Mysteria
Verified35.6020° N · 35.7820° E · 20 m

Ugarit

𐎜𐎂𐎗𐎚 · Ras Shamra · Ra's Shamrah · Ugaritic Ugrt

Neolithic to Late Bronze collapse 1190 BCE·Ugaritic Semitic (Amorite-Canaanite) under Hittite-Egyptian influence·🇸🇾 Latakia Governorate, Syria

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About

About Ugarit

Late Bronze cosmopolitan port (c.6000 BCE Neolithic to 1190 BCE destruction) on the Mediterranean, capital of the Kingdom of Ugarit (c.1450–1190 BCE) with cuneiform alphabetic tablets (world's first alphabet c.1300 BCE — 30-letter Ugaritic), Baal Cycle myths, and international harbor at Minet el-Beida. Claude Schaeffer 1929 accidental discovery after a farmer's plow hit a tomb; palaces, temples of Baal and Dagan, and earthquake destruction c.1200 BCE (Sea Peoples).

Why it mattersFirst alphabet; Baal myths feeding biblical Psalms; Late Bronze internationalism.

Open questions

Mysteries & theories

Mysteries

  1. 01Identity of Sea Peoples destroyers
  2. 02Earthquake swarm before 1190 collapse?

Theories

  1. 01Alphabet invented for mercantile polyglot port

Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.

History

How it came to be

Built
c.6000 BCE; Late Bronze palace c.1450 BCE
Period
Neolithic to Late Bronze collapse 1190 BCE
Culture
Ugaritic Semitic (Amorite-Canaanite) under Hittite-Egyptian influence
Builders
Niqmepa, Ammurapi (last king)
Purpose
Levantine port, alphabet invention, Baal theology
Abandoned
c.1190 BCE (Sea Peoples/earthquake/fire)
Rediscovered
1928 tomb hit; 1929 Schaeffer
Excavation
Partially excavated

  1. 1928

    Farmer uncovers vaulted tomb

  2. c.1300 BCE

    Ugaritic alphabetic cuneiform invented

  3. c.1250 BCE

    Earthquake destroys city

On the ground

Structures & features

35.6020° N · 35.7820° E · 20 m · 4 mapped features

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