Forgotten Ancient Ugarit: One Of The Flourishing And Oldest Cities Of Canaan

A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – The discovery of Ugarit’s secrets in the early 20th century invites reflection on how much of our past remains hidden beneath the surface.

When it was revealed that Ras Sharma was once part of an ancient city, it opened a window into a lost world, reminding us of the enduring mysteries that history holds and the profound impact such revelations can have on our understanding of civilization.

The forgotten ancient Canaanite city of Ugarit was discovered in 1928 by a local farmer plowing his field. He was unaware that he had accidentally come across the remains of an old seaport at its political, religious, and economic height around the 12th century BC.

Soon, the site, called by the residents of Ras Shamra, became an essential place for the discovery of a cemetery only 150 meters from the Mediterranean Sea, an ancient city of Ugarit, and a royal palace built on a trapezoidal mound about 20 meters high.