The Mysteries of Ugarit - History, Daily Life

NEAR

Vol.63

The of the

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* No. 4 * December 2000 .

world Bible

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In cooperation with The World of the Bible, Near Eastern Archaeology presents

The

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Oriental Research

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A DCH A' (AOOGY Vol. 63 * No. 4 * December

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of Oriental Research

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74Ak

Society of Biblical Literature UGARITICNARRATIVE POETRY

WRITINGS FROMTHE

ANCI ENT WORLD

Translated by Mark S. Smith, Simon B. Parker, Edward L. Greenstein, Theodore J. Lewis, and David Marcus Edited by Simon B. Parker "...it combines the finest of recentscholarship with accessibilityin an inexpensive paperback."-CatholicBiblicalQuarterly "...it is [al majorachievementto producea reliabletransliterationof the main Ugaritic poetic texts side by side with a translation and notes, as a paperbackbook and within reachof anyone's purse." -Joumal of SemiticStudies 279 pages 1997 Code:061509 ISBN:0-7885-0336-7 $34.95 cloth ISBN:0-7885-0337-5 $14.95 paper

HITTITEMYTHS SECOND EDITION Harry A. Hoffner, Jr. This workcontains the firstEnglish translationsof a collection of Hittitemyths. The translationsare based on the original tablets on which the mythswere written, and take into account recenttextual discoveriesand published studies on the texts. Revisedand corrected,this second edition includes an additionalnewly published Hurrianmyth. In addition to translations,the volume includes a series of briefintroductionsto the myths, a glossary of names and technical terms,and indexes of propernames and topics/subjects. Accessible to nonspecialists,the translations also preservecolumn and line count for the convenience of scholars. 1998 136 pages Code:061502 ISBN:0-7885-0488-6 $14.95 paper

LAWCOLLECTIONSFROM MESOPOTAMIA AND ASIA MINOR SECOND EDITION Martha T. Roth "...highly recommendedto every student of the Bibleand the ancient Near East." -Journal of SemiticStudies "...will be the standardreferencetool on its subject. Biblicalscholars will often refer to it." -International Reviewof BiblicalStudies "...a must for students interestedin the ancient Near East and law." -Religious StudiesReview 1997 Code:061506 304 pages ISBN:0-7885-0378-2 $14.95 paper

HITTITEDIPLOMATIC TEXTS SECOND EDITION Gary Beckman "Thisis trulyan outstandingwork. It serves biblical scholarshipin generaland ancient Near Easternstudies in particular with its superbtranslationsfroma civilization which was an importantpartof the literaryand culturalmilieu of the Bible. It is a workof referencethat deserves to be read widely."-Catholic BiblicalQuarterly "Thesetranslations(of not only Hittite but also Akkadiantexts) invite one to an easy and pleasurablereading(or rereading) of documentswhich are of fundamental importanceto Hittitehistory." -Bibliotheca Orientalis Code:061507 206 pages 1999 ISBN:0-7885-0551-3 $14.95 paper

Society of Biblical Literature * P. 0. Box 2243 * Williston, Vermont05495-2243 Phone: 877-725-3334 (toll-free in US or Canada); 802-864-6185 * Fax: 802-864-7626 Email:[email protected] * Internet:www.sbl-site.org

e -Volume63

The

* Number4

December 2000

History

madeat RasShamraonthecentralSyriancoastsinceexcavations Thediscoveries beganmorethan70 yearsago Mediterranean reconstructions thehistorical havesigniflcantly of theLateBronzeAge.The of theeastern transformed toshedlighton thehistory the site continue retrieved the documents work on the and discoveries from archaeological a greatdealremainsobscure. although kingdom, of thisregional 186 190 192 194 195

The 196 197 198 199

Ugarit: 6,000 Years of History By MargueriteYon An Efficiently Administered Kingdom By PierreBordreuil A Trading City: Ugarit and the West By MargueriteYon Ugarit Between Egypt and Hatti By SylvieLackenbacher Commerce at Ugarit By FlorenceMaIbran-Labat

Texts The Art of Writing : By Anne-SophieDalix The South-Arabian Abecedary By PierreBordreuil The Trilingual Vocabulary (RS 94.2939) and MirjoSalvini By BeatriceAndre-Salvini Scribes and Literature By DanielArnaud

"

..

Shamra.Height12.2cm. On the Cover:Bronzeand goldstatuetteof a standinggod (Baalt)fromUgarit-Ras NationalMuseum,Damascus.Photographby EricLessing/ArtResource.

182

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

Daily

Life

and a brilliant At theendof theLateBronze enjoyed phasein artistic Age,thecapitalcityof thissmallkingdom

theremains as wellas intherefinements intellectual ofordinary through life.Takea walkwiththeexcavators pursuits and a visit to the Palace. Late Bronze Tour a house the pay typical of Agecity 200 202 205 208 210 214

The 216 220 222

Daily Life By MargueriteYon A Visit to a Home By OlivierCallot A Stroll through the Palace ByJean-ClaudeMargueron The Tombs By SophieMarchegay The House of Urtenu By YvesCalvet The Lady of Ugarit By CaroleRoche

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Arts Ugarit at the Louvre By Annie Caubet. The Art of Glass Working ByValerieMatoian The Art of Metal Working By ClaudeChanutand EllaDardaillon

The

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~!

Cult

Whatdo thewritings fromUgarittellus aboutancientCanaanitesand Israelites? Whoweretheirgodsand howdidtheyworshipthem?Whatof life's weregivenexpression in theirmyths,legendsand rituals? interests and concerns Whatdidtheinhabitants of ancientUgaritand thepeoplesof thesurrounding believeaboutlifeafterdeath?Someof theanswersmaybesurprising region 225 228 232 235 236

240

l_J ^H^

At the Originsof the Bible By AndreCaquot Ugaritic Literature and the Bible By SimonB.Parker Divinatory and Sacrificial Rites By Dennis Pardee The Divinatory Livers ByJacquelineGachet Afterlife Beliefs: Memory as Immortality By BrianSchmidt Annotated Bibliography of Recent Works on Ugarit

241 Review: M. Yon, La cite d'Ougarit sur le tell de Ras Shamra, by Daniel Miller Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

183

From

the

Guest

Editor

Ugarit: A Long Lost City Rediscovered ... A Second Time Following what has by now become a well-established tradition,NEA has dedicated another issue of the journal to the archaeological research of a representative site from Ancient Mediterranean West Asia. The present issue is devoted to the late Bronze age city of Ugaritor modern Ras Shamraand, as such, continues the precedent set by NEA in highlighting the recent fieldwork undertaken at other Bronze age Syriansites like Ebla,Mari, and Emar.Here, however, Englishreaders are not only informed of recent research and findings from a particularsite, but can become re-acquainted with the circumstances surroundingboth its modern rediscoveryand the seven plus decades of excavationthat ensued. Englishreaders of the mid-twentieth century were well-acquainted with Ugarit'sdiscovery,its contribution to the Mediterranean roots of western thought, and the potential light Ugariticstudies might shed on the Canaanite world of early Israel. However, by the late-twentieth century Ugariticstudies were relegated to obscurity both in the popular consciousness and in the academic community only to stage a ratherunexpected "comeback"in the academy by the close of the twentieth century.It remains to be seen whether or not the general public will follow suit. Several factors contributed to the demise of Ugariticstudies in the years following its early heyday. Like all new discoveries,it was merely a matter of time before the novelty and sensationalism that so often accompanies such finds would fade. The fact that Frenchwas the officiallanguageof publicationfor regularreports and researchundertaken by members of the expedition to Ras Shamra only facilitated the English readers gradual loss of contact with Ugariticstudies. Although these factorsmay explain the growing distance between Ugaritic studies and the English reading public, they cannot account for the changes that took place in many academic departments. Perhaps another development can. Two decades after the excavations began at Ugarit, news of the Dead Sea Scroll discoveries spread like wildfire. The general public promptly abandoned Ugarit for the Judean desert, and although the academy generally resisted the sensational prognosticationsthat had attachedthemselves to the Dead Sea Scrolls,it graduallyredirectedits resources and personnel from Ras Shamra to Qumran. Given the sheer quantity of work these scrolls afforded, their distinctivesubjectmatter, and the budget constraints forced upon many academic units, such shifts were not entirely unwarranted. What makes this issue of NEA of special value beyond its aim to re-acquaint and update the reader of English are the contributions by several officialmembers of the French-ledMission de Ras Shamra, most of which are rendered here for the first time in English. The combined efforts of the Mission members total many years of on-site research and publication having been "punched in on the clock" over the past two decades under what any innocent bystander might consider relatively uneventful, even obscure, circumstances. While popular interest in, and professional commitment to, the field of Ugaritic studies over the years has been ambivalent at best, the Mission has steadfastly pursued the arduous "nuts and bolts"task of excavating,documenting and interpreting the archaeology and history of Ugarit.As a result, the discovery of new data and the application of increasingly sophisticated methods has led to significant revisions of previous research as well as many new reconstructions, several of which are presented to the English reader in the following pages. In an attempt to strive for comprehensive coverage of the "state of the art,"contributions by various collaborators are included as a supplement to those of Mission members. Credit for many corrections to the English translationmust go to Annie Caubet, Yves Calvet and Dennis Pardeeand to two University of Michigan graduate students, Daniel Miller (PhD cand.)and Jessica Whisenant, who offered their comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. Thanks are due as well to David Hopkins and Ted Lewis for their assistance. This volume was made possible by a generous gift from P.E. MacAllister, ASOR's Chairman of the Board. It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge Billie Jean Collins' role in the production of this issue of NEA. It would not have seen the light of day without her gentle, but tenacious, persistence and repeated encouragement. BrianSchmidt Ann Arbor, May 2001

For The Worldof the Bible: Editor-in-Chief: FredericBoyer. Managing Editor: SuzanneHeim, Ph.D. Assistant Managing Editor: MarieBauwens.Copy Editor: C. Grenache,A.A. Art Directors: ChristopheCornu,FredericAsselineau.Editorial Consultant: Dan Connors. Circulation Manager: KathleenHyland.Production: Dan Smart,JeffMcCall.

Guest Editor Brian Schmidt Editor Billie Jean Collins Art Director Bucky Edgett, LuckyProductions Editorial Assistant Chris Madell Editorial Committee Andrea Berlin Ted Lewis Linda Bregstein David Small Jane Waldbaum Douglas Clark Dan Fleming Samuel Wolff Subscriptions Annual subscriptionrates for 2001 are $35 for individuals and $75 for institutions. NearEasternArchaeology is also available as part of the benefits of some ASOR membership categories.Fordetails, contact ASOR at (617)353-6570. Postage for Canadian and other international addresses is an additional $10. Payments should be sent to ASOR Member/Subscriber Services, PO Box 531, Canton, MA 02021-0531. Tel. (800) 821-7823Fax(781)828-8915.E-mail:[email protected]. VISA/MC orders can be phoned in. Back issues Back issues can be obtained by contacting The David Brown Book Co., PO Box 511, Oakville, CT 06779. Tel. (800) 791-9354. Fax (860)945-9468.E-mail:[email protected]. Web: oxbowbooks.com. Editor's Office All editorialcorrespondenceshould be addressedto NearEasternArchaeology, c/o ASOR Publications,825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329. Tel. (404) 727-8989.Fax (404) 727-4719.Email: [email protected]. Book Reviews All books for review should be sent to Rachel Hallote, Division of Humanities, Purchase College, State University of New York, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577.Email: [email protected]. Advertising Correspondenceshould be addressed to Chris Madell, ASOR Publications, 825 Houston Mill Road,Atlanta,GA 30329.Tel.(404) 727-8989. Fax(404) 727-4719.E-mail:[email protected]. Ads for the sale of antiquities will not be accepted. Permissions Requests may be made according to the instructions provided on ASOR'sweb site at asor.org/permissions.htmor call (404) 727-8989. Postmaster Send address changes to NearEastern ASOR Member/Subscriber Services, Archaeology, PO Box 531, Canton, MA 02021-0531.Tel. (800) 821-7823Fax (781)828-8915.E-mail:[email protected]. Periodicalsclass postage paid at Atlanta, GA and additional offices. Near EasternArchaeology (ISSN 1094-2076) is publishedquarterly(March,June,September,December) by the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), 656 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 022152010throughits PublicationsOffice at 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329.Tel. (404) 727-8989. Printedby CadmusJournalServices,Baltimore,MD. www.asor.org Copyright ? 2001 by the American Schools of Oriental Research

?r, I

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i

Aleppo Ras

Beir

A ThebayatMinetel-Beida"White Harbor," theportof ancientUgaritwherethefirsttomb theexcawasfoundin 1928.In theforeground vatedareaoftheharbor town;inthebackground, thewhitecliffsof thebay,theJebel overlooking Akra.

nra rit) ,!rusalem ,\ahr cjDbelbh

> M/apshowingthelocation ofRasShamrarelative to the cities major of the Ugarit Levantine coast. 184

NearEastern 63:4 (2000) Archaeology

Redealed by Marguerite Yon Maison de l'Orient mediterraneen, Lyon, France

|isnow more than seventy years sinceexcavations beganat Ugarit.In 1929,followingthe

chancediscovery ofa LateBronze Agetombat Minetel-BeidaontheSyriancoast,excavationswereundertaken mission, by a French firstat thisimpressive seaportsettlement itself inland. situatedlessthanonekilometer and thenat thetellofRasShamra, in an unknownlanguageand disFromtheoutsetit was apparentthatthetablets,inscribed

covered onthesummit onthetell,weregoingtochallenge theassumptions ofthecitylocated seriously research. Almostimmediately theresearchers finds:they of historical begantoannouncesignificant

hadestablished thenameof thesite(Ugarit); a previously unknownsystheyhaddiscovered temof writing(alphabetic andtheyhaddeciphered a newlanguage cuneiform); (Ugaritic). Thetabletscontained a collection of mythological poemsfromtheCanaaniteworldof thesecondmillennium, thesameenvironment in whichlie therootsof thebiblicalworldand fromwhich significantinfluencesemanatedto the classicalworld.Ras Shamra-Ugarithas becomean

fromwhichour exceptional reference pointfora crucial periodin thehistory ofthosecivilizations ownhasevolved. mission continues toexplorethesite Todaynearlythree-quarters ofa century later,theFrench topresentancientdiscoveries-both and epiusingmodemexcavation techniques archaeological research will continuetoflourish. graphic-in sucha way thatthescopeof themission's Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

185

Cockwisefromopleft: occubetween SI excavated 1962and1967revealed Sounding back to the BCE at this site millenium extending eighth pation Photocourtesy (Neolithic Period). RudyDomemann. thatrunsthrough Thepostern thewestern gateandpassageway in the Photo courto the front royal of palace. rampart up plaza tesyEmilyTeeter Photocourtesy ViewoftheTemple Rudy ofBaalontheacropolis. Domemann. Royalpalace"Court of theBasin,"viewedfromtheeast Photo courtesy RudyDornemann. rBy? r*.MU L'?r ':

,Ib', t

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NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

r?l _YCII

'J"tr" nrsr ? ;a r

186

\.,

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it ?

by Marguerite Yon Maison de l'Orient mediterraneen, Lyon, France

he discoveries made at Ras

.

