Ras
al-Basit: 53 km north of Latakia; the French excavations of 1971 to 1984 revealed
a small settlement with citadel founded as an outpost if Ugarit during
the Late Bronze Age, surviving into the Iron Age. It had strong links
with Phoenicia and Cyprus and received a Greek colony in the 7th
century BC but was destroyed during the Persian period (539 - 331 BC).
A basilica was erected at the foot of the acropolis, the port
facilities improved and houses for the wealthy constructed. |