UGARIT

ancient city lying in a large artificial mound called Ras Shamra (Ra's Shamrah), 6 miles (10 km) north of Al-Ladhiqiyah (Latakia) on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria. Its ruins, about half a mile from the shore, were first uncovered by the plow of a peasant at Al-Bayda Bay. Excavations were begun in 1929 by a French archaeological mission under the direction of Claude F.A. Schaeffer. Additional reading Claude F.A. Schaeffer, The Cuneiform Texts of Ras Shamra-Ugarit (1939, reprinted 1980), discusses the inscriptions that gave a start to the study of the ancient city. Adrian Curtis, Ugarit (Ras Shamra) (1985), is a history of politics, culture, and everyday life. Michael Heltzer, The Internal Organization of the Kingdom of Ugarit (1982), and The Rural Community in Ancient Ugarit (1976), are detailed surveys. A glimpse of social life and customs is found in A. van Selms, Marriage & Family Life in Ugaritic Literature (1954). The place of Ugarit culture in Biblical studies is explored in Peter C. Craigie, Ugarit and the Old Testament (1983). Translations of Ugarit legends are given in Godfrey R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 2nd ed., edited by J.C.L. Gibson (1978).