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Ras Ibn Hani
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10 km
north of Latakia; it was dug from 1975 to 1982 by a Franco-Syrian
mission. The site complements Ugarit/Minet al-Beida, continuing the
chronological sequence from the end of the Bronze Age until the
Byzantine period (13th century BC to 6th century AD). It was founded by a King of Ugarit, probably to survey maritime access
to the main port but also to provide a cooler summer residence. The
palace area is in total larger than the main palace at Ugarit, covering
over 8000 m². Ras Ibn Hani sheds some light in the otherwise obscure
period after the great invasion and reveals a resumption of indigenous
Syrian influences, reversing the heavily Mycenaean links of the LBA. The fortress was razed but the site again fell into the hands of the
Ptolemies under Antiochus IX (ruled 115 - 95 BC) and a small fortress
was erected in the south eastern corner of the ruined compound. The
last significant occupation was during the 4th to 6th centuries AD. |