Definition: Ugarit is the ancient name of a Canaanite city represented by the archaeological site of Ras Shamra, on Syria's Mediterranean coastline. Excavated since 1929 by the French Mission de Ras Shamra, Ugarit continues to produce information concerning the Late Bronze Age period of the Mediterranean.
The most important aspect of Ugarit must be the recovery of several tablets of Ugaritic script, a cuneiform written language not related to Mesopotamian, but a true alphabet, each glyph representing a sound rather than a separate meaning. Scholars associated with Ugarit include Claude F.A. Schaeffer, Dennis Pardee and Margaret Yon.
Sources
This glossary entry is part of the About.com Guide to Mesopotamia as well as the Dictionary of Archaeology. Sources for the term include the references listed on the front page of the Dictionary, and the websites listed in the sidebar. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
Also Known As: Ras Shamra