7

Shamra('ennelHill")in overthe 1930ssignificantly dataon turnedthehistorical theLevantand theeastern Mediterranean of theLate misBronzeAge.TheFrench sionhaspursuedtheexplorationof thetellalmostwithout from1929tothepreinterruption discoveries sent.Thearchaeological comand theworkonthedocuments toshedlight ingfromthesitehavecontinued onthecentral onthehistoryof thissmallkingdom a greatdealremainsobscure. Syriancoast,although

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

187

T

I ^hesite at RasShamrawas occupiedfor an exception- owners and prosperous merchants, to enjoy a luxurious and

ally long time. The first farmers settled there in the eighth millennium BCEand it was not abandoned until the end of the second millennium. But the best-known period is the last in its history dating from the end of the thirteenth century to the beginning of the twelfth. The ongoing researchof the Frenchmission continues to darify this period. The tell of Ras Shamra was the site of the capital of the kingdom of Ugarit,which occupied approximately2,000 square kilometers along the sea coast. Ugarit owed its prosperity to its agriculturalresources,its commercialactivityand its industrialproducts.These activitiesenabled the city's upper casses, which incuded the royal family and its entourage, rich land 188

NearEastern 63:4 (2000) Archaeology

refined lifestyle. At the end of the Bronze Age, the kingdom of Ugaritwas not an isolated entity. It was tightly woven into a network of cultural and political alliances that new discoveries and new methods of analysisare daily helping to unravel.Priorto 1929, texts found in the archives of Amarna in Egypt or Boghazk6y, the capitalof the Hittite Empire,mentioned the name of the kingdom, but no one knew its location.Then, numerous Planofthecityof UgaritAfterMYon,LaCite d'Ougarit.Paris:tditions Recherche SurlesCivilisations, 1997

texts were discoveredat Ras Shamrathat made possibleits identificationas the cap-

italof thekingdomthatwentbythesame

Work in recent years has been dev ot:ed to the ol the overall restoration image of th e Late Bronze Age city, w hich suffered an exte n si\/e conf a-

of the overall image of the Late Bronze

Agecity,whichsufferedan extensivecon-

flagrationaround 1185BCE.Researchinto name, Ugarit.Texts in Akkadian,which urbanism and domestic architecture has constitute approximatelyeighty percent increasingly clarified the nature of everyof the total,containinterestingdiplomatic daylife at Ugarit.The discoveryof a bridge and commercialcorrespondencewith the overthe Nahr ed-Delbeh south of the tell imperial powers of Egypt and with the and of a large thoroughfare leading to the gration arcWu nd 1185 BCE local monarchs or potentates from the residentialcenter clearlyunderscoresthe interior from the (Carchemish), Syrian importance and the significance of the Phoeniciancoast (Sidon,Beirutand Tyre), South Central quarter.It was there that and from Cyprus.The end of the kingdom and its destruction chance led little by little to the discovery of an archivefrom a at the beginningof the twelfth centuryare linkedwith the "Sea dwelling called the "house of Urtenu,"named after the promiPeoples,"whose presence is indicated in Egypt until, accord- nent individual who owned it. This archive constitutes the ing to the account from Medinet Habu, Ramses IIIachieved a majorepigraphicdiscoveryof recentyears.The presence of the memorable victory over them. These marauders were architecturalremains from older excavations(the South City for all manner of destruction. Most and the lower EastCity),combined with the more recent excaresponsible notably, they contributed to the end of the Hittite empire within whose vation of the residentialareas (the City Center and the South domain Ugaritwas situated, and of Ugarititself. Central quarter),revealed evidence for the relativeuniformity The local history of the kingdom of Ugaritwas unknown of the overallurbanarchitecture.A study of the residentialareas before the identification of the site. Since this discovery, the indicates that the quarters were divided into blocks and the work on the texts recovered from the tell rendered blocksinto residentialunits or "houses."The architecturalqualinterpretive in Ugaritic or in Akkadian, the language of international ity of these houses varies. Beautiful dwellings in cut stone communication at the time, has enabled the reconstruction organized in several zones around a courtyard stand side by of several centuries in the history of a Levantine kingdom. side with small houses built along less elaborate lines, or of For the period that interests us (ca. 1250-1185 BCE),the texts lesser technical quality (the architecture being of field stone provide the names of a succession of kings: Ammishtamru II, and wood). The analysis of debris on the ground has made it Ibiranu, Niqmaddu III, and the last king, Ammurapi. They possible to calculatethe originalheight of some of these houses a that can be dated this to to royal dynasty belonged period in the South City. In many cases, the presence of a tomb in a based on their correspondence with better known historical house poses questions concerning the relationship between persons. The dynastic traditionis evidenced by the use of the life and death and concerning the role of the deceased in the royalseal of Yaqaru,an earlierancestor,on palace tablets from life of the family. In the plan of this capital, a special place the end of the Late Bronze Age. The texts describe an entire was reservedforthe vast royalpalace,the magnificenceof which rangeof politicaland matrimonialalliances,as well as the rela- bedazzled neighboring kings. tions the kings of Ugaritmaintained with their overlord,the New methods of analysis have illuminated the developof to whom tribute and for whom ment of industrialand craftactivities.Thus we have gainednew Hatti, they paid they king The centralized was under the administration providedtroops. insights into the acquisition of technology, the organization control of the palace,which also served as the residence of the of workshops and the circulation of products and other This holds true also for the fabricationof faience and and the heart of The diffusion of materials. royal family politicalpower. facilitated its as the alphabetic writing, by simplicity compared pottery, metallurgyof copper and bronze, which served in with the syllabicsystem and regardingwhich the scribes occu- the manufacture of household objects and figurines, and the pied a fundamentalposition,playedan importantrolein Ugarit's extractionand use of local bitumen. fiscal and commercial development. Finally,recent research on the mythological texts and rituals,the study of iconography(e.g.,the statue of the god El and A BrilliantUrban Society the stele of Baal),and the interpretationof the objects devoted The total and irrevocable disappearance of the civiliza- to divination have contributed to a more precise culturaland tion of Ugaritat the beginning of the twelfth century was not ideological image of the Canaanite world. But the nature of these beliefs and religious practices,as well as the intellectual due to attacks and to the insecuentirely enemy growing at which caused some decline in commercial activities of the people of Ugarit, clearly emphasizes what sea, rity probably There were also domestic factors. Not did the this kingdom owed to the Mesopotamian world. only exchange. of lack a taste for but the demands of The sudden and total abandonment of the capital of the war, people Ugarit the palace with its fiscal system and its practice of patron- kingdom of Ugarit and its principal port has resulted in the age became increasingly burdensome to the populace. The exceptionalconservationof an ancientway of life.We,the excadetriment are grateful for the chance to resurrect a vibrant city were to desert the fields to the vators, peasants compelled of the agriculturalresources. in all its splendor at the beginning of the twelfth century BCE. Work in recent years has been devoted to the restoration NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

189

EJfficien Ad'mins

An

................. .'

by Pierre Bordreuil College de France,Institut d'etudes semitiques, CNRS, Paris

^^^T

totheadministration he alphabetictablets relating of Ugaritare ofthekingdom the mostnumerousfromthe city'sarchives.Studyingthemcan seemdisconyetlinesof textthatat firstsightappearquite certingat first,evendiscouraging who is willingto underbanal do yield small discoveriesforthe researcher abouttwenty takethepainstakingstudy Thankstoalphabetictextsunearthed state of thisterritorial aspectsof theadministration yearsago,somelittle-known have beenbroughtto lightthatdefne it, forwant of a betterterm,as a sortof "mercantile oligarchy"

Weightsin the shape of a reclining bull and lion.Castbronze.TwoEgyptiansignsforthenumber "10"are inscribedon the flank of the bull, indicatingthe weightis equal to twentyunits of NationalMuseum,Aleppo. an unknownmeasure. Photoby ErichLessing/ArtResource. 190

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

ecent discoveriesmakepossiblea morepreciseunderof Ugarit andtherelations between of theterritory standing andthe localoutposts.Conhe centraladministration to theentireterritory siderable documentation under pertaining which still far is from excavated and, jurisdiction, being Ugaritic as a consequence,exploited,was evidentlycentralizedin its havelamentedtheabsence eponymouscapitalcity.Researchers towns.The one of writtendocumentsderivingfromprovincial this is the settlement at Ras Ibn Hani nearthe capto exception ital.Datingto the thirteenthcenturyBCE,thearchivesfromthis site complementin manyrespectsthose of the city of Ugarit. Evenif thesitesfarfromthemetropolishavenotyet beenmade theobjectof regular citedin the excavations, theyarefrequently texts.Moderngeographicnamessometimespreservetraces of theseancientsites.The moderncity of Jableh,forexample, is heirto the ancientUgariticportof Giba'laya (gbCly). to theterritoryspanningthepresentdistrict Corresponding of Latakia,Ugaritwas borderedon east, west, north and southby the Jabalal-Ansariyeh, the Mediterranean, the Jabal and the Nahr es-Sinn It therefore constirespectively. al-Aqra tuteda coherentgeographic was divided entity.Ugarit probably intothreeadministrative regionsapartfromthatof the capital. TextRIH83/7 + 14shows that the villagesof the mountains whileRS17361B in theeasthadto sendtheircorveecontribution, indicatesthatthe southernplain(Arr)comprisedseveralcities. The "forested" city of the northernregion,HalbaSapuni(blb text RS is citedin severallists.One mythological .Sp: 17.370B), describesthegoddessAnatmovingaboutin thesethreeregions:

make it possible to deduce the existence of a majorcattle and sheep industry in the region, and this may help to explain the representationof Baal,god of the storm, as a bull of Sapanu. Even to this day, the southern region is devoted to agriculture,as is the basin of the Nahr el-Kebir(ancientRahbanu),the kingdom'sprincipalwater route with its multiple tributaries. The Queen owned an olive orchardin the valley of this coastal river(RS15.031). The king could travelupstreamto veneratethe Anat "of Salhu,' a site already known from the Elgoddess Amarna correspondence as a center for timber (RIH77/10B+ 77/22). In recently discovered texts, several shipments of grainare recordedin the following manner:"15basketsof barley destined for the horses of Rashap,5 basketsdestined for the horses of Milku of Ashtarot"(RS86.2235).This unique record, providinga glimpse into the distributionof goods to the temples, underscoresour great ignoranceconcerningthe economy of the temples and the religious toponymy of the kingdom.

Loansand Debts

Three tablets discovered separately at Ras Ibn Hani that will soon be published in their entirety constitute a recordof monetary loans. Grantedby a certain Mnny to an initial list of debtors (RIH84/33), it is followed by a notation that one of them has repaid his debt (RIH84/06). Immediately following this notation are the names of the debtors from the list who have not yet honored their debt (RIH84/04). A letter from Anantenu (RS92.2010)contains twenty lines of detailed salutations followed by four lines beseeching the recipient not to "sheclimbs onto the hill, onto Arru (Arr)... and Sapanu(Spn) destroy the house of the sender. One of the possible interin the agreeableplace,onto the mountain"(RS3.362+ 5.181). pretations of this document is that Anantenu was burdened This text makesthe referencein the ritualtext CAT1.62to with debts and that his creditorwas threatening him.

the "godsof ourland"mucheasierto understand.

Farmingand Agriculture

Thanks to their function as frontier boundaries with the land of Mukish in two international treaties (PRUIV:12),the pastures enumerated in a list of cattle (RIH84/13) have been locatedon the hillsideof MountNanu situated immediately to the south of Jabal al-Aqra

_^^^a^^S^

They ~~(ancientSapanu)

InternationalCommerce We know that Ugarit was the outlet to the Mediterranean for the Euphrates route and was accessible from the high valley of the Nahr el-Kebir,the Valleyof the Orontes, and Emarat the bend of the Euphrates,which was the usual spot for dividingthe cargo.Furthermore,a tablet (RIH83/22) reveals that one Bdn, probably an official, received from the king of Ugarita sum of 457.5monetary units from the state'saccount to pay "the invoice of the boats of Carchemish. The kingdom possessed therefore commercial interests in the Upper Euphratesthat it maintained by paying taxes or fees for repairs.The texts from the house of Urtenu confirm this activity by describing the role played by Shiptibaal, son-in-lawand spokesmanof the queen, in the Emaritesubsidiaryof a Ugaritic commercialenterprise.A contractfor rentingand equippingboats,conduded

with the king of Gubal(RS18.025),

demonstrates the complementarity that existed between the Ugariticcommercialtrafficon the Euphratesand the thrivingUgariticmaritime commerce on the Mediterranean.

,; --

NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeology

191

A

City: Trading

Vgaritand

the

West j6`

by Marglerite Yon Maison de l'Orient mediterraneen, Lyon, France

-

.? ?I._ ?

ul

k

.S - t

i

?:' c

1"

?-;:???-i

garitbelongsto the worldof the NearEastby virtueof its language,its cultural

and its history. Butbecauseof its geographical and technical traditions, posiand cultivation, thecoastalplainof climate,vegetation, tion,whichinfluences worldas theshoresofCyprus as welltothesameMediterranean Ugaritbelongs or Greece.YetUgariticepigraphyonlymentionsoneactuallocationto the exists west,theIslandof Alashiya,or Cyprus.No writtendocumentation with whichtogaugeclearlytradeand relationswith otherislandsof the Mediterranean and beyondwithmainlandGreece. eastern

For a vesselleavingUgaritheadedwest, Cypruswas the first port of call. The position of the island so dose to the Syrian coast assured regularrelations and privileged ties. Indeed, the archives of Ugarit preserve letters (in Akkadian)issuingfromAlashiya.Accountingand economicdocuments mention the presenceof Cypriotsand the importationof merchandise to Ugaritsuch as oil, wheat and copper.Another sign of such contact is the presence at Ugaritof documents written in the still undeciphered Cypro-Minoan script. On Cyprus, only a silver vase found recently at Hala Sultan Tekke bears an Ugariticcuneiforminscription,forno tabletsin this language have yet been discoveredon the island.Silentwitnesses to this contact, in the form of trade goods, are, however, abundant, especially from the end of the Late Bronze Age. The excavations at Ugarit have yielded quantities of Cypriot ceramics attesting to a sustained import trade. 192

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

In addition to the Cypriot evidence, a large quantity of archaeologicalinformation attests indirectly to the links that united Ugaritto the western maritime world. Minoan Crete was known as Kaphtorin the Canaanite tradition,which held that Kothar-wa-Hasis,the craftgod, architect and blacksmith, livedthere.There is no written documentationto indicatedirect relationsbetween the Syriankingdom and the Minoan princes, but a cultural kinship is clearly perceptible on the basis of certain objects like egg-shaped rhytons used for ceremonial purposes. The presence of Cretan stirrup-handled jars for the sale of liquids such as oil and wine also attests to the volume of imported merchandise. But it is the ceramics produced in the Mycenaean tradition and originatingin Greece that providethe greatestamount of evidence.Of all the sites in the Levant,Ugarithas furnished the largestquantity and the greatest variety with the majority

Sincethe beginningof excadatingto the thirteenthcenturyBCE. vations in 1929,the funeral vaults have yielded high-quality Mycenaeanfurnishingssuch as largeurns decoratedwith chariot scenes, which were perhaps made for clients in the Levant.The tombs and houses have yielded luxury tableware (cups,dishes, flasks,pyxides,and small vaseswith handles)and, especially from the end of the period, a large quantity of more ordinarycrockery.The dientele of Ugaritalso seems to have been attractedby representationalobjectsmolded by pottersusingMycenaeantechniques:smallbulls,figurinesof women shaped like the Greek letter q (psi),rhytons representingfantastic animals,animal heads (of either bulls or goats), and fish. It is not alwayseasy to determine the location of the workshops that manufacturedthese ceramics.Some ceramicscame from Greecebut by the end of the LateBronzeAge Mycenaean products were distributed by numerous workshops in the regions where Greek communities had settled, such as workships in Miletus (Turkey),on Cyprus, and perhaps also workshops established in the Levant. The recent discovery of a shipwreck off the coast of Anatolia at Uluburun illuminates the maritimetrafficof merchandiseand the itinerariesof the commercial routes in the Late Bronze Age. The American excavatorshave proposed that the wrecked ship contained a cargocoming from a port on the Levantinecoast, which might have been Ugarit.Loaded with local merchandise and exotic productsthat passedthroughthis port, she had embarkedfrom the port of Cyprus with a cargoof approximatelyten tons of copper. Her cargo,which comprised some primary materials (crude ivory,glass ingots, copper and tin), was no doubt destined forGreekartisansand manufacturers. Mycenaeanceramics would have been loaded aboard for the return voyage. But the fortunesof the sea did not smile on her,and she sank before reachingher destination.The ceramicsresistedthe test of time, whereas the perishable merchandise did not. They bear witness to the maritime activity that was facilitated by the Pax at the end of the LateBronzeAge.This state of affairs Aegyptiaca continued until the arrivalof the Sea Peoples, who rendered navigationprogressivelymore uncertain and dangerous. Yet, if the destruction and demise of the kingdom came from the sea, the sea had long been Ugarit'spassagewayto the vast western space to which it was dosely connected.

