renowned for his transmission of prophetic traditions and legal opinions. The land on which the Palace stands had been part of larger agricultural holdings in Wadi al-Aqīq that dated to the time of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb’s caliphate when portions of the valley were designated as feudal land. ʿUrwah acquired a tract from Khawwat bin Jubayr al-Anṣārī, after which he undertook its reclamation, leveling the ground for cultivation and digging irrigation channels to bring water from the wadi into his fields.

The Palace functioned both as a private residence and as a locus of hospitality and social interaction for travelers. Contemporary descriptions and later historical memory emphasise the high quality of water from the well at the complex, which became a noted stopping point for pilgrims on the route to Mecca, its renown immortalised in local tradition and poetry. Excavations conducted in the early 2010s exposed the site’s architectural layout, revealing foundations and rooms distributed around three courtyards, with evidence of domestic facilities such as kitchens and storerooms. Archaeological finds in the Palace area also include pottery and glass fragments attributable to the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, suggesting continued occupation or reuse beyond ʿUrwah’s lifetime.

circa 1800 CE

The architectural remains of the Palace reflect the vernacular and pragmatic building practices of the Hijaz in the late 7th and early 8th centuries. The complex is oriented around three internal courtyards of varying dimensions, a spatial configuration that facilitated light, ventilation, and social organization within an otherwise enclosed environment. Surrounding the courtyards were residential rooms, each averaging approximately 2.20 m by 3.70 m in plan, and a discrete kitchen space adjoining one of the courtyards. Walls were constructed of locally quarried stone up to around 50 cm thick, bonded with clay mortar; surfaces were finished with clay and plaster, while floors were compacted with pebbles and covered with lime or clay plaster. Thresholds of rooms were often fashioned from volcanic stone, a material abundant in the surrounding landscape.

The Palace’s wells form a defining architectural and functional feature. At least three wells were known historically: one within the palace complex, a second designated al-Usaylah, and a third outside the complex on the wadi bank serving as a public watering source for travelers. The existence of these wells demonstrates an integrated approach to water management, whereby the estate harnessed both subsurface water and wadi flows to support domestic life and agriculture.

Architectural access appears to have been concentrated through a principal southern gate, with ancillary paths linking the internal courtyards. The close alignment of architectural units around open courts conforms with broader early Islamic residential models in the region, prioritising privacy inward and climatic adaptability.

circa 1800 CE

The excavations and restoration works were carried out over two seasons continuously in the valley near the ancient castle named after Urwah Bin al Zubair, grandson of the first Caliph Abu Bakr. The remnants included major portions of the castle, which dates back to the Umayyad era in the first century Hijra, covering an area of 1,200 square meters. The remains of the Umayyad era castle included foundations of eight rooms on an area spreading over 40x30 square meters, and the walls were made of volcanic stones. No archaeological connection between the structure and Urwah could be extablished, the structure was merely named after him after the discovery.

The main construction materials discovered during the third excavation included marble and glass, as well as steatite utensils and ceramics that show how far the Islamic ceramic industry developed during the first and second Hijri centuries. Several pieces of glass utensils and artifacts as well as metal tools apparently used for decoration purposes were also discovered.