The Romans built the small fort at Burqu to protect a seasonal lake that provided precious water in a highly arid region. They helped conserve the water (run-off from the Haurun-Druze Plateau) by building a dam in the 3rd century, thereby securing water for caravans heading between Syria and Arabia. The fort became a monastery during the Byzantine period and was later restored by the Umayyads in about AD 700.
Remarkably, an inscription on one of the walls of the fort suggests that it may have been occupied as late as 1409.
The lake, which often dries out in summer, is home to a number of bird species (including finches, storks, sandpipers, larks, cranes, buzzards, eagles and vultures) that come to roost because the water level rarely changes, even in summer. The harshness of the surrounding landscape, as well as the lack of properly graded roads, has acted as a strong deterrent against poaching, although the Bedouin occasionally fly their birds of prey in the area. Home to gazelles, desert hares, foxes, hyenas and even caracals, this remarkable little oasis has all the makings of a national reserve.