Foundin > (Page192)ClaysealingorlabelwithCypro-Minoan script. French MissiontoRasShamra thehouseof Urtenu. Courtesy andMinoanconical-shaped libationvessels.Yon, \> Mycenaean in ResMaritimae. de et le el-Beida," Mahadou/Minet "Ougarit port Atlanta:Scholars,1997 < Mycenaeanwine craterdepictinga chariot.LouvreMuseum. NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

193

sibility,showing little zeal for sending the customary gifts or the requisitetroops,and that he had to be remindedof his obligations.Recentevidencealso suggeststhat in factUgaritremained indined towards Egypt. According to a letter from the chanLackenbacher Syivie by Paris CNRS, celleryof Merneptah,the king of Ugaritproclaimedhimself the faithful servant of the pharaoh and wished to install his e sovereignsof small states were habituallydependent statue in the temple of Baal, the national god. Was this a sigupon more powerfulkings.The kingsof Egyptand Ana- nificantattemptat reconciliationor simplya diplomaticgesture? Threatened by Assyriaand weakened by internal rivalries, tolia were continually attractedto the Syro-Palestinian the Hittite Empire was also suffering from famine and was coast, and Ugarit'sstrategic position and its resultingwealth forced to obtain wheat from Egypt using Ugarit'sships. All of inevitably provokedtheir envy. After the Asian campaigns of Thutmose III,the exactdates of which arenot presentlyknown, this might have incited Hatti's long-time vassal to neglect his Ugaritwas for a long time the northernmost kingdom in the obligationsand reassertties with his old protector,the richest territorycontrolledby Egypt,althoughit was not formallypart and most prestigious state of the time. Besides, it was tradiof Egypt'sempire. When, in the late fourteenth century BCE, tional for minor kings of the region to conspire between the I subjugateda large part of great powers within structuresthat were less rigidthan somethe Hittite sovereignShuppiluliuma times described.The weakening of the Hittite Empiregaveher at first refused to submit. But when the of Syria, king Ugarit attacked by an anti-Hittite coalition, he called on Shuppiluli- vassalsa certainmarginin which to maneuver but made them uma for aid, renderedhim homage and signedan accord.Ugarit more vulnerable to outside attacks. A few decades after the had to pay a heavy tribute,but the delimitation of the borders accession of Merneptah, the empire collapsed and the kingdetermined by the Hittite "GreatKing"restoredthe portions dom of Ugarit, too far from Egypt to benefit from possible of her territory that had been seized by her neighbors. After protection, likewise disappearedforever. the installation at Carchemish of one of the sons of ShupTablet(RS 17159)inscribedin Akkadiansyllabiccuneiform. In the center, piluliuma, the kingdom was placed under the authority of the kingsof Carchemishwho henceforthplayedthe roleof Hit- the seal of the Hittiteking TudhaliyaIV (1250-1220 BCE).National tite viceroy over Syria. Museum,Damascus.Photo Dagli Orti/TheArtArchive. The allianceof Ugaritand its neighbor Amurruwith Hatti seriouslyjeopardizedEgyptianinterests,but she did not react. After the death of Shuppiluliuma,with the installationof the Of 19th Dynasty, the PharoahHoremheb encourageda revolt in Syriaagainstthe Hittites,but it was quelled.Niqmepa of Ugarit signed a vassal treaty with the Hittite king Murshili II,which confirmedthe precedingterritorialagreement,and Ugarittook part in the battle of Qadesh on the Hittite side. With peace restoredbetween Ramses II and Hattushili, trade with Egypt was renewed, but the Ugaritickingdom remained under Hittite control. The Hittite power did not grant many liberties to its vassals.The king of Ugaritcould neither divorcenor designatehis heir without Hittite permission.He was not free to choose his allies,nor to have disposal of his subjectsor of foreignrefugees in his land. He had to furnish troops, pay tribute, send gifts, exempt Hittite expatriatesand diplomats from taxes, respect the established frontiers,live in peace with the other vassals and defer to Hittite arbitrationin the event of a conflict or an incident involvingforeigners.In exchange,though, the Hittite king promised to protect his throne and his kingdom. The internationalarchiveswritten in Akkadian,the diplomatic languageof the period, contain agreements,Hittite edicts and verdicts along with their adjudication,and letters. They reveal the extent and the limits of Hittite control de factoand dejure.Borderdisagreements,majorcases (as in the divorceand eventualexecutionof a princessof Amurruby the kingAmmishtamruII)or minoroffensesinvolvingforeignersdid indeed come underthe jurisdictionof the sovereignsof Hatti or Carchemish. Butit appearsthat the king of Ugaritsometimes evadedrespon-

Between

194

Egypt

and

Hatti

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

as he wished for his personal affairsfor the period he held his appointment.However,our knowledgeof the relationsbetween the political and commercial powers has been revised by the Malbran-Labat Florence unearthing of some very important residences that were by CNRS, Paris adjacentto the palace.Discoveredin them were "businesspapers" of richbusinessmenof Ugarit,which are all but unattestedfrom at it was the palace.In a vast residence called the South Palace,the first the of the excavations apparbeginning Ugarit, From ent that, alongside agriculture and animal husbandry, documents were unearthed that indicated an active participation on the part of the merchants in the administrationof the commerce represented one of the foundations of this nation'seconomy and of its politics. Ugaritoccupied a major kingdom and in the organization of foreign trade. The head of this office was undoubtedly an influentialperson, Yabninu, position in the Levant. It was the natural crossroads for the commercialtrade coming from Mesopotamia that crossedthe who occupied a prominent position in the kingdom and was Euphratesat Carchemish or at Emar.It was also the point of entrustedwith important judicialand diplomatic responsibilideparture for the southward maritime route towards Cyprus ties Butas with otherbusinessmen,it is verydifficultto distinguish then on to Minoan Greece, as well as a staging platform for between his own affairsand those of the palace economy. Severalhouses in the residentialquarterhave also yielded caravancommerce to Egypt and Hatti. There was little trade in grain, which was essentially a local commodity. However, documentation that recordscommercial activities.Since 1973, the excavationof another building situated further south on certain regionalspecialties became the object of regularcommerce among the differentcapitalsof Syria.This was the case, the tell has offerednew data on the organizationof commerce in the last decades of Ugarit'sexistence. The house of Urtenu for example, with cheeses and dried fish, the latter a speof local included the craft of products appearsto have been cosely tied to the politicaland economic cialty Tyre. Exports often decorated with furniture manufactured powers in this last phase of the kingdom. With largeareas for industry,notably wine. was also a olive oil and textiles, Ugarit place storage and warehousing and situated on an important thorivory inlay, of transport for precious objects such as semi-precious gems, oughfare near the gate opening to the south of the city, its and metals,in particularcopper from Cyprusand tin from Iran. commercial activity seems to have been quite intense. At Excavationsof the palacehave providedevidenceof the exis- present, the archives of this house are the most abundant tence of a merchantclassthat was dependent on it. Upon royal ever to have been unearthed outside the palace. The business handled there was the concern of imporappointment,the "merchant'receivedan endowment from the and of business tant internationalcommercialfirms run by dignitaries.One of the or for acquisition goods negoking queen these great financierswas Shiptibaal,the queen's representatiations. The merchant was responsible for the sums that were entrustedto him, but he could nonetheless managethem tive in severalreal estate transactionsand the spouse of a royal princessThroughdeciphereddocuments, he can be seen visiting one of his business offices located at Emar. He can also be seen travelingto ports on the Syrian coast and in Egypt,while his trusted agent,Urtenu,managedhis domesticconcerns. But for all that, Shiptibaaldid not hold a monopoly on internationalcommerce.A certain Ur-Teshubhad business dealingswith foreignassociatesand managednumerousprojectdirectorsand legal agents. He also oversaw the mule caravansleavingforHattias well asthe loading of ships bound for Egypt and the ports of the Hittite lands. Thus, the tablets from the house of Urtenu demonstratethat underthe reign of the last kings of Ugarit, Niqmaddu III and Ammurapi, international commercialtrade remained active in spite of the threat of the Sea Peoples hovering over the entire eastern Mediterranean.

Commerce

at

Ugarit

TwoEgyptianizingpendantsdecoratedwith a figureof Hathor(left) and of a wargod(ri,git).Blhefaience.LouvreAlusetit. Photo? RMN.

NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

195

Art

by Anne-SophieDalix

Maisonde 'Orientmediterraneen,Lyon,France

Thetwomostcommon intheUgantic languages tablets,Akkadianand Ugariti4revealsome in colophons fortynamesof scribesidentified orsignatures. Butinformation aboutthemis sparseand thereare no knownartisticrepresentations ofscribesWecanthuslearnabout theirlivesonlyby observing thefruitsof their labor,namely,thetablets.

the scribalapprenticewas in all likelihood bi- if not trilingual. will not dwell on the scribes who wrote in Of all the materials-stone, metal, ivory and wax tabletsAkkadian,for,as the archaeologicaldiscoveriesillustrate, they followed the Mesopotamian tradition that were used as a medium for cuneiform writing, day was (syllabaries,vocabulariesand the use of a signature).In Akka- the most common. Beingplastic,day was better adaptedto the dian, the scribe carriedthe title tupsarru(SumerianDUB.SAR). work of the scribe,which involved imprintingthe edge of the In Ugaritic,the root spr,signifying "count,enumerate;"hence stylus onto the surface of the clay medium by tilting it "write, is at the origin of the terms meaning "scribe,""enu- slightly. These media came in a variety of forms including, besides day tablets, tags or bullae in the shape of a cone or merations, lists," and mspr"tablet" (literally "that which is an olive, models of livers (for divination), stone stelae, and written"). ceremonial axes. Forhard materials such as stone, the scribe's The Educationand Workof the Scribe job was merely to create a "tracing,"of the cuneiform characIt is safe to assume that from the time that the Ugaritic ters, which was then reproducedmore-or-lessfaithfullyby the cuneiformalphabetwas invented,instructionin Akkadian,the stone cutter(ps). Forday tablets,there was a four-stageprocess. languageof diplomacy,Ugariticand possibly Hurrianwere all Firstthe tablet was shaped and smoothed. Then, depending taught jointly.Most of the abecedariesand scholasticexercises on the genre of text, the preparatory work-up had to be written in Ugariticwere found in archives containing Akka- done. Forlegal texts this meant impressingcylinder or stamp dian lexicallists and literarytexts.By the end of the curriculum, seals on the clay and for mythological texts dividing the

W~

196

e

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

The Texts tablet into columns by impressingstringinto the day.The text was then ready to be inscribed. Finally,the tablet was dried naturally. One or two standardtablet forms were used depending on the literary genre-administrative, economic, epistolary, legal, religious or mythological-being inscribed. The administrativetexts,for example,consistedeitherof smalllists recorded on tablets less than 10 x 5 cm in size, or largesummary lists on tabletsmore than 10x 6 cm in size.The characterswere inscribed from left to right following lines more-or-less parallel to the upper edge of the tablet. If the text exceeded more than two columns, as with the mythologicaltexts, the reverseside of the tablet was inscribedin the opposite direction.The words were generally isolated by dividers and the running on of one line to the next is rare. The division into paragraphs was indicated by horizontal strokes especially in the case of dictated letters. The finalmake up of a tablet could include a colophon that identified the author of the text. The written tablet was then allowed to dry slowly undernaturalconditionsratherthan being bakedin a "tabletoven."The featurefound in Courtyard V of the royal palace that the excavatorthought was a tablet oven was in factwas no such thing,and the only Ugaritictablets that were baked were done so accidentallyby fire. The scribe appears to have been essentially a cog in the administrativewheel which, in turn,was at the serviceof some higher authority. The introduction of the Ugaritic alphabet (thirtylettersinsteadof severalhundredsigns),eventuallyhelped to reduce the status of this professionas the Ugariticlanguage became more accessible to a greater number of people. This fact has some bearing on the absence at Ugarit of divinities devoted to writing in contrast to the pantheons of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Nonetheless, the importance of certain scribes is beyond doubt. This is the case of Ilimilku, whose careerappears to be worthy of interest for several reasons. A nativeof Shubanu,a town in Siyannu(a regionsouth of Ugarit), he seems to have worked only at Ugarit.This scribe composed texts in Akkadian and in Ugaritic,and he "signed"a certain number of them in both languages by means of a colophon, which is uniquein UgariticThis use of the colophonwas doubtless influenced by a Mesopotamian scribal education. But he was probably also motivated by the desire to make known his exceptional career.At first simply a scribe of legal texts in Akkadian under the reign of Ammishtamru II (ca. 1250 BCE), under Niqmaddu III (ca. 1220-1210 BCE)he composed most of the epic and mythological texts in Ugaritic.They remain to this day the source of his reknown.

The South-ArabianAbecedary 'A B

Quite unexpectedly,a tablet bearingthree lines in alphabeticcuneiformhas raisedanew the question of H the originand developmentof the cuneiformalphabet.The a tablet is an "abecedary," H small tablet on which the W alphabetis written out in order.While seventeen letterZ forms common to the Ugaritic alphabetare reproducedon this particulartablet, five others are not slantedin the T usualmannerrelativeto the directionof the writing, and y five others representaltogether K new forms.In addition,the three finalletters of the Ugariticalphabetare absent from this abecedary.Most L importantly,the orderof the letters is not the same as at M Ugarit,and the alphabetic D sequence in this text begins with H, L, H, M, as on another N exemplardiscoveredin the 1930sat Beth Shemesh, rather z than )A B G H as at Ugarit. This is the orderthat would S eventuallybe adopted several centurieslater by the South Arabianlinear alphabet.We have thereforean abecedary, or alphabeticsequence, that S refersto anotherlanguage besides Ugaritic,thus testifying Q to the existence of more R ancient relationsbetween the Arabianpeninsulaand the T northerncoast of Syriathan we had previouslythought. G

ii

4f

P>VT

b.

rd

01^-

tngp

;]43

t'-

tablet(RS24.244),is a rarityat Ugaritwhere \ Thislarge,well-preserved mosttabletsare broken.Its contents,depictinga mare seekingrelieffrom the importance venomoussnakes,underscores of equidsat Ugarit.A liturgy twelve deities are where a list petitioned.Only the god Horanu's follows of incantationis successful.? Dagli Orti/TheArtArchive.

by Pierre Bordreuil

T

d

tfi

"IPto NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

197

The

RS

lbcabular Trilingual 94.2939

by Beatrice Andre-Salvini and Mirjo Salvini ne of the more recently discovered tablets is a trilingual lexical list written in the thirteenth century BCE for the use of the multi-lingual population living at Ugarit.Only half of it has been preserved.It belongedto a series of tablets whose pieces were discoveredduring the first campaigns.They contain a multi-lingualversion of the vocabulary series"Sa,which consistsof a methodicallist of signsand words transcribedsyllabically.This pedagogicalseries was designed for the education of scribes. The tablet is divided into six columns, each of which is divided into three subcolumns. About one hundred preserved words are listed there in three languages. Sumerian, alreadya dead languagefor severalcenturies,was the language of scholarship, while Akkadian was that of diplomacy. The third language,Hurrian,was spoken by a sector of the populationthat could be found in numerouscentersof the Near East during the second millennium BCE.The Hurrianpeople and their language belonged neither to the Semitic world (as did Akkadian),nor to the Indo-Europeanmilieu (as did Hittite). This new document makes an important contribution to the interpretation of the poorly understood Hurrian language,which is the object of a slow and patient decipherment and publicationprojectin Rome by an Italian-French-German team. The document yields severaldozen Hurrianwords that were until now unknown or poorly attested and it contains elements revealingthe structureof the language.The order of words in the list is determined by the Sumerian sequence, which occupies the first section of each column. The order corresponds to the cassification criteriafor signs of a foreign culture and language, which are often difficult to understand. Arrangementof the list of words into specific categories is therefore the only means of appreciatingthe Hurrianlexical content of the texts, which indudes verbs, proper nouns, substantives, adverbs, adjectives and grammatical partices. The Hurrianwords of this new vocabularyrelatingto human beings essentiallydesignate a rangeof attributes,activitiesand relations.(Seesidebar.) Some words, belonging to various lexical categories, are newly attested, such as bird: irate;light: tagi;lettuce: tursena. Certainequivalencesprobablycorrespondto an Akkadianideology that was foreign to the Hurrian way of thinking. For example, the word urmidesignates not only "liver,"but also and "thought,which were believed abstractnotions like "spirit" of the ancient inhabitants Mesopotamia to have their cenby ter in this organ. O

198

NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeology

HurrianTermsRelatingto HumanBeings Partsof the body mouth: wasi;thigh: zianni;tooth: sini(lir.)ni; bosom: huri;nose: wuhhi;eye: wuri;foot/leg: urni; chest: nihemi;sexual organ:inni;head: pahi Gender and stages of life baby: hani;woman: asti;man: tae;male: turuhhe Familyrelations father:attani;brother:senni;sister: elli() Occupations seer: wurullini; butcher:zambahunni Functions king: ewerni;minister: sukkalli;servant:purami; female servant-slave:ulmi;hero: ustanni

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The Texts

Scribes

and

Literature

by Daniel Amaud Icole pratique des hautes etudes, Paris Akkadian of Ugaritwas essentially identical to that T_|^he of southern that the

contemporary Mesopotamiaexcept Syrianscribes retained that more artisticstyle with its flexibleword order. The prevailingBabylonianidiom, in conIn the trast, followed a rigid scheme with the verbalwaysin finalposition.This is where the influence of spoken West Semiticcan best be seen: the elements of the sentence arearrangedaccordingto the wishes of the speaker.Anotherfeatureof Ugaritic Akkadian is a particular usage of certain ideograms and the simplification of paradigms.Nevertheless,this localvariety of Akkadian could be understood everywhere else in the Near East.

the Epic of Tukulti-Ninurta,in spite of the fact that this poem recounts the victory of the Assyrian king over the Babylonians, the allies of the Hittites and therefore of Ugarit.But were there only borrowings? Babylonianprototypes are generally not availablefor comparison,and so the questionremainsopen. In fact, at Ugarit and elsewhere in Syria and Anatolia, when western scribes did not recopy the text exactly as it was, they instead wrote compositions in imitation of the well-known originals,particularlyfavoriteselections. In this manner,a Ugariticscribeextracted the prologueand epilogue from the Epic of Tukulti-Ninurtaand reorganizedthem in a singletablet,removingthe long intervening narrativeof politicaland military vicissitudes.Pedagogicalexercisesdoubtless furnished the opportunity for such compositions.

foul rteenth and

thirteentlh centuries,

the use o f Sumerian and Akkadian was

customary throughout the NE?arEast.

Complete Libraries

The librariesof Ugarithoused catalogues, dictionaries and incantation manuals-in short, text genres that correspond roughly to our "literature." The Mastery of Babylonian But the respective portions of each of these collectionsare not at all equal. The The Ugariticscribes were educated referenceworks representa considerable in exactly the same way as their The manuals body because they were, even outside Mesopotamian colleagues. the scribalschool, standardtools forthose that they used were neveradaptedto the who wrote them.Unlikein Mesopotamia, local life of the "western"cities.The goal was to acquire a mastery of Sumerian they sometimes contained a version in Hurrianor Ugaritic. and Akkadianand of these two languages The second most important group alone. In addition, the "intellectuals"of of texts in terms of volume was that dedoften their Ugarit displayed predilection icated to divination and magic designed for Babylon, its divinities and its literato avertbad omens. All of the procedures ture. known from Mesopotamia were availThe origin of the majority of Akkadianliteraryworksis undoubtedlyBabylon. able: almanacs for auspicious and it is difficult to be more However, inauspiciousdays, predictionsvia abnorprecise mal fetuses, astrology and extispicy about the transmissionof this literarytradition. What route did such-and-such (inspectionof the entrailsof victims).The incantations often have a style so elabtext follow in order to arrive in literary orate that some of them (like "Sinand such-and-such city? The scribes traveled and were thereforeable to circulateliteraryworks. But did the Cow" recited for obtaining aid in difficultchild births) do Ugaritborrow from Mesopotamiavia intermediarycitiesin the not differfrom the literaryworks. The latterare to us the most Middle Euphratesregion? Or did these texts firstmake a stop appealing, but their place in the libraries of the Near East elsewhere,among the Hittites in particular,before reachingthe was limited. Next to the epics (that of Gilgameshin particular) Mediterranean?Or was the movement in the opposite direc- rankedhymns to Mardukand Shamash,fables and pessimistic tion? In any case, the role of Assyriain the thirteenth century wisdom. Only a part of this catalogue(the divinatoryand medwas, we suspect, a major one at the very least for the diffu- ical collections)was translatedinto Ugaritic.However,with the sion of literaryworks, if not for their actual creation.Besides, exception of one episode (the construction of the temple of each work couldhavetakena differentroute.At least two obser- Baal),nothing of the local literaturewas translatedinto Sumervations can be made: the libraries in each center must have ian or Babylonian.New findsmay lead us to modify these views. In short,the Mesopotamian-educatedscribesof Ugaritwere shared much the same inventory,and secondly, the scribes of The circuessential were out for new. always looking playersin the vast cosmopolitan impulse, literaryand something Ugarit lationof literarytexts knew no boundariesand the "intellectuals" artistic, that gave to the Near East its incontestable uniforwere sensitiveespeciallyto the artisticquality of works such as mity at the end of the second millennium.

In its extensive use of these languages,the kingdom of Ugarit

was but one center

among many, although certainly one of the best known.

NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

199

Daily

Life

by Marguerite Yon Maison de l'Orient mediterraneen, Lyon, France

he citythat is slowlyreappearing continue as excavations appearstoday almostexactlyas it waswhenit was and completely abandoned destroyed in approximately 1185BCE.At byits inhabitants theendof theLateBronze Age,thecapitalof this a brilliant smallkingdom phasein artisenjoyed tic and intellectualpuirsuitsas wellas in the a of ordinarylife.It thenuindervwent refinement periodof socialand politicalupheaval thatfellupon withthecrisis that,together withthe the easternMediterranean ledto its arrivalof theSea Peoples, disappearance.

Miniatureivoryfigurineofnanusidainfrom a tomlib on thesouthacropolis.7he kneelisiolding cymlbals. rusicdan Cared ing fromttlhe tooth of a hilppopotanlus. H 54 cmi. IationalMuseruu,Damnascus. Photo ? Erich Lessing/Art Resource.

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Cn,L

'.cl?!CI

t%.e.r,?;?. . ?-?., r??? ?cC.'.rlrr.

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,,

.1 ? ,4 Ct n) r((l?

rr.??r .-.I

A City of the Livingand the Dead

The mound still today covers more than 25 hectares, of which one-sixth has been exposed on the surface.The tell is dominated by the two temples of Baal and Dagan located at the highest elevation.Fromthe summit of the city one can see the nearby port of Minet el-Beida.Also fairlydose is Ras Ibn Hani (5 km to the southwest),where a royalresidencewas constructedon the peninsulain the thirteenth century.There does not appear to have been any organized town planning in the old city with its narrow streets, but there are at least networks of trafficarteries.The same city block might include luxurious homes situatedbeside more modest domicilesand small shops. The architecturalremains help us to reconstructhouse plans and with them the ordinary lifestyles of the inhabitants, who probablynumberedapproximately10,000.The dead were located near the living and the domestic cult was structurally integrated into the fabricof life as attested by the presence of funeraryvaults under a largenumber of the houses.

A Commercialand IndustrialCity

The wealth of the city depended not only on the agriculturalproductionof the kingdom,but also on intense commercial activity.Numerous commercial texts record trade with other parts of the Near East and a great variety of imported objects attest to maritime contacts to the west. A multitude of artisans worked with wood, leather, textiles, stone, and clay.Among the techniques that are recorded, those using fire deserve special mention. These facilitated the fusion of siliceous materials to produce faience and the working of bronze, silver,gold, and even iron. The records leave us with a clear picture of the capital of a small Mediterranean kingdom situated in an international context.They help to reconstructthe setting and lifestyle of a cosmopolitan population in a Levantine city of the Late Bronze Age.

A Royal City

An areato the west of the city,occupying more than 10,000 square meters, was reserved for royalty.It was carefullyprotected from the exteriorby a fortressand isolatedalso from the city. The palace itself, which was greatly admired by neighboringkings,occupiesthe largestsectionof thisarea.It functioned both as the residenceof the royalfamilyand the center of political and economic power accordingto the archivesthat were found there.The natureof the royaldynasty is not well-known to us even though we know the name of each successiveking spanning the fourteenth to twelfth centuries. We find, however, a policy of matrimonial alliances that ascribed a special role to the queens whose marriagesand divorcescan be traced through the archives. The royal administration depended on the palace, which however apparentlyaccordedgreaterand greaterpower to the elite. The rich and powerful maryannu (a special class of elites) treated the royal family as equals and frequently acted as representativesto foreignprinces.LikeUrtenu, they kept the official state archivesin their homes with their personal correspondence.

I

-

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THEKINGSOF UGARIT* --ca. 1350 AmmishtamruI 1350-1315 NiqmadduII 1315-1313 Arhalbu 1313-1260 Niqmepa 1260-1235 AmmishtamruII 1235-1225/20

A City of Scholars

As the diffusion of the alphabet increased, so did intellectual activity.The texts found at Ugarit are written in various languages,principallyAkkadian,which was at the time the language of international communication.The Ugariticlanguage used its own writing system of simplified cuneiform. The creationof an alphabetic system, limited to about thirty signs, provided a very efficient tool for the kingdom's administration and initially increased the importance of scribes. In addition to these utilitarianfunctions of writing, there was a notable taste forliteratureand intellectualpursuits.While the culturalinfluence of Mesopotamiaseems to have been very strong,Ugariticpoetry nonetheless exhibits an originalitythat gave birth to great epic and mythological poems certain of whose characteristicsare reflectedin later biblicalpoetry.

-

Ibiranu

1225/20-1215 NiqmadduIII 1215-1190/85 Ammurapi and follow I. Singer,"A *Alldatesareapproximations PoliticalHistoryof Ugarit. Pp.603-733 in Handbook of Leiden: 1997. Studies, Brill, Ugaritic

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NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeology

201

A

Visit

to

a Home

by Olivier Callot Architect,CNRS,Lyon,France

he housesof Ugaritrangefromopulentand spaciousresidences tomoremodestdwellings.One house,situatedin thesectorcalledthe SouthCity Trench and designated'houseC in blockXIV" is typicalof the dwellingsin urban

Ugarit.Letus imaginea visitorfroma neighboring citywho,ona fne day at theendofthethirteenth in thecapcenturydecidestovisita fiend,a merchant ital ...

FloorPlanof the House rossing the bridge-dam,which spans the Nahr edDelbehskirtingthe city to the south,ourvisitorturns north along a majorthoroughfarewith sumptuous dwellingsand shops on eitherside.Almost immediatelyhe turnsrightonto a streetrunningeast to reachhis destination C

1. Vestibule;2. Wooden stairway leading to the second story;3. Corridor;4. Smallcourtyardat the heart

of the house;5. Pantry;6. Smallroom;7. Largehall; 8. Storeroom N

abouta hundred metersdowntheroad.Hestopsfora moment

andsurveysthe frontof his friend'shome.Itis two storieshigh and is crownedwith a smallkioskin the centerthat shelters the stairwell.A few windowspunctuatethe house'sflatfacade, which is paintedin vibrantcolorsto relieveits austerity. He knockson the heavywooden doubledoor and is led^ into the hall(1).Hishost offershim freshwaterfroman earthenware jar, while a servant washes his feet, which are coveredin dustfromthe journey.The merchantthengiveshim a tourof his house. On the rightis a wooden stairway(2) leadingto the second story.Next to it is a corridor(3) leadingto a dim room servingas a storagearea(5).They pass directlyto the small courtyardsituatedin the centerof the house (4).There are doorson all foursides,correspondingto the windows above themon the secondstory.The courtyard is narrow,whichprovidesshadeandventilationandkeepsit pleasantlycool.At the endof the courtyard,thereis a smallroomthatdoublesas the kitchen and water storagearea (6). To the right,a skylight provideslightforthe corridor(3)andthe stairway(2).The masterof the housetakesadvantageof thisto pointout discreetly to his visitorthatthe latrinesareunderthe stairwell. 202

NearEastern 63:4 (2000) Archaeology

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Then, leavingthe courtyardto the left, they entera spacioushall whose roof is supportedby a centerpost (7).The hall is lit on one side by high windows. It is here that the proprietorreceiveshis dients and his suppliers.To the left, a doubledoorleadsto the mainstoragearea(8)wherethereare largejarscontainingthe oil and wine he has for sale.At the backof this room,a dooropens onto a largeinnercourtyard. Throughthisdoorthe merchandisecanbe moved.Thishouse andthe adjacentdwellingssharea well in the courtyard. theirsteps,the two friendsgo upstairsto the secRetracing ond floor,whichhousesthe privatequartersof the ownerand of the rooms his family.Forstructural reasons,the arrangement aroundthe courtyardis similarto that on the groundfloor. Most of the roomson this floorarebedroomsand the furnitureis sparse,consistingof a few chairsand,mostimportantly, cushions,some tapestriesand brightlycoloredcurtains.The bedsaresimplymattressesandblankets.Theyarepiledup duringthe day,butwill be placedin the eveningon matscovering the floorof the rooms.Onlythe largeroomoverthe hallon the groundfloor(7) is betterfurnished.It containsa chest,table, some chairs,and the loom belongingto the mistressof the house. Goingup anotherfloor,the two men cometo a terracethat coversthe entirehouse,excepton the northernsidewhere a small kiosk covers the staircase. This terrace is the true courtyardof the house and serves as a place to dry food 204

NearEastern 63:4 (2000) Archaeology

stuffs and cothes, and as a playgroundfor the children.In one of the cornersagainstthe stairwella vine trellisprovides shadeandherethe two friendsareserveda lightmeal. The visitoris surprisednot to have seen any room shelteringthe accessto the familytomb that is so customaryat Ugarit.His host pointsout thatan earthquakehad destroyed the city a decadeearlierand that his house was built subsequently.The tomb does indeed exist, but it is underhis old house on the otherside of the city.Aftertheirmeal, the two friendstakea well-deservedsiesta.

(Previous page)Reconstruction of a houseat lgaritin thesectorcalledthe

South From Lemondede laBible120(1999)43 ? D Hiron Citytrenck after0 Callot Aerialviewof an excavated sectorat UgaritFromLe monde de (Above) la Bible 120(1999)42. Photo? Franck Lechenet

A Stroll the through

Palace

by Jean-Claude Margueron Ecole pratique des hautes etudes, Paris

n the western partof the tell of RasShamra,the royalpalaceof Ugaritdom-

inatesthecoastal westward totheancient portofAinetel-Beida. plainextending Thepalaceoccupied a privileged position,linkedas it was bothwiththesea, whichwas thebasisof the city'spower,and withthepoliticaland religious centerthatformedtheheartof thekingdom.

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205

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tially the crossroads between the two major halls, where the royal family perquarter,with restrictedaccess in the form of a monumental thirformedits officialfunctions,and the upper f1c teenth century gateway that directly floors where they lived when "offduty." connects the palaceto the port area.The The areato the south and east of this royal plaza flows in a north-south oriassembly hall is exceptional even by the entationbeginningwith the royaltemple standardsof Near Easternpalatialarchitecture.Judgingby the basinthat occupied (1), followed by the building with pillars(2).Next to thisaretwo smallbuildings its center, this was a room for liesurely that undoubtedly served as the guard pursuits.It was cool, and reminiscent of the interiorhallsof the grandSyro-Lebanese house, abutting the wall of an interior enclosure (3). In front of them is the buildingsof the last few centuries.We can picture the king lounging on cushions on entrance to the thoroughfareleading to 1V ?y the dais, surrounded by his family and the city (4) and the complex entryway to the main part of the palace (5). Finally, perhaps by courtesans, listening to the southwardlies an access to a majorthorw sound of the harp. However, he was never Closely (6). off-dutyforlong;the floor of this hall was oughfare There are thus only three openings, coveredby administrativetabletsthat had one to the exterior and two to the city, fallenfrom the floor above,a reminderof were never far off. the as it is the monthat by connecting palatialcomplex, protected responsibilities We continue to anotherareaapparentlyunique in the Near umental gateway, with the outside world. There can be no clearer indication than this of a fundamental aspect of Near East.This is a largerectangulargardensurroundedby a portico Easternroyalty:it did not interminglewith the rest of the com- beside which there was a kind of kiosk with small columns (c) munity. Near Easternkings were considered more than mere and a large hall (b) that might have served for festivities. In humans, often assuming the essential role of the high priest the northwest corner of this hall, a group of two rooms was to the god of the city. But we should note that at Ugaritas in splendidly furnished with a bed, a pedestal table and chairs most of the known Near Easterncities,there was no confusion adorned with superb plaques of pierced ivory. This was between the house of the king and the house of a god. The probablythe winter salon. small temple integratedinto the palace complex was only one The final point of our tour is another courtyard (II), a within the whole and was relativelyinsignif- largeareathat had been refurbishedmany times.In the entrance component complex icant. is a gardenwith its outbuildings.It was here that the tombs of The main building of the palace is particularly striking the palace were found. The immediate impression is one of a owing to its monumental proportions and its complexity.We broad open space where one could move about freely,but it is start our tour in the centralopen air spaces or courtyards.Here a false impression. As in all the other Near Eastern palaces, there are four large courtyards linked together (and another access was strictly controlled, and analysis of the doors has two if we count the centrally-locatedcoveredspaces that were, determined that the king, in his apartments above, decided until recently,thought to be courtyards).Passingthrough the when they would be opened or closed. Only a very few peomonumental entrance leading to the royal plaza and a small ple had accessto certainpartsof the palace,and even they were area that is assumed to be the guardpost for the sentry who closely watched. Recent analysis has shown that the palace was probably controlledaccessto the palace,we come to the largemain quadthis is a At the end of I). doorway providing organizedlike this beforeit was partiallydestroyedby the great rangle(Courtyard fire around 1360 BCE.Subsequently, an extension was built access to the throne room (a).To the west and dominating the with at level towards the outbuildingsto the north of the royal palace, and stood a sort of fortress guardposts ground plaza the floor was raised in several places in order to mask the for keeping watch over the approaches to the palace. Then, from the northeast corner, one could, by a roundabout way, sections that had been so badly destroyedby the fire that they rejointhe northernpart of the palace,which, in the finalstages could not be repaired. Our walk through the ruins obviously does not enable us of the kingdom, would have played only a secondary role. The attention of the casualobserverwould have been cen- to describe the upper floor and the other levels to whose tered on the throne room and its comings and goings.Justpast existence the numerous stairwaysand the generallayout attest, so we must leave the rest to our imagination.We can, however, the pillaredentry,however, one could, if the doors were open, turn left and proceed into a great hall located immediately east be certain of two things: that apart from the official recepof the throne room. On the southern side of this hall stood a tion rooms on the groundfloor,it was in the rooms of the upper dais on which the kingprobablysat duringbanquetsand solemn story that the most refined and richest decor could be found; functions,thus dominatingthe assembly.A hall and a stairway and that the palaceis a superbexample of the exceptionalqualthat led to the floor where the royal apartments were located ities of the civilization that existed on the shores of the Mediterraneanand in inland Syriaduringthe LateBronzeAge. connected the platform and the throne room. This is essen-

I he palace appears to be a private

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206

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

1

Arist'simpression entrance of thefortified totheroyalpalaceand its northern outin the last phase of the city. buildings, Viewtothenortheast. Plananalysis:Q CallotandJ-C Margueron.? D Heron; Plan au sol,Maisonde l'Orient. 1. The royaltemple. 2. The buildingwith pillarsdating to the 13thcentury.Thegroundfloorwas accessible stairwayItprobby a majestic ably servedas a banquethall during the final phase of the city 3 Twosmallbuildingsagainsttheinner city-wall,whichprobablyservedas a guardhouse. 4. Entranceto the main thoroughfare leading to the city, via a veritable sievethat controlled access. 5 Main entranceto the palace. 6. Southernmost accessfromthepalace, a protecedby guardposttoa streetrunningalongthe westernrampart. a. Throneroom b. Festivalhall c. Porticoed garden I Main courtyardadjacentto throneroom. II Courtyardwherethe tombsof the palace werefound

'

. ;l

The

Tombs

by Sophie Marchegay Maison de l'Orient mediterraneen, Lyon, France

'he history of the excavations at Ugarit beganwiththefortuitous discovery

in 1928 of a tombat Minetel-Beidadatingto theLateBronzeAge.Following the discoveryof othertombsthe next year ClaudeSchaefferthe excavatorinter-

Thenin comparingthisfind with the resultsof pretedthe site as a necropolis. thefirstexcavations on thetellofRas Shamra,he realizedthatbothwereurban settlements in whichtombshad beenconstructed underneath thehouses.Tothis a necropolis outsidethe citywalls. day, the excavatorshave notuncovered

he exposureof the tombs of Ugarithas taken placegradually and obviously the total number of tombs dating to a given period will remain unknown until the city itself has been excavatedfully.But because the excavationshave primarilybroughtto light remains of the LateBronze Age, the majority of the tombs discovered-around two hundreddate to that period. From the middle of the Middle Bronze Age to the end of the Late Bronze Age, the funerary practices of Ugarit are characterized by considerable uniformity. The dead were interred in chambered tombs constructed under the houses, and were thus adjacent to the living.Early interpretations viewed the tombs out of context and treated them in isolation, studying primarily their furnishings and architecture.Today however they are treated in a more systematic way that considers the inter-relationship between tomb and house. The location and distribution of tombs correspond to that of the habitat: the more dense the housing in a quarter, the more tombs it possesses. Therefore, the zone displaying the lowest concentration of tombs is that of the royal palace and the neighboring residences,where the largesthouses are found. The "residentialquarter,"near the royalpalace,extends over more than 10,000 square meters, but the residences there are large and disclose only sixteen tombs. On the other hand, other sections of the city were more densely populatedand the LateBronzeAge tombs are correspondinglymore numerous.There are fourteenin the "SouthCity"trench (5,700 square meters), at least thirty-one in the "LowerCity" (7,000 squaremeters),and overtwenty in the "SouthAcropolis"trench

T

208

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

(10,000squaremeters).Owing to the difficultyof datingtombs that have been pillagedand whose archaeologicalcontext is little known, only an approximation of the characterof the standard tomb inventory can be made.

The Integrationof the Tombs

It has been suggested that each house in Ugarit possessed a tomb, but in fact the distribution of tombs within habitations is more complex. Some houses had none at all, while others had one and occasionally two. The study of one of the residentialquartersfrom the LateBronzeAge,the "South City" trench, enables us to understand more exactly the proportionof tombs in the city.In the 5,700squaremetersuncovered in this zone, 37 houses and 14 tombs have been isolated. Even though many houses have not been excavatedentirely,it is evident that certain residences did not possess tombs. The ratio in this area is one tomb to every two to three houses. In the rest of the city,the proportionvariesnoticablyfrom area to area, but always according to the housing density. It does appear,however, that this ratiois roughlyrepresentativeof the entire city. Integrationof the tombs in the housing districtswas deliberate and planned. The tomb featured on the initial building plan and was constructedat the same time as the foundations. It was often placed underneath two adjoining rooms corresponding to its two main elements: a funerary chamber and an entrancecorridor,or dromos.A largeroom coveredthe former with a smallerone over the latter.The presenceof a tomb underneatha residencedid not interferewith dailylife.Although

the dromos room was designed to access the tomb, the room above the funerarychamber had a floor that coveredthe vault and could thereforeaccommodate domestic activities. The actuallocationof the tomb variedfrom house to house and was dictatedmore by designdemandsthan funerarybeliefs. However, in certain cases, access to the tomb was provided from outside the home, thus avoiding the principalentrance. This access, undoubtedly intended for people entering from outside of the house, may explainthe absence of tombs in certain houses. In such cases, the occupants had already buried their dead "backhomer in the ancestral residence with the "familytomb. Despitethe placementof tombs underthe houses, the notion of a "familytomb"is difficultto prove,inasmuch as no osteologicalstudy of an intacttomb has takenplace Nonetheless, the presence of a direct access into the tombs and the absence of tombs in certain houses suggest that not only did the inhabitants of the house use them, but also other members of the family. The integration of the tomb into the house also satisfied the need to preserve the remains of ancestors near the living, perhaps so that the formermight assurethe protection of the latter. This belief probably manifested itself as a funerary cult, although there is no archaeologicalevidence of this. The only known funerary ritual is a royal ritual (RS 34.126), which at least testifies to the practice of a funerary cult in the royal palace.

' Oneof the _ _-i? -?i5cl~

tombs underground in themainpalace area Photocourtesy RudyDornemann. < Entrance toRas (dromos) IV ShamraTomb Notethestorage jar buriednexttothe entryontheleft.

NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

209

The

of

IHouse

Urtenu

by Yves Calvet Maison de l'Orient mediterraneen, Lyon, France

he privateresidencesoccupiedby prominentcitizensat Ugaritat the end of

theBronze tothewayoflife Agehaveleftan essential archaeological testimony and thehousingconditions in thecapitalof a prosperous and industrious state. Somehaveprovidedimportantepigraphic documentation as well.In thecourse of recentexcavation,the housereferredto as that of Urtenu,situatedin the southernsectorof the ancientcity,is a representative caseof thesegreatresidences.

I 'he construction on the tell of a military structure at the beginning of the 1970s damagedthe remains of this house considerablyand thoroughlyscatteredthe archaeological material that it contained, most notably numerous cuneiformtablets.The excavationsof the house, begun in 1986, have brought to light the ruins of this building, continually unearthing new archaeological finds that testify to the wealth of the house's occupants. Parts of chariots, imported pottery (e.g., Mycenaean craters, and Cypriot vases), metal objects,alabasterjars,and severalhundredtablets were among the many treasures found. Also found was a cylinder-seal The house was large,measuringmore representinga maryannu. The architectural technique does meters. than 200 square the features not deviatefrom (cut stone, quarrystone, wooden of other largehouses already excacharacteristic roof timbers) is organizedarounda paved floor The in the vated city. ground a onto which opens porch,perhapswith two columns. courtyard meant for Rooms passage and as storerooms containing storage jarsand grindingequipment, occupied the groundfloor.At least one stairwayled to the livingquarterson the second floor. A chambertomb extends under the ground floor of the house. It is entirely constructed of hewn stone. The dromos of the entranceleads througha door with a lintel carvedinto a semicirculararch,to a paved,vaultedand corbelledfunerarychamber equipped with niches on the walls. This tomb was used several times but it was also robbed in antiquity. The robbers entered the funerary chamber through a hole bored into the

a

210

NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

slabs of the roof.They left behind only some broken ceramics and fragmentsof stone dishes. But the quality of the material that survived(e.g.,alabasterand serpentine vases, and Mycenaean ceramics) attests to the importance and to the wealth of the persons who had been buried there. To the east of the room that covered the tomb a door, whose posts have been preserved,led to a small room where severalhundred whole or fragmentarytablets were discoveredin 1994. Some tablets were mixed with the rubble from the collapse of the second story. Others were found either directly on the ground, or in the simple niches builtinto the south wall of the room, or along the wall. The tablets in this room do not appear to have been discarded.They couldhavetumbledfromcollapsedwooden shelves, which had fallen in against the wall, or perhaps they had been placed in containers made of perishable material stored on the floor, such as baskets, sacks or wooden boxes. Other tablets were found between 1986 and 1992 in those rooms of the house situated to the north of the tomb.

What Do These Archives Say?

Severallanguagesare representedin the archives.Approximately eighty percent of these tablets are written in syllabic cuneiform(Akkadian)and many of these are letters.The alphabetic cuneiform that transcribes the local language, Ugaritic, is represented by a series of letters and economic texts, and also by an unusual abecedary, which has important implicationsfor the history of the alphabet (p. 197).A sealing

basedonpiecesfoundin thehouseof A Reconstruction ofa chariot toEgyptian chariots showssimilarities Thechariot Urtenu. foundin the in his Thepresence tombof thePharoahTutankhamun. of sucha chariot houseis evidence highstatus.AfterM Yon,Lacite of Urtenu's surlesCivilisations, 1997 d'OugaritParis:tditionsRecherche > Thehouseof Urtenu at thesouthern endof thetellshowingthe vaultAt thetoprightis thesmallroomwheremanytablets funerary wererecently found.Le monde de la Bible 120(1999)61

("label")bearing Cypro-Minoancharacters(p. 192) and a trilinguallexicographicdocumentin which the Hurrianlanguage appears were also among the important epigraphic

finds(p. 198).

To date, religiousand literarytexts are not numerous in this house. The few that have been found there doubtless reflect the personal taste of the owner, and suggest that the owner was not a religious official. A comparison with the proportion of religiousand literarytexts (ritualsand prayers)found in some houses of the upper city or of the center of the city is indicative in this respect. We should, however, note the presence of a tablet in the house bearing an extract from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Some texts relate to international commerce: business letters addressed to the king of Ugaritor to a governor coming from foreignauthorities,correspondencefrom the great Egyptian,Hittite and Babylonianempires. To give some examples, there are numerous orders concerning wine, beer, barleyand especially oil. Goods for dyeing are also the objects of foreign purchase.An order for wood is addressed to Hatti. A man originally from Ugarit, who resides on Cyprus, buys pieces of furniture from the king of Ugarit. Reciprocalshipments (importsand exports)concernwool, linen and garments. Some texts mention a round-tripjourney of manufacturedgarments made in Hatti that were sent to Ugaritto be dyed and then sent back to their place of production. A letter indicates the number and the weight of copper ingots imported from Cyprus in exchangefor horses. Evenif the nature of these documents is not unique to Ugaritic documentation, they help to carify the economic life of the kingdom. Allusions to difficulties linked to these commercial activities are frequent, such as problemsof payment (by exchange),late deliveries,and

the detention of foreignnationals.Most of the letters concernordersandexchanges, organizedin a veryhierarchical way the businessmen of by great Ugarit.Theirsocialandeconomic importancesometimesleadsthemto addressthe kingof Hatti directlyfortheirtransactions.

The Man Named Urtenu The mention of the name of Urtenu on severaltablets in Ugariticfound between 1973 and 1996 in this area has led to the attributionof the archivesof this house to this person. But the documentation in Akkadiandoes not reveal anythingto makeone supposethis is the case.Wemustkeep in mind, then, the conventionalcharacterof this appellation. This Urtenu,who was perhapsat one time the owner of the premisesand of at least partof the archives,was not an ordinary person. The written documents found in this house show thathe was not only a greatmerchant,but also a politicallyimportantmanwith tiesto the royalfamily.His archives contain a "privatelibrary,"but also a repository for elements of the archivesof the kingdom. The period of his commercialandpoliticalactivityis probablysome time in the reignsof the last kings of Ugarit:NiqmadduIII(1210-1200 BCE)-seventeen letters are sent to him-and Ammurapi the last king, attested by four letters.The (1200-1185BCE), dimensionsof his house, the qualityof its tomb, the wealth of its contents (despite the pillage), and the presence of chariotsand harnessfittingsrevealthe preeminenceof this person.A person of great distinctionsuch as Urtenuis not uniqueat Ugarit,as evidencedby the houses of Rapanuand of Yabninu.Those of otherdignitaries,known only by name and activity,still remainto be discovered. NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeology

211

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The

Lady of

Ugarit

by Carole Roche CNRS, Paris

fn

the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE, marriagesamongdiffering

tiesbetweenthedifferent courts.Thequeen Syriandynastiesassuredimportant of the land of Ugaritwas able toplay not onlya politicalor legalrolein the internalaffairsof the kingdom,butalsoa vital economicrole.

"GrantmeLadyHurraythe mostgracefulof yourdescendants, your first-born,(the one) whose grace is equal to the grace of Anat; equal to the beauty of Ashtart is her beauty. (The one) whose pupilsare lapislazuli,whoseeyelidsare cupsof alabaster.(Theone) whommy father(thegod) El gave me in a dream(...) and (who) will beartheprogenyof Kirta,a sonforthe servantof (thegod)El." Extractfrom TheLegendof Kirta.

hen the legendaryking Kirtaaddresseshimself thus to Pabil to ask for the hand of his daughter Hurray in marriage,he placesgreat emphasis on her beauty. However,the main purpose of the king'smarriagewas to assure an heir to the throne and to establish political ties. In the thirteenth century BCE,Ugarit,like all the kingdoms of northem Syria,founditselfunderHittitedomination.Numerous marriages between Hittite princesses and Syrian kings, or between Syriandynasties,assureda measureof politicalstability within the Hittite Empire although this political policy was not always crowned with success. Texts revealthe divorceof AmmishtamruII,king of Ugarit, and a princessof the Syriankingdom of Amurru,a scandalthat rocked the Syrian courts around 1245 BCE.Ammishtamru II renounced the princess, who was accused of committing an "offense"againstthe king and of "nothavingceased to seek his misfortune."At firstshe attemptedto returnto her nativecountry with the help of her brother Shaushkamuwa,the king of Amurru. The situation had become criticalwhen the Great Kingof Hattiput a definitiveend to the matterby givingAmmistamruIIcompleteauthorityoverhis ex-spouse,therebyeffectively condemning the unfortunate woman to death. In spite of this sad example, it seems that the queen was sometimes able to playan importantrole,for exampleas the queen mother, or when a king was abroad.Thus, in a tablet publishedin 1991, the king of Carchemish dealt directly with the queen regard214

NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeology

ing the movements of ships and administrativematters relating to the land of Ugarit.He addresseshimself explicitly"tothe queen of the land of Ugarit,"a tide that never appears in the same document with anyone labeled"spouseof such-and-such king."Thus, it is often very difficultto identify the name of the king to whom a queen was married. The queen enjoyed considerable economic power and a level of legalauthoritygenerallyreservedfor the king of Ugarit or the "Eldersof the City"that permitted her to validatetransactions between privateindividuals.We even possess a contract drawn up in the "presence"of the king that features "the seal of Ahatmilku, queen of the land of Ugarit"who was doubtless the queen mother during this period. The queen might also appearat her husband'sside in religiousrituals,where she presented offeringsor carriedout libations. Although the queen often appeared in her role as sovereign, several documents reveal her private life. She owned real estate in her own rightand we know of severalreal estate transactionsbetween the queen and privateindividuals.At Ras Ibn Hani, on the Mediterraneancoast severalkilometers from the capital of the kingdom, archaeological excavations conducted by J.and E.Lagarcehave uncoveredthe ruins of a palace that seems, according to its archives, to have belonged to a queen of Ugarit.The queen had personnel-"guards"and "attendantsof the palaceof the queen'"-who were specificallyassigned to her. She also had great personal wealth,with effects such as preciousstones,jewels,and luxurytableware.This is attested in a document listing"thepossessionsof the queen Ahatmilku." Finally,we possess business correspondence with several important individualsof the court of Ugarit,essentially composed in Ugaritic,as well as a "private"correspondence with foreignprincessesin the Babylonianlanguage.Among the numerous texts brought to light in the house of Urtenu since 1994, severalcomprisecommunicationswith the queen. Littleby little, these letters, or private archives, will give us a better understanding of the role and the status of the one who is sometimes called "theLady of the Land of Ugarit."

Footboard of a bedpanel carvedin elephantivory in the royalpalace Thepanelsshownabove found are devotedto the life of the royalfamily.In the center right panel above, a winged goddess sucklesthe royalchildren.Thepanelsbelow(two of whichare shownin colorat the right)represent the king in his militaryand huntingaaivities. Height:24 cm. National Museum,Damascus. DrawingsbyJ-PLange-Photos? DagliOrti/The ArtArchive.

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Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

215

at

/Annie Caubet/ by Annie Caubet Conservateur general, Departement des Antiquites orientales du musee du Louvre, Paris

laudeSchaeffer'sdiscoveriesduringtheearlyexcavations at Ugaritwereshared betweentheLouvreand themuseumsof Damascusand Aleppo.Butsincethe

SecondWorld fromthesitehaveremained in theircountry War,all discoveries of origin.Recently Latakia,thetownclosestto thesite,has openeda museum dedicated tothearchaeology oftheregion. at theLouvre" consists Thus,"Ugarit of half of the finds excavatedbetweenthe year the site was discovered, 1929, and the SecondWorldWar.As a result,the collaboration betweenthe French

and Syrianmuseumshaschanged in natureovertheyears.Personnel fromthe Louvrecontinueto takepartin on-siteresearch whileat thesametimeconin museumstudies.Theyalsoassistin trainingyoungSyrian ductingevaluations researchers in museum-related professions. Shortly

afterthe firstpickaxesstruckthe groundat Ugarit, was allocated the so-called stele of Baal on thunderbolts and

the library of the High Priest emerged on the Acropolis. As a result,the publicwas almost immediately able to see the firstmythologicaltexts to be recorded,the "Legendof Danel," (a part of the Aqhat texts) and one of the tablets from the Baal cycle. At the same time, Schaeffer was exploring the port of Minet el-Beidawhere fortunatelyhe found intact tombs with sumptuous furnishings of Mycenaean urns, alabaster dishes and toiletry utensils.These luxury items now rankamong the greatest works of art in the Louvre Museum. They include a cover for an ivory pyxis (small cosmetic box), a faience goblet adornedwith a feminine face,as well as preciousjewelry upon which a fertilitygoddess appears,sometimes in her astralform and sometimes as a naked goddess taming serpents. The continuationof excavationson the Acropolisled to the discoveriesof the Temple of Baaland of its furnishings.As early as 1929,Schaeffer discovered the first pieces of the Egyptian stele of Mamy dedicated to the god Baal. In 1933,the Louvre 216

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

in the same year, two golden vessels, found buried together, were shared between Parisand Aleppo. The plate depicting a hunting scene testifies to the artistry and the sense of narrative that the Ugariticartists possessed. At the foot of the Acropolis, to the north, Schaeffer then exploreda dense residentialquartercalled the Lower City East and West. Digging deep beneath the houses, he unearthed numerous tombs whose dates range from the last phases of the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age. These tombs contained an abundance of weapons and ceramics. The share of the finds consignedto Franceconsists mainly of objects relating to daily life. An exception is a model of a hut that was discovered in the same area in 1939.It apparently functioned as a type of architecturalmodel made on a potter'swheel, and as a type, is well-attested in Palestine and on Crete at the end of the second millennium. Later, Schaeffer simultaneously began to explore this

.

;

> Goldplatedecorated witha huntingscene in 1933ontheAcropolis discovered alongwitha waspossiblya princely goldbowl.Thistreasure in theTemple ofBaal.A royalfigure offering is mounted ona twohis dog by accompanied hisprowess Hedemonstrates wheeledchariot. byfellinggamewithhisarrowsevenwhile whosereinshe haswrapped hischariot driving him aroundhiswaist.Wildgoatsfleebefore Thecowis as doa familyof bovines. by hercalfandbya youngmale preceded / thechariotwith whilean oldbullcharges I/ 18cm.Louvre lowered horns.Diameter: Photo? RMWN/H Museum. Lewandowski. V Goldenpendantsfromthetombsof Minetel-Beida.Thepeopleof Ugarit necklaces intotheafterlife tookwiththemi '. adornedwithgoldorsilver of cornelian theplanetVenus, representing penidants astralsymbolperhapsof thegoddessof in humanform, fertilitySheis depicted animals(bottom naked,and brandishing AMluseum, right;Louvre photo? RMN/H, sheis stylizedin. Lewandowski.). Frequently, theformof a humanmaskabovea pairof breastsanda pubictriangle (below;National Museum,Aleppo, photo? ErichLessing/Art '" Resource).

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section and the hill northwest of the tell, he was to find the postern gate ~~~where ^ ~j i the royalpalace.Butby then, the divi~, "~~~~~~~and sion of the finds between Franceand the Syrian museums had ceased and the archivesof the royalpalaceand the libraries of the privatehouses remained in Syria. Nevertheless,Schaeffermanagedto obtain permission to collect samples and specimens for study. These included floral remnants,faunalremains,pottery sherds, and debrisfrom metal castings,pigments all sorts of fragmentsforwhich there r ~~~ ~~~and ,. n~ no space in the Syrianmuseums. r ~was q~ ~~~~~ { t ~~Thistreasuretrove of specimens for .]_~~~~~~ study found its way into the Louvre'scoldeath.It comprises ~lection _ ~~ afterSchaeffer's .;~

/. ^ ;~ ~.

samplesspanningthe entirehistoryof

the excavations,fromeveryleveland every sector. hese objects are o no aesthetic value and can thereforebe submitted to

9 tFts pl

of laboratory They thevicisitudes analysis. can be cut into small pieces or partially pulverized, revealingthe nature of their (Contintedonpage219) Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

217

withcamelianbeadsand silverpendantsadornedwith A Necklace Louvre Museum.Photo? RMN/H imagesof a fertility goddess(?) Lewandowski. > Limestone steleof'lBaalonthethunderbolts" a clubin his holding hand and a lance in his He stands on a double base left right. and the the seas both which were hisdomains. mountains, representing of ? RasShamraLouvre Museum. Photo RMN/H Lewandowski. Ugarit. D> Twobearded drawnbya teamof horses. warriors ontheirchariot Foundin theLowerCityWestin 1935H 15cm.Louvre Museum.Photo ? ErichLessing/Art Resource. > Steleofa godwitha plant-likecrownandspear,fromtheTemple of Baal.Louvre Museum.Photo? ErichLessing/Art Resource
Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

raw materials-whether of foreign or local origin-and the techniques used in their manufacture. This type of research,called archeometric analysis, can be used to examine metals, bone, ivory, glass, faience, and ceramicsButthat is not all.BecauseUgarit is a key site for understanding the culturesof the Levantand the Mediterranean in the second millennium, the study of this culture is included in the curricula of numerous universities around the world. No other archaeologicalsite represented at the Louvre arouses so much interest-not even Susa or Mari, even though the discovery of these two capitalsalso changedthe face of ancientNear Eastern history. Ugarit remains at the heart of international research encouraged by the ease of access to the material in the Louvre. Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

219

The

Art

of

Wbrkin by Valerie Matoian Mission archeologique franqaise de Ras Shamra

he productionof objects in vitreousmaterialsplayeda rolein a numberof the luxury

craftindustries at Ugarit.Excavations at the site haverevealedoneof themostimportant NearEastern offaience, blue, corpora Egyptian objects glassandglazedclayceramic datingto theLateBronzeAge. Minetel-Beida,tombVI Thisvessel,an articleof A A gobletin faience, witha faceof a womanorgoddesswith is decorated toiletry, feminine Museum.Photo? paintedeyesandcurls.Height:16.2cm.Louvre RMN/HLewandowski. (Following page)FaiencemaskfromMinetel-Beida.LateBronzeAge. Resource. Louvre Museum.Photo? ErichLessing/Art uring the Late Bronze Age, the techniques for producing fafence, glass and Egyptian blue evolved, resultingin improvement in both quality and quanThese materials were made from the same basic tity. constituents-silica, lime, alkali and metallic oxides-but used in differentproportionsand accordingto differenttechniquesof manufacture.Only glazed ceramic,which beganto appearin the middle of the second millennium BCE, contains day as its main constituent. This technique is represented at Ugarit by only twenty or so vases,which neverthelessconstituteone of the most significantLevantinecollections. In contrast, faience, Egyptian blue and glass are each representedby hundredsof pieces. The wide variety of objects includes vases, figurines,cylinder seals, and pieces of jewelry, and were discovered all over the site, in homes and palaces, tombs and warehouses. They were found both individually and in groups. Collections of beads, for example, have been unearthed in the royal palace and also in diverse residentialquarters. 220

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

The ancient city of Ugarit played a central role in a system of international exchange during the second half of the second millennium BCE. The variety of stylistic influences revealed by the study of materials testifies to the cosmopolitan nature of Ugariticart. These influences come principally from Egypt and the Aegean, and less so from Mesopotamia. Certain forms are characteristic of the Levant-specifically zoomorphic vases in faYence,those in the form of pomegranates, and bottles in glazed day ceramic-and are in many ways similar to Cypriot finds. Other forms, including the faience bucketsand goblets decoratedwith a floralcorollain relief,and some pendants in glass, show influences from the Aegean to Mesopotamia or Iran. It is unusualto find pieces whose preciseorigincan be determined based on form or style and technique. However, recent archeometric analysis has enabled us to establish the origin of a series of objects in faience coveredwith a gray-blue cobalt-coloredmonochrome glaze apparently imported from

Mark Your Calendar. P?z CTe TI1?

November 14-17 2001 (Wednesday evening through Saturday afternoon)

Omni InterlockenHotel, Boulder, Colorado

Egypt,thatis, if the resultsof archeometricanalysisareto be of studiesundertaken in the museum trusted.Thecontribution in Francerepresentsan importantpartof researchlaboratories today'sresearch.These studies help determinethe specific natureof the materialfoundat Ugarit,andoccasionallypermit us to identifyobjectsthatarelocallyproduced,as in the case of objectscomposedof faiencecoloredby meansof Egyptian blue.The existenceof a flourishinglocalcraftindustryin vitreousmaterials is confirmed of someexceptional by thediscovery and originalartifactsin additionto smallpiecesof rawmateno remains rial(glassandEgyptian blue)althoughunfortunately, have been discovered on the site. of a workshop yet Faience material a bodyof siliceous A heterogeneous constituting pastecoveredwith an alkalineglazemost often colored with a compositionsimilarto thatof glass. EgyptianBlue An artificialmaterial made through a process of crystalline phases and one vitreous phase, achieved froma seriesof processesof sintering, grinding,firingwith sand,with calcite,andwith combinationsof copperand alkaline.

Special Features Wednesday Evening Plenary Lecture Thursday Evening Special Session FridayEvening Public Session SaturdayMorning Teachers' Workshop The 2001 Annual Meeting will also feature: 50 diffieentsessions; 225 presPntalions; 250 presenleis Something new: A jointASOR/AAAsessionon Connectivityin Antiquity Everyhing from: The Mediterraneanto Anatolia,Israel,Syria,Jordan; Mesopotamia,Arabiaand Egypt; Excavationreportsto anthropologicaltheory; Womenin archaeologyto the Anatolianmother goddess;Prehistoricto the Islamicperiods As well as: The annualMembersMeetingand Banquet(Friday)

For more information: www.asor.org www.omnihotels.com Or contact: Douglas R. Clark Chairof the Committeeon the Annual Meetingand Program [email protected].

NearEastern 63:4 (2000) Archaeology

221

The

Art

'Metals

Working

by Claude Chanut, ELCOA,Parisand

Ella Dardaillon, IFAPO,Damascus

As earlyas theMiddleBronzeAgea flourishing industryin bronzeis attestedon theLevantinecoast,but it is notuntil theLateBronze datacanbe comAgethatthearchaeological pared with the data fromthe texts of Ras Shamra.The termsdesignating thesemetals,a partof thelocalvocabulary of Ugarittit (bronze) and brr (tin?),arethemarkof a local culture of metallurgy. M

etal-bronze and sometimescopper-was used to

create implements for everyday use: tools (hoes, sicklesand chisels),personalobjects(tweezers) and parts of weapons (arrowpoints and lances).Other objectshave acquired prestige by the presence of inscriptions or by the use of precious metals such as electrum, gold, and silver. Gold and silver in Ugariticare called hrsand ksp, as they are throughoutthe Semiticworld. Their place in the Ugariticimagination is sealed in a myth in which the craftsman god Kothar-wa-Hasis builds for Baal "a residence of silver and a palace of gold."It is this same Baal who seems to have been representedin the LateBronzeAge by some figurinesin bronze plated with a precious metal. Pendants decorated with feminine figures that are sometimes very schematic, or with astral motifs similar to those discovered at Kamid el-Loz and as far away as Tell el-Ajjul present a notion of this culture's extended influence. Openness to the Mediterranean world, exemplified by the port of Minet el-Beida, is conveyed in the iconography of the gold plate depicting a hunting scene found on the Acropolisin which are combined Aegean, Egyptian,Hittiteand Mesopotamianinfluences.A ceremonialaxe-head discoveredin a cultic context incorporatesthree differentmetals (copper,gold, and iron),a raritythat forces us to appreciate the mastery of the craftsman.Around twenty names of metalworkingcraftsmen-generally of Semitic origin-are known at Ugarit.The cities where they practicedtheir craftswere dispersed throughout the kingdom. The metalworkers, who belonged to a social category known as the "king's men," were linked to a palace industry.They had mastered the technique of lost wax as well as metalworkingengravingembossing and granulation.The discovery of instruments (chisels,tongs, scale balances and weights), and stone molds used for casting jewelry and some tools, seems to prove that there was a local metallurgical industry, even though to this day, not a single workshop has been identified at Ras Shamra. The administrativetexts tell us about the raw materialsand their circulationand about the objects and the artisans.They 222

NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeology

indicate that bronze was prepared on the spot, but they say nothing about the workshops or about the techniques for the working of the metal or about the manufacture of the objects.Cypruswas undoubtedly the principalsupplierof copper for Ugarit,after the ore had been processed locally. Exchanges between the two powers are attested in the texts and by the presence of copper objects. Copper, in the form of ingots wrapped in cow hide,was the objectof an international commerce in the Mediterranean. This trade is illustrated on Egyptian funerary reliefs. Ingots have been found in Crete, on Cyprus,in the LateBronze Age shipwrecks off the coast of Turkeysouth of Cape Gelidonyaand at Uluburun, where the excavators also uncovered ingots of tin. The only known ingot mold comes from the metalworkshopof the Ugaritic queerns lurgical palace at Ras Ibn Hani. Letters from the archives confirm that the kingdom of Ugaritexportedmanufactured objects,but that raw metals were also re-exported. axe-headdiscovered Ceremonial duringthe excavations at The blade ismade 1937 Lgarit but the which a wild handle, ofiron, represents boarand twolionheads,is madeof solidcopperwith 195cm.National Museum, Aleppa goldwireinlay.Length Photo? DagliOrti/The ArtArchive.

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thesacred in whatconstitutes he secularstudy of the Bible has identified, workin which as wellas a literary chronicle a typeofhistorical bookofbelievers, In the courseof such writingsof differentgenreshave beenintermingled. momentthatcompletely of Ugaritmarkedan exceptional study,thediscovery This ourknowledge of theCanaaniteoriginsofIsraelite transformed religion. of gatheringall thatcouldbe knownabout in turnadvancedtheenterprise Sincethemystery of originsnever of theBible."' Israel's pastand the"peoples thebiblicalaccountsof thewantheinterestin verifying ceasestofascinate, fromeast of Palestine by theIsraelites deringsofAbrahamand theconquest an exterWhilemanyhaveadvocated Riverhasremained oftheJordan strong. elementsof nal originforthepeopleof Israelas wellas forthefundamental theirreligion,the undeniableagrarianpracticesattestedin theBiblehave envicultural of theindigenous of theinfluence beentreatedas an indication namelythatof theCanaanites. ronment,

istoricalspeculation,it would appear,has ceasedto upholdthe nomadicoriginsof biblicalreligion.Among thesuggested modelsexplaining themysteryof Israelite origins,thatof the conquestor of the gradualpenetrationof elementscomingfromthe east or the south findsmuchless of elementsfromthe credencethanthatof a "retribalization" Canaanitepopulation,whichwas dispersedfollowingthe catastrophemarkingthe end of the BronzeAge.These people

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settledin new areasor re-inhabitedsites in the Palestinian to considerasinherhillcountry. Thistheoryhasledresearchers ent to Israel'sreligioneverythingthat reflecteda ruralorigin and that manifesteda continuitywith what was believed andpracticedin thatregionin the pre-Israelite period. Religionis expectedto respondto vitalhumanneeds.These needs,however,arenot limitedto the victoryof the faithful overtheirneighbors.In a regionecologicallyquite different NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeology

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from the wide valleys of Canaan, life depended on rain, an uncertain commodity at best. The propitiation and exaltation of the storm god is essential thereforeto the Israelitecult as well as to that of her neighbors and predecessors.While the distinguishing elements imposed by geography,especially in the coastal and mountainous zones, led to variations in the names of gods, they did not affect the invariablecharacterof the cults designed to promote fertility and fecundity.

dating to the second millennium did not clarify what had been seen only dimly thanks to Semitic epigraphy. They revealed, quite by chance since their raisond'etrewas not religious, the names of gods and goddesses probablydistinctfrom the Babylonian divinities with which the texts assimilated them, but without any indicationof their physiognomy,attributes, and functions. All this documentation reveals a Semitic polytheism or, if one prefers,a Canaaniteor Syro-Phoenicianpolytheism.There An Abundant and Varied Literature is, however, no pantheon that supposes a hierarchal strucTo be sure, the religion of ancient Israelincluded the ele- ture and a specializationof deities even though we can assume ments of historical,non-naturisticmyth. The traditionalfestivals that they were generallyinvoked for the well-being of the peoof farmers and herders took on the characterof commemople and the king. The Mesha stele of Moab is the exception. ratingevents that affectedthe collectiveexistence.This may be This stele suggests that in the eighth century the practical due in partto the factthat Israelstandsalone among the nations monotheism of the Biblehad a counterparteast of the Jordan, that emerged at the beginning of the first millennium in leav- where a national god with a name (Chemosh) as opaque as ing behind both an abundantand variedliterature.The events that of the god of Israel was exalted for having given victory to his people and to their king. of her national life and some issues pertaining to political and social order are reflected and evaluated from a religious Since 1929,the discovery of Ugarit has completely transperspective that seems to contrast with the equally present formed our knowledge of the Canaanite cultural substratum at the heart of Israelitereligion by supplying the only known nature elements. For theological or ideological reasons, modern interpreters are inclined to oppose an Israelite religion example of an organizedpolytheism in the Syro-Palestinianclirevealinga God at work in history,areobsessedwith the unique- mate. Although lackingthe aid of an existingbilingualtext, the ness of God, are hostile to popular superstitions such as the Ugaritictablets were deciphered thanks to an inspired workcult of the dead, are concernedabout socialjusticeand are hosing hypothesis that postulated that this cuneiform writing tile to the authorityof kings,all of which constitutedthe religion representeda Semiticlanguagein which some known trilateral of the prophets and Deuteronomy. On the other hand, they roots and morphemes could be distinguished. These tablets also oppose the nature cults originating in earliest times and yielded a largenumber of ritualtexts with divinenames known any inveterate attachment of them to the monarchic institu- from other sources. More significantly, the tablets revealed tion This latterreligionhas oftenbeen and stillremainsdiscredited literaryworks whose affinityto the Biblewas immediatelyrecby theologianswho, influenced by the obsessions of their own ognized, in particulartheir affiliationwith the poetic texts of the Biblewith their use of parallelphrasesin which one phrase time, judgedit grossly sensual or insufficientlyconcerned with "socialjustice."They viewed the nature cults as the deplorable confirms or completes the other. The tablets made known for the first time myths depictheritage of the abominable Canaanites, if one insists on using this rather equivocal appellation for the enemies in ing how the gods (whose names were already known from other sources)manipulatedthe forcesupon which the universe closest proximity to the people of God. depends. Indeed, the high degree of poetic elaborationin the A Canaanite Polytheism texts does not allow us to view them as popularcreations.The It is howeverwithout any prejudiceof this kind that human- personality of the author is transparent(can he be identified isticresearchbeganthe enterpriseof studyingCanaanitecultural with the scribeIlumilkuwhose name is noted?).One can imagdata in the seventeenth century. But how was one to access ine that the anti-feminism present in his remarksconcerning them without original sources, using only the perplexing and the goddesses Athiratand Anat reflectedhis own bias and was often denigratinginformationpreservedin the Bible,the ancient not necessarily reflectiveof the communal consciousness. But historians, rabbinic writings, and the writings of the church it is hardly conceivable that the Ugariticpoet rendered ideas fathers?The admirableeruditionof Bochart,Spencerand Selden radicallydifferent from those of his contemporaries concernwas doomed to failure. Not until two centuries later, with ing the great drama underpinning the balance of creation the debut of Semitic epigraphy,did the fog begin to clear.But and concerning its protagonists. Thanks to these texts from Ugarit,we possess the most prethe informationprovidedby engravedinscriptionsutilizing the cise informationeverobtainedon Canaanite,or Syro-Palestinian, Phoenician alphabet did not satisfy the curiosity of the historianof religions.A multitudeof divinenames broadlyconfirmed polytheism. There are sufficientparallelswith other sources, what the Biblehad alreadyreportedabout the cults of its neigh- albeit sourcesmuch less informative,to suppose that these data bors, namely that they were dedicatedto Baal and to Astarte. are not only valid for the Latakiaregion of the thirteenth and twelfth centuriesbeforeour era.Evenif local distinctionsfavored For its part, the sacrificial regulations evident in the sovariations in their names, throughout the wider region and calledMarseilletariffinscriptionrevealeda continuitybetween Punic practicesand those in Leviticus,despite the differences spanning severalcenturies,the divine figuresremained similar. in terminology. The Syro-Palestiniancuneiform documents The preeminence of Baal or of a god of this type, the lord of 226

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

life, owing to his status as lord of the rains, is widely attested. In view of his dwelling in the storm cloud, he is also the lord of thunderbolts and of weapons, the god who fights for and leads his people. But his power is not the only one that rulesthe universe.Behindall of these greatpowers existsanother great god, El. At Ugarit he was called by the name common among all the northern Semites for designatingdivinityin general. In the Ugariticmyths he is the embodiment of wisdom whereas Baal embodies power. He is therefore a sage old man whereas Baal is a generous, but impetuous young man. El is the fatherof the gods, the "creatorof creatures"in general. Even if an anthropogenic myth, the creation of man as it appears in Genesis 2, is unknown at Ugarit,its reflex can be detected at the end of the poem of Kirtawhere one sees the god El fashion out of clay a creaturechargedwith healing the hero. Likewise, even if a cosmological myth, as found in Genesis 1,is unknownat Ugarit,thereareseveralepigraphicwitnesses scattered throughout the culturalregion, such as a Neo-Punic inscription from Libyaand Genesis 14:19,that certify a belief in El, the creatorof earth.

An Ugaritic Mythology The interplay of these divine figures and of a few others comprises the essential argument of the great Ugariticmyths whose religious function is easily discernible: the victory of Baal over the god of the sea, which assures Ugariticmariners that they can undertakethe sea voyage.The sacrificeof Baalin the face of death restoresto the earthits propersubstance,lifegivingwater, removingthe specter of droughtand famine.The copulationof Baalwith a heiferguaranteesthe increaseof flocks. The agrarianconcerns of Israelitereligion are predicatedon a similar religious orientation. This is particularlyperceptible in the autumnalrituals,even though biblicallegislationappears to devote little concern to them. Ugariticmythology allows for a connection of diverse biblical allusions and those of other regionaldata exteriorto the Biblein a coherentschema.It allows us to discoverbehind the "prophetic-deuteronomistic" censure, the sense and value of certain practices such as the funerary lacerationforbiddenin Deuteronomy 14:1.Thanks to certain Ugaritic tablets, we understand that the inhabitants of the underworld, called the Rephaim in Isaiah 14:9,which Joshua 3:11portraysas the giants of the past, were originallydeceased kingswhose cult favoredthe proliferationof their descendants. Ugaritbrings to light what some would call the "dark"face of the religionthat the nationalisticand rationalisticreformof the prophets and of Deuteronomy attempted to mask, but which certainly corresponds more closely to the real beliefs and practicesof the ancient Israelites.Did not the Judeanssettled in Egypt in the fifth century associate with YHWH, the name of the nationalgod that normally stood alone, a goddess named Anat similarto the one who assistsBaalin his combats accordingto the Ugariticmyth? Although we must not think of making a "Bible"out of them, the Ugariticwritings constitute the most useful literary documentation for understandingthe Hebrew Bible, or more precisely the substratum ththeBible. While Ugaritic was

deciphered mainly thanks to the Bible, it has not been slow in contributingto a more thorough knowledge of the biblical idiom. It would be daunting to count the number of plausible hypotheses that Ugaritichas engendered for resolvingthe centuries-olddifficultiesof the biblicaltext. But we must go farther. The henotheism of the Bible could only be expressed in a literarylanguagethat is the heir of a long culturalpast. The Ugaritictexts can allow us to recover this past, thanks to the affinitiesof languageand phraseology that they have in common with the Bible. Transmittedvia language,Ugariticimagery,or similarrepresentations from other cultures, have entered into the Bible and have made it possibleto expresscertainreligiousintuitions, even those inherent to the official henotheism. Henotheism affirmsthe preeminence of a god of one group over the gods of another group.The tablets from Ugaritdescribe the god El surroundedby the "sonsof El"or the "sonsof god."This image enabled the Israelites,convinced of the preeminence of Yahweh, to depicthim seated in the midst of the gods, representing the powers of the world outside of Israel, subject legally but not in fact to his supremacy.This is why Psalm 82 teaches that God "judgesin the midst of the gods"and will bringabout the downfall (one day) of those who do not follow his laws. The polytheistic substratum of bibical henotheism, better understood thanks to the texts of Ugarit,explains the variationsin the physiognomy of Yahweh that any attentive reader of the Bible can perceive. The god of Israelis sometimes the young heroic warrior of the Song of Exodus 15 and of many of the psalms.At other times he is the judgeseated on his throne who in the vision of Daniel sports a white beard just as the god El does in the Ugaritic poems. This variation stems from the fact that Yahweh, being the sole god, embodied in himself the conflicting traits of the great gods of Canaanite polytheism, Baal and El. This phenomenon also explains why he assumes the feminine characteristicsof the goddesses. Is it not said in Deuteronomy 32:18that he "givesbirth"(likea woman)? Moreover,his frequentattributeof "mercy"is based on the word for "womb,"as is the epithet of a Ugariticgoddess associatedwith El who brings the gods into the world (Asherah). No one contests today the fact that a knowledge of Ugarit is indispensable for exegetes of the Old Testament. But those of the New Testament should not neglect it either for it attests to details that were long retained by popular memory. The seven-headed beast of the Apocalypse of John (12:3) does not come from the visions of Daniel, and Psalm 74 does not mention the numberof Leviathan's multipleheads. On the other hand, the Ugariticancestor of this dragon,reportedly defeated by Baal,is certainly the beast with seven heads. We have perhaps not consideredsufficientlythe factthat in Matthew 6:30-52, Mark 14:13-33and John 6:1-20, the story of the multiplication of the loaves is immediately followed by the scene describing Jesusas walking on the waves as if deliberately recallingtwo events in the cycle of Baal wherein Baal gives men their nourishment and vanquishes the sea.

NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

227

by Simon B. Parker Boston University

efore the discovery of Ugarit, the native literatureof ancient Syria-Palestine was unknown to us exceptin much later Greek sourcesfromthe Roman period.All attemptsto tracebiblicalliteratureback to earliersourcesor tradi-

tionswerebasedon criticalanalysisof theBibleitselfand comparison withthe moreremoteliteratures and Egyptorwithwidespread ofMAesopotamia genres. The discoveryof the Ugaritictablets,beginningin 1929, completelychangedthis

situation.Amongthevariouskinds of documentsthat use the Ugariticscript and language-letters, administrativeand legal records,outlinesof rituals,and god lists-there are severalnarrativepoems,all of literaryreligious,and mythological significance.Increasingunderstandingand appreciationof these has

clarifiedthe traditionto whichthe biblicalwriterswereheirs.

Serpentinestelein low reliefshowinga seatedgod (El?)and an adorant.Fromtheacropolisat Ugarit.NationalMuseum,Aleppo.Photo? Erich Lessing/ArtResource.

228

Near EasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

gariticliteraturewas not, of course, a direct ancestor of biblical literature.It does, however,present us with a particularliterary fixation of a largeand widespreadoraltraditionthat, as it was transmittedover the following centuries, influenced and informed the authors of new literary compositions in Judah and Israel. As different as the two literaturesare,we can better appreciatethe particularcontext,purposes,and achievementof each when we recognize the similar reservoir of poetic, narrative, and mythological forms and motifs on which both draw. The three longest texts discoveredat RasShamraareknown by the namesthey are given on the tablets themselves:Baal, Aqhat, and Kirta. None of the three is completelypreserved,most tabletsbeing so damagedas to create substantialgaps in the text.The storiesof Aqhatand Kirta probably continued beyond the three tabletsthat have been recoveredfor each poem. The six tabletsof Baal,on the other hand, may not belong to a single work, althoughmost scholarstreatthem as such. All three works are written in poetic form.This is evidentmost conspicuously in theirpervasiveuse of parallelism-usually two or three colaphrases or dauses-with similar meaning and/or syntax, e.g.:

-

er

'

-

i

The heavens rain oil, The wadis run with honey Biblicalpoetry, as found especially in the latter prophets (Isaiahto Malachi),Psalms,Job, and Proverbs,belongs to the same tradition, although often with less strict observation of parallelism. Ugariticpoetry also makes abundant use of formulaictides,phrases,and evenwhole lines,againa phenomenon that is found, though more sparingly,in biblical poetry. The major difference between the two literaturesis that virtually all poetry in Ugariticis narrative,while there are only occasional short passagesof narrativein biblicalpoetry. However, the Ugariticnarrativepoems illustratethe antecedents of biological literaturewith narrativeepisodes, scenes, and motifs; mythological motifs and schemes; and imagery, formulae, and other poetic devices.To recognize these connectionsis also to sharpen our perception of how the biblicalwriters adapted the traditionto their own distinct purposes.

King Kirta

Kirta opens with an account of a king'sloss of his entire family (cf. the opening chapter of Job and the opening verses

of Ruth).Kirtagoes to bed weeping and dreamsthat Elappears to him, askinghim what he wants. Hearingof his need for sons, El instructs him to launch an expedition to Udum where he is to request the hand of the princessHuraya.Kirtafollows El's instructions, stopping only to make a vow: the promise of a gift to the goddess Asherahif his mission is successful.He does succeed in bringingthe designated bride back but forgets this promise,and so Asherahstrikeshim with sickness,thus beginning Kirta'ssecond major crisis.Nobody in Kirta'scourt or in the divine court of El is able to heal him, until Elhimself finally forms a healing agent who does his bidding and restoresKirta to health. No sooner is Kirtabackon the throne,however,than his eldest son challengeshis competence to rule,bringingdown his father'scurses on his head. The first story of the expedition for a wife (with delicate negotiationsleading finallyto marriageand childbirth)has biblical counterpartsin finding a wife for Isaac (Gen 24), in Ruth (with gender rolesand directionof movement reversed),and in the story of Jacob.Its structurein Kirtais extended by the repetitiveaccountof a divinetheophanyin responseto a human need (in which divine instructions are given, then carried out by the person receivingthem, leading to the meeting of the need). The same basicnarrativestructureis usedin Gen 16:6-15;21:14-19. NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

229

When Aqhat has become a youth, the craftsman god, Kothar, visits Daniel and his wife, enjoystheir hospitality,and deliversa compositebow to Daniel,which Daniel conferson Aqhat.A similardivine visitation, rich hospitality, and conferral of a gift or blessingis foundin Gen 18:1-15 and 19:1-16and in 1 Kgs 17:10-16;2 Kgs .4:8-17.The goddess Anat now promises J| variousgifts to the youth if he will give her the bow. When he refuses, she bullies El into letting her arrange to have Aqhat killed by a human agent. The unavengedmurdercauses the vegetation to wither.Daniel and his daughterundertake a series of rituals to revive the vegetation, and eventually learn the real cause of the problem. With Baal's assistance,Daniel retrievesAqhat'sbody, :, l buriesit,andmournshis son.WithDaniel's blessing, his daughter now sets out on a mission of vengeance, carrying male weapons under her dress. She arrivesat the camp of Anat'shenchman and joins him in a drinking bout. The third tablet ends here, but the comparableplot of the story of Judith(Judith8-13) suggeststhe condusion to this episode. On a fourth pl __ tablet, among other developments, she probably killed the human murdererof Aqhat so that the vegetation revived. Like the patriarchalstories of Genesis, Aqhat is the story of a family and its relationswith the divine.Butalthough El, like Yahweh, grants a son to a childBaal and its environs. View the road toward ti he stairs to less Sketchof theTemple leadingup of from couplethe divinewodd hereis complex hesurles Civilisations, and conflictedcomparedwith Kirta(not thecityfromthewestAfterYon,Lacite d'Ougarit,Paris:tditionsRechercd to mention the Bible). Nevertheless, 1997:fig 63 storiesabout this patriarchalDaniel were evidently transmitted into the first milIn Kirta,El presidesas the kind and able (and sole) provider lennium and transposed into Judean garb. They were not forthe kingin each crisishe faces.Otherdeitieshaveonly minor incorporatedin the sequence of ancestralnarrativesin Geneand incidental roles. Kirta'ssocial world extends to his court sis, but referred to in Ezekiel: Daniel is mentioned as one renowned for his wisdom and deverness (Ezek 28:3) and for and subjectsand even to the remote kingdom from which he his famhis new but the focuses on his back bride, story righteousness(Ezek 14:12-20), where he appearsalongside brings lack of an and of The threats of of and Noah. Job sickness, heir, usurpation, ily. are common concerns of ancient monarchs. All three appear Besidesthe use of similarepisodes in both Ugariticand bibin the accounts of the kings of Israeland Judah(1-2 Kings).But licalnarratives,there are individualmotifs that crop up in both only in the case of David'sreign is the story of the royal fam- literatures:the withering of the vegetation as the consequence of criminalacts (Aqhat2 IV31 and 2 Sam 21: 12;Jer12:4;Hosea ily central (especially2 Sam 11). 4:23),the divine offer to grant the wish of a King (Kirta1 1and 1 Kings 3:5-15; Psalms 2:8; 20:45; 21:2 and 4), the bid to disThe Story of Aqhat a of childless. the present ruler on the grounds of his failure to assure tells Daniel, place patriarchalfigure, initially Aqhat In responseto his culticdevotion,the patriarchalgod, El,grants justice(Kirta3 VI and 2 Sam 15and, in the divine sphere,Psalm him a son, Aqhat. A similar episode is used to begin the sto82),and the widespreadassertionof the finalityof death (Aqhat 1 VI and Job 30:23; Ps 89:49; Ecdes 2:1416;3:1920;9:23). riesof Samuel(1 Sam 1) and Jacoband Esau(Gen 25:21,25-26). 230

NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeolgy

The Conflicts of Baal The actors in Baal, the longest of the three major narrative poems, are all deities. The poem opens with the conflict between Baal and Yamm (Sea).With the help of Kothar,the craftsman god, Baal defeats Yamm. He now faces the task of gettingan appropriatehouse (palace,temple)built.This achieved, again with the help of Kothar,he takes on Mot (Death), and eventually succumbs to him. In due course, however, he reappears. There is a fierce combat between the two of them, until both collapse.The solardeity (Shapshu)intervenes and Mot finallyacceptsBaal'sdominion while retainingdominion over his own domain. Obviously there is no major mythological work like this (here vastly abbreviatedand simplified) in the Hebrew Bible. Nevertheless, the mythological motif of the defeat of Sea is adopted for several different purposes in numerous contexts in the Bible, often preservingdifferent names or titles of Sea that are found in Baal. The motif is used in the depiction of creationin Psalm74:12-17;89:9-11;and is exploitedin the poetic recounting of deliverance of the people under Moses in Psalm77:16-20 and Isa51:9-10.Finally,it is the model for future judgment in Isa 27:1. The personification of insatiable Death in Baal is used to convey the fate of captivesin Isa 5:14: Therefore Sheol has made wide his throat, opened his mouth without limit and down will go its (Jerusalen's)elite and its populace and the remorselessness of the conquerorin Hab 2:5: he makes his throat wide as Sheol like Death he is never sated. The Ugariticliteraturedepicts the high god El as a bearded, white-haired old man, an image reappearingin the vision of Dan 7:9: Thrones were placed and One advancedin years took his seat His garment was white like snow and the hair of his head pure as wool. El'stide, "fatherof years,"is perhaps echoed in Job 36:26 (where God is also referredto as "El"):"thenumber of his years is unfathomable"(cf.Ps 102:24,27).The mythologicaldepiction of El'sresidence at Ugarit

Job 1:6-12; 2:16 (underthe title "sonsof God"as at Ugarit)and in 1 Kings 22: 1922 and Psalm 89:57 under other terms. The "sons of El"are also called "the assembly of the stars"in parallel lines in one mythic tablet, a parallelismechoed in Job38:7 When the morning stars rejoicedtogether and all the sons of God shouted for joy.

The Divine World of Ugaritic Literature Here and there, the Bible preserves traditional narrative means of representing divine involvement in human affairs as found at Ugarit-not only decisionsmade in the divine court (Kirta3 V and Job 1-2; 1 Kgs 22: 19-22), but also divine visitations (Aqhat1 V and Gen 18-19;Judg6:11-22;13:3-23),divine attackson a person (Aqhat2 IV and Gen 32:2-30;Exod4:2-26), and divine appearances and conversations in dreams (Kirta1 IIV;1 Kgs 3:5-15). On the other hand, there are obvious contrasts between the complex and vividdivine world of Ugariticliterature,especially Baal, and Yahweh'sworld in the Bible.The divine court of Yahweh is generally mentioned only as an undifferentiated corps of servants and worshippers (e.g. Ps 89:57; 29:12). When membersof the courtaresingledout, as in 1 Kgs22:19-22, they too are anonymous, or are characterizedsimply as "the adversary"(Job12;Zech 3). Occasionally,unnamed divine messengers are so identifiedwith the one they representthat they can even be referred to as Yahweh (Gen 18:1-16, Judg 13:2-23, etc.). Biblical narrative is sparing in its use of epic repetition, which is so pervasivein the Ugariticnarrativesthat it can try the patience of the modern reader.On the other hand, Ugaritic narrativelacksother narrativedevices that are common in biblical literature, such as observations by the narrator to the audience, explainingold institutions now forgotten, announcing the theme of a following story, connecting a story with some present-dayphenomenon, or pausingto make summary, retrospectivecomments or moral judgments or reflections on the action or characters. The literary texts from Ugarit remain the sole direct evidence of Syro-Palestinianliterature before the Bible and the sole representativeof the traditionout of which, centurieslater, the writingsthat eventuallycomposed the Bibleemerged.They allow us to see for the first time some of the original connotations of particularbiblicalphrases and images, to appreciate some of the raw materialthat the biblicalwriters adopted and adapted, and to recognize more dearly both their dependence on and their transformationof what was already in their day ancient tradition.

at the springs of the Rivers among the streams of the Deeps is exploited in Ezekiel's account of thc presumptuousness of the king of Tyre,who, Ezekiel says,has claimed,"Iam God (El), I sit in the seat of God in the midst of the seas"(Ezek 28:2). The divine court of the Ugariticnarratives,pictured especially in Baal, but also in Kirta, makes an appearance also in NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

231

and Sacrificial i, by Dennis Pardee. University of Chicago'

:.t

ome eighty Ugaritictextsprovide almosttheonlywritten evidence-ina West-

theHebrewBible-regarding Semiticlanguageand froma periodpre-dating in theLevantine area.Thesetextsdateforthe ritualand divinatory practice mostparttothelastfewdecadesof theLateBronze AkkaAge,ca.1200BCE. dataonsuchpractices diantextsprovide fromEmar amongneighboring peoples: comea significant number ontheEuphrates thesame oftextsdatingtoroughly a seriesof periodas the Ugaritictexts;fromMari,also on theEuphrates, textsseveralcenturies older;and fromEbla,justsouthofAleppo,textsmore thana millennium olderIn the Ugaritictextsonefindsa sufficientnumber tobiblicalcultic toremove thebasic ofsimilarities anydoubtregarding practices toallowtheconrelatedness of thetworitualsystems,butenoughdifferences in timeand spacemustnotbe overlooked clusionthattheseparation when therelationships betweenthepeopleswhoobserved thesesystems. considering

(Opposite)Terracotta drinkingmugof Syrianmanufacturein the shape of a lion'shead with inlaid eyes (inlay materialnow missing).NationalMuseum,Damascus.Photo? ErichLessing/ArtResource.Such objectsare commonat Ugaritand may have beenused to pourlibations,as was the case with rhyta(vesselspiercedat the base). Thisone in the shape of a boar's(Z) and was foundin the City Center.Photo? LouvreMuseum. head (above)is of Mycenaeanmanufacture 232

NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

Iif /

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Zw-f/.

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ne of the most importantareasof differencebetween

Biblicaland Ugariticpracticesis that of divination,for this type of interrogation of the divine will was not in favorwhen the biblicaltexts were redacted,whereas the discoveryat Ugaritof texts representingseveraltypes of divination leaveno doubt thatthe Ugaritiansresortedregularlyto the device. This fits the pattern of most ancient societies, from the Near Eastto Europe,where divineguidancewas sought from the various aspectsunderwhich many elementsof naturemightappear. The phenomenon of prophecy,that is, divine communication in human words, is not yet attested at Ugarit-though it is alreadyattested at Mari in the eighteenth century-and there is presently no way of knowing whether this perception of the divine was experiencedat Ugarit.In poetic legends, divinities appearto humans both directlyand in dreams,but no such phenomena are yet known from the prose texts that revealthe realitiesof everydaylife in the thirteenth century BCE.

Reading Livers The best attested and hence best understood set of signs is that furnished by hepatoscopy, the examination of the liver of an animal, a subcategory of extispicy, the examination of the exta, that is, the viscera. In the excavationsat Ras Shamra,a seriesof sheep-livermodels has been discoveredthat illustratesdivinatory practice.Three features of these models show that they reflect actual consultation of the divine undertaken in real situations for the purpose of receiving an answer to a particularquestion: (1) all the models bear meaningfulmarksincisedby the professionalhepatoscopistwho had "read"the animal'sliver;(2) severalof them bear an inscription,

in Ugaritic,in which the circumstances of the consultation are indicated; (3) in one of these inscriptionsappearsthe word dbht,derived from the root DBIH,which was used in Ugaritic,as in Hebrew (ZBIH), ; ~ to express the most basic notion of sacrifice,"that is, the slaughterof an animal as part of a cultic ceremony. One A of these texts, relatively easy to read ; 'r because it is well preserved,shows that ,/^.^such consultations could occur in relativelybanalsituations:"(Thisconsultation took place) for 'Agaptarriwhen he was to acquire the boy of the Alashiot" (RS 24.312). It has been shown that the non-alphabeticsigns on this model indicate a positive response, that is, that the petitionershould proceed to procurethe servant. Anothertext,this one on a lungmodel that bearsa seriesof brieftexts that seem not to have been in connectionwith particularquestionsby individuals,illustrates how this form of divination was used in more menacing situations:"Ifthe city is about to be taken, if (warrior)men are attacking,the (cultic)servant(s)[...] the women, they will take a goat [...]; in the house (or: as regardsthe house/palace), the (cultic)servantswill takea goat and see afar"(RS24277).Though the text is damagedin two key spots, it appears that the king's personnel in charge of cultic activities are here chargedwith organizingan extispicythat will allow them to determine what should be done.

Omens Other texts belong to a genre of divinatorywisdom that is much better known from Mesopotamia:omens extractedfrom malformedanimal and human fetuses, from lunarphenomena and from dreams. Two indications allow us to entertain the hypothesis that these texts are not reflections of the theoreticalwisdom of erudite specialistsin Mesopotamianculturebut, quite to the contrary,relicsof currentpracticeat Ugarit:(1) one text, RS 12.061,refersto an astronomic observationas havinga meaning in need of elucidation:"Duringthe six days (after)the new moon (of the month) of Hiyyaru, Shapshu [both the sun and the solar deity] set, her doorman (being the god) Rashap [plausibly here representing an astral body, perhaps Mars]: the men should inquire of the governor";(2) all these texts are written in the purest Ugaritic,reflectingno obvious influence from the other languagesof the time that we might suspect of being the sourceof translationsinto Ugaritic,in particularAkkadian,but also Hittiteor Hurrian.It appearsnecessaryto condude that, though the origin of these texts may well have been ultimately Mesopotamian, these particularforms of the "science" of the time alreadyhad a long historyat Ugaritwhen these texts were redactedin the late thirteenthor earlytwelfth centuryBCE. NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeolgy

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Sacrificial Rites When one examines the texts having to do with sacrificialrituals,one noticesmore similaritywith the Israelitesacrificial cult: the communion sacrificeis designatedby the same term as in Hebrew (Ugariticslmm,which may be vocalizedsalamu-ma, correspondingpreciselyto the proto-formof Hebrew selamim) as is the presentationoffering(Ugariticsnpt,cognatewith Hebrew tenupah).The burnt offering, or holocaust, is frequent at Ugarit but is not expressed by the same term as in Hebrew (Ugariticsrp, from the root meaning "to burn,"Hebrew 'olah, related to the verbal concept of "to cause to go up [in smoke on the altar]").Other sacrificialterms find no Hebrew correspondent, in particularthe tc(pronouncedtacu),perhaps a type of expiation sacrifice.

The inventory of animals offered in sacrifice at Ugarit is very similar to that mentioned in the relevantHebrew texts: most of the animals named belong either to the category of sheep and goats or to that of bovines; birds are also fairlyfrequently mentioned, the one most often mentioned being the dove. The pig and the dog are notable by their absence and a form of equid, the donkey,appearsin only two sacrificialtexts (RS 1.002and RS 24.266)-at least in the firstof these the donkey, accordingto an old tradition,is offeredto cement political accord between ethnic groups but it is improbable that donkey flesh was ever consumed in sacrificialfeasts. Where the Ugariticsacrificialcult shows a most markeddifferencefrom that known from the Hebrew Bibleis in the divine sphere: the Ugaritic sacrificial texts are structured not only accordingto the time, the place,or the function of the sacrifice, but also according to the series of divinities named as recipients of the offeringspresentedin each phase of the liturgy.The number of divinitiesknown to date goes well beyond two hundred and most of these are explicitly indicated in the texts as beneficiariesof offerings.Many questionsremainas to justhow the variousofferingswere actuallydispensed, but there can be no doubt that the ideology of divinityat Ugaritwas thoroughly polytheistic.

A Funeral Fit for a King Finally,though a major part of Ugaritic cultic activity as known from the presently available texts is not devoted to the cult of the ancestors,one of the most remarkableof the ritual texts, RS 34.126,both by its poetic form and by its contents, lays out the details of a royal funerary liturgy, probably that of the next-to-last king of Ugarit, Niqmaddu III. In this rite, which would have taken place in about 1200 BCE,the king's ancestors, from the most ancient to recent ones, are invited to take part. The sun goddess assures the deceased king's passage into the underworld, and that descent is represented symbolicallyby lowering the mortal remains of the king seven times, each accompanied by a sacrifice,into a deep pit located next to the royaltomb in which it was finallyto be deposited.

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The Rephaim RS 34.126

Documentof the sacrificeof the Shades. Youhavebeen called,0 Rapa'umaof the Earth, Youhavebeen summoned,0 Assemblyof Didanu; 'ULKNthe Rapa'uhas been called, TRMNthe Rapa'uhas been called, SDN-wa-RDNhas been called, TR 'LLMNhas been called, They havecalledthe AncientRapa'uma. Youhavebeen called,0 Rapa'umaof the Earth, Youhavebeen summoned,0 Assemblyof Didanu; has been called, KingCAmmishtamru KingNiqmadduhas been calledas well. O Throneof Niqmaddu,be bewept, And may tearsbe shed overthe footstool of his feet. Beforehim may they beweep the king'stable, And swallowdown theirtears: Desolationand desolationof desolations! Be hot, 0 Sun, Yea,be hot, 0 GreatLight. On high the Suncriesout: Afteryour lords,fromthe throne, Afteryour lordsdescendinto the earth, Descendinto the earthand loweryourselfinto the dust: UnderSDN-wa-RDN, UnderTR cLLMN, Underthe AncientRapa'uma; UnderKingCAmmishtamru, UnderKingNiqmadduas well. Once and performthe tc-sacrifice, Twiceand performthe tc-sacrifice, Thriceand performthe t'-sacrifice, Fourtimes and performthe 't-sacrifice, Fivetimes and performthe tl-sacrifice, Sixtimes and performthe tc-sacrifice, Seventimes and performthe 't-sacrifice. Youshallpresent(as an offering)birdsof well-being: Well-being(for)cAmmurapiP, well-being(for)his sons; Well-being(for)Tarriyelli,well-being(for)her house; Well-being(for)Ugarit,well-being(for)her gates.

Anothertranslation of thistextis offeredin the next articleby BrianSchmidt.Therethe dead kingsare as remainingin the netherworld the interpreted throughout ritualas weak and frailshadesratherthanpowerfulghosts who ascendto blessthe livingas traditionally interpreted.

The

Divinatory

Livers

by Jacqueline Gachet Maison de l'Orient mediterraneen, Lyon, France n the world of the ancient Near East, the divinatory techniques at the disposal of consultants were diverse.One of them, to which kingsand theirentourage had recourse, was hepatoscopy (Akk. barutum"vision"),or the technique of "divinationby examining the liver." Particularly widespreadsince earliestantiquity,the examination of entrails, usually of sheep, was a costly practice because it required the sacrifice of one or several animals. Consideringbreathand blood as the vehicles of life, humanity saw the seat of the divine spirit in the vascular organs of an animal ritually sacrificedby a priest (the liver,spleen, lung, heart, or brain).The readingby a diviner(Akk.baru)of the signs observed in these organsmade possible a response, whether favorableor not, to posed questions. The diviner devoted himself to the anatomical and pathological observation of the liver, the size, form and appearance of the "constituent'parts of this organ(e.g.,rightand left lobes and gall-bladder),markings(impressionsof the ligamentsand the organssurroundingthe liver),and "ephemeral"signs appearing clearlyon fresh livers,and finallypathologicalanomalies.

Prize Announcement The AlbrightInstitute of ArchaeologicalResearch announces the establishment of the Sean W. Dever MemorialPrize.This is an annualawardof up to $500 for the best published article or paper presented at a conference by a Ph.D. candidate in Syro-Palestinian and biblicalarchaeology.The firstawardwill be given for the year 2001. Authors may be of any nationality,but the papers must be in English.All submissionsshould include the academic affiliationof the author and his/her mailing, fax, e-mail addresses,and phone number. Submission of conference papers should also include the name of the conference and the date when the paper was presented.The deadline for submissionsis December 31,2001. Papers should be sent to the W. E Albright Institute, P. 0. Box 40151, Philadelphia, PA 19106. The announcement of the awardwill be made on March 1, 2002. Contributions in memory of Sean Dever may be sent to: Mr. Sam Cardillo,Comptroller,W. F.Albright Institute,P.O.Box 40151,Philadelphia,PA 19106.

This offered to the diviner the possibility of developing an elaboratesystem for the interpretationof the observed signs. Observationsand interpretationswere registeredon tablets and on "models"of livers. At Ugarit,we know that one of these diviners practicedhepatoscopy in a quarter south of the Acropolis, thanks to this type of documentation found in the so-calledhouse of "thepriestwith the models of lungs and livers." The constituent parts of the liver were represented in relief:the markswere incised, and the "ephemeral"or pathologicalsignswere eitherincisedor done in relief.Conventional and schematic,these representationsrelatedto the areawhere they were observed. As "right"had a favorablesignificance, the rightlobe denoted the king who consultedthe organ,and the left lobe was the domain of the enemy. Therefore, an unfavorablesign located on the left lobe constituted a positive response for the king. Many of the known models of livers are made of baked clay.Although some exist in bronze, none had previously been known to be made of ivory.However, the recent study of burned ivory fragments bearing Ugaritic inscriptions discoveredin 1955 in the royalpalace of Ugarithas revealed for the first time the use of ivory for this type of documentation. This discovery is doubly exceptional since these are also the first objects in ivory from Ras Shamra that were inscribed with cuneiform writing.

ASOR Remembers Cyrus Gordon Dr. Cyrus H. Gordon, scholarof Near Easterncultures and expert on ancient languages, died on March 30, 2001 at this home in Brookline,MA at the age of 92. It is especially fitting that ASOR remember Cyrus Gordon in an issue of NEA devoted to Ugariticstudies, sinceit is his formativework on the Ugariticlanguage that is considered to be his greatest achievement and that earned him the tide "Fatherof UgariticStudies." Perhaps Gordon'sgreatest legacy,however, is the generation of scholars, many now leaders in their fields, that he trained with such breadth that to be identified as a student of Gordon'sis a veritable academic status symbol. His autobiography, A ScholarsOdyssey,which brings to life the romance of archaeology and the trials and tribulations of academia in the 20th century, was awarded a National Jewish Book Award in February. In addition, NEA recently devoted an issue to the life and works of Cyrus Gordon (vol. 59/1 [1996]). Interested readers are referred to these publications to learnmore about this remarkablescholarand friend.

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Beliefr: Afterlifr Memory

as

Immortality

by Brian Srhmiw4t

Universityof Michigan

he topics of death and afterlife have longheld a centralplace in modern

WestAsia traditions of ancientMediterranean of thereligious reconstructions ortheLevant.Thoseof theLateBronzeAgecityof Ugaritare no exception. thisstateof affairs,butonethat Severalfactorshaveundoubtedly influenced Judeoclearlystandsoutabovetheothersis thewesternor,morespecifically, withhumanity's physicalfatebeyonddeath. Christian preoccupation

View of tombL fromthe RoyalPalaceat Ugarit.Photocourtesyof TheodoreLewis. 236

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ineteenth centuryintellectualinterestin Levantineculturaltraditionshad as its majorimpetus the elucidation of the religiousideas set forth in the ChristianOld Testament or Jewish Tