The discovery of an ancient city: Ugarit
Syria, History, 12/6/2000

Almost 75 years ago, in 1924, virtually nothing was known about the Canaanite civilization which thrived on the coast of Present Syria and Lebanon. Then excavations began in 1929 at Raas Shamra (Ugarit) some 10 Km north of Lattakia, and tablets recovered there which were subsequently deciphered brought to light information on these seafaring traders also referred to as Phoenicians.

Archaeologists have since been excavating at Ugarit and more recently at Raas Ibn Hani, the latter Ugaritic settlement was accidentally discovered five years ago when ground was broken for the erection of the Lattakia Meridian Hotel.

While Syrian and French archaeologists continue to excavate the remains of these Sry- Cannanite ( Ugaritic) communities, epigraphers translate the written texts of these ancient merchants. The official field epigrapher for the Ugaritic texts was Dr. Pierre Bordrevil, who made his home in Beirut and is affiliated with the Center National de La Recherche Scietifique, Paris. He was in Damascus to translate tablets recovered at Raas Ibn Hani before the joint Syrian- French expedition begins excavations there for the coming season.

Dr. Bordevil explained that both sites are 2nd Millennium BC. Late Bronze Age in which there were two scripts: The earlier syllabic cuneiform Akkadian script and the simpler Ugaritic alphabetic script containing 30 letters.

Dr. Bordrevil translates the alphabetic Ugaritic script and another specialist deciphers the Akkadian tablets recovered at both sites, which are about 5 Km apart.

" Whereas Ugarit ( Raas Shamra) was a very ancient city that developed haphazardly during generations of expansion, Raas Ibn Hani is neatly laid out, on a promontory of the coast," he said.

" We reason that Raas Ibn Hani was built as a lookout point for the Ugaritic inhabitants of the coast. The walls and structures are carefully laid out on a north-west- southeast orientation." The late bronze age city of Ugarit was totally devastated during the invasions of the Sea people around 1200 BC.. but Raas Shamra appears to have been populated for another 30 or 40 years after that judging by pottery recovered there. The ceramics date to the Mycenean period.

The West Semitic Ugaritic texts discovered at Ugarit in 1929 were deciphered a year later. Alphabetic tablets of this west Semitic language have been found in eight other regions including Raas Ibn Hani.

During the period between 1977-1978 only 60 tablets have been recovered from Raas Ibn Hani. " Dr. Bordrevil said that there were discovered from the southern palace which was destroyed by fire. The tablets were broken by fire and scattered when the roof of the building caved in. but more fragments were discovered later and fitted together.."

The texts deal with mythology, rituals, political letters and lists of place names. In regard to the latter, Dr. Bordrevil has determined the names of the first King of Ugarit, Yagaru and the first letter in the name of the last King of Ugarit, Hammurabi.

In terms of rituals, we have found a tablet that mentions the King's sacrifices of an animal to a God. the deity Rashaf, is mentioned and, after two strokes, the same type of sacrifices is offered to the Goddess Anat: " When the King sees Rashaf A nose and a throat.. silver and gold..

When the King sees Anat Of SLHT, a nose and a throat, Silver and gold." Of the 70 proper names deciphered from he Raas Ibn Hani tablets, 60 are well known at Ugarit.

Dr. Bordrevil, who has been associated with the Raas Shamra excavations since 1971, says women clearly enjoyed important positions in both cities.

" the tablets record transactions in which women were selling and buying houses and fields," he said. " texts report sacrifices performed by a Queen and there are two letters that were sent to " the Queen, my Mother." " At Raas Shamra, a man often bore the family name of his mother. He probably took her name if her family ranked higher than his father's family," he added One of the texts signifies a rather tragic circumstances for a queen, however, " It seems the queen deserted her husband and returned to her family," Dr. Bordrevil said. Several of the texts record the King's efforts to have the family return his wife. Finally, after a great sum of money was paid, the family returned her- presumably for her execution at the hands of the King.

Dr. Bordrevil says the expert on Akkadian script has also translated texts which refer to a powerful queen in Raas Ibn Hani.

" At Raas Shamra, we often found official texts in very modest homes.

The only explanation for finding portions of the royal archives in simple dwellings is that much like businessmen of today, the scribes took their work home at night." " unfortunately for us, during he first Millennium BC, the Canaanites switched to the much easier medium of writing on papyrus and leather.

These documents have not been preserved and so we know the late Bronze Age much better than we do later periods because the clay tablets ate indestructible." Additional information on the Ugarit texts was offered b Prof. Dennis Pardee, almost 20 years ago, of the University of Chicago who was completing a year of research in Syria as a Full-bright fellow. In Damascus he was preparing an edition of all the letters in the Ugaritic Language recovered from Raas Shamra and Raas Ibn Hani. The letters inscribed on clay tablets, represent personal, royal and business correspondence." A specialist in such languages as Ugaritic, Phoenician and Aramaic, Dr Pardee explained that " Ugaritic is the earliest of this family group and Aramaic stands apart from the others '.

" As more tablets are recovered, we have been able to get a better picture of the politics at Ugarit." He added." We have discovered letters sent from the King of Ugarit to the King of Hatti ( to whom he was subservient) and to the Pharos of Egypt. It is clear he was playing one ruler off against the other, since the Ugarit monarch referred to both as " master." " great lord' and the " Sun." Obviously, the Ugarit leader had a stronger relationship with the Egyptian ruler it was presumed earlier." Many tablets are by a son writing to his mother the queen.

" The Queen mother definitely occupied an important role and there were evidences for three such women," he said. " these texts definitely prove the queen owned land in their own right."

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