After
the discovery of the temple library, which revealed a
hitherto unknown cuneiform alphabetic script as well as an
entirely new mythological and religious literature, several other
palatial as well as private libraries were found, along with
archives dealing with all aspects of the city's political, social,
economic, and cultural life.
The
art of Ugarit in its golden age is best illustrated by a golden cup
and patera (bowl) ornamented with incised Ugaritic scenes; by carved
stone stelae and bronze statuettes and ceremonial axes; by carved
ivory panels depicting royal activities; and by other fine-carved
ivories. Despite Egyptian influence, Ugaritic art exhibits a Syrian
style of its own.
Soon
after 1200 BC Ugarit came to an end. Its fall coincided with the
invasion of the Northern and Sea Peoples and certainly with
earthquakes and famines. In the Iron Age and during the 6th-4th
century BC, there were small settlements on the site (Leukos
Limen).
The
excavators of the site were fortunate in the number and variety of
finds of ancient records in cuneiform
script. The excavations continue, and each season throws
some new and often unexpected light on the ancient north Canaanite
civilization. The texts are written on clay tablets either in the
Babylonian cuneiform script or in the special alphabetic cuneiform
script invented in Ugarit. Several copies of this alphabet, with its
30 signs, were found in 1949 and later. A shorter alphabet,
with 25, or even 22, signs, seems to have been used by 13th-century
traders.
Scribes
used four languages: Ugaritic, Akkadian, Sumerian, and Hurrian, and
seven different scripts were used in Ugarit in this period: Egyptian
and Hittite hieroglyphic and Cypro-Minoan, Sumerian, Akkadian,
Hurrian, and Ugaritic cuneiform. These show clearly the cosmopolitan
character of the city.
The
Middle Bronze Age period. A
carnelian bead identified with the pharaoh Sesostris I (reigned
1971-28 BC) and a stela and statuettes, gifts to the kings of Ugarit
from other Middle Kingdom pharaohs (e.g., Sesostris II, 1897-78, and
Amenemhet III, 1842-1797), provided the first exact dating in the
history of Ugarit. Eggshell ware from Crete (Middle Minoan period)
and Babylonian cylinder seals found in the tombs of level II also
provided cross datings. During the 18th and 17th centuries BC,
Ugarit was apparently under the control of new tribes related to the
Hyksos, probably mainly Hurrians or Mitannians, who mutilated the
Egyptian monuments.
Ras Shamra texts and the Bible Many
texts discovered at Ugarit, including the "Legend of Keret," the
"Aghat Epic" (or "Legend of Danel"), the "Myth of Baal-Aliyan," and
the "Death of Baal," reveal an Old Canaanite mythology. A tablet
names the Ugaritic pantheon with Babylonian equivalents; El,
Asherah of the Sea, and Baal were the main deities.
These texts not only constitute a literature of high standing and
great originality but also have an important bearing on Old
Testament studies. It is now evident that the patriarchal
stories in the Old Testament were not merely transmitted orally but
were based on written documents of Canaanite origin, the discovery
of which at Ugarit has led to a new appraisal of the Old
Testament.
The
Ras Shamra mound Soundings
made through the Ras Shamra mound revealed a reliable stratigraphic
sequence of settlements from the beginning of the Neolithic period.
Above the ground level, five main upper levels (levels V to I) were
identified. The three lowest levels have been subdivided into
smaller layers. The earliest settlement on level V--already a small
fortified town in the 7th millennium BC--shows a prepottery stage
with flint industries. Also on level V, but in a later layer, light,
sun-dried pottery appears. Level IV and part of level III date back
to the Chalcolithic, or Copper-Stone, Age, when new ethnic groups
arrived from the northeast and the east. This stage shows
Mediterranean as well as strong Mesopotamian influence. During the
Early Chalcolithic Age, painted pottery of the Hassunan and Halafian
cultures of northern Iraq is very common. The Late Chalcolithic
shows fresh Mesopotamian influence with its monochromatic, Ubaidian,
geometric painted pottery. The flint industry was then in
competition with the first metal tools, made of copper. The Early
Bronze Age (3rd millennium) layers, immediately above, in level III,
yielded no more painted ware but various monochromatic burnished
wares and some red polished ware of Anatolian origin. With Early
Bronze Age III, metallurgy quickly developed. In the Middle Bronze
Age, newcomers, so-called Torque-Bearers, expert in bronze
metallurgy, arrived (c. 2000-1900 BC). Levels II and I correspond to
historical periods within the 2nd millennium BC.
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