'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1481] (554/688)

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Name.
Rafi 'ah
Rakaiyah Qasr
Mahanna.
Position.
1J miles west of
Buraidah.
About 18 miles north
east of Buraidah
and east of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -ar
Rummah.
Houses
and
inhabitants.
Rasais
Rass .
C52 (w)GSB
Between
Jau'i.
Rass and
40 to 45 miles south
west of Buraidah.
A Qasr containing 8
households of Mu-
tair.
A fort containing
half-a-dozen houses
of various Arab
tribes. There are
also a number of
watch towers in the
fields, some of which
are occupied.
20 houses
Remaeks.
Some date palms and
other cultivation.
Water is brackish at
7 fathoms.
This place was founded
about 1860 by Mahan
na, Amir of Bu
raidah ; it stands in
the middle of a de
pression 2 miles in
diameter. The fort
is remarkable for con
taining a magnifi
cent well or water-
pit with an opening
78 feet square and a
depth of about 70 feet,
the upper 30 feet in
sand and earth and
the remainder in
standstone rock. The
water is raised by
camels and after pass
ing out through .the
wall of the fort irri
gates fields of wheat,
barley, maize and
melons. In good years
the water in the well
stands 45 and even 60
feet in depth. Better
water for drinking
purposes than that of
the well is said to be
obtained from a hol
low Quwaitir called
. 2 miles to,the south
ward. There are
camels for working
the wells and some
other animals.
There are some date
groves and com is
grown. Water, which
is drinkable, is from
wells 2 fathoms deep.
See article Rass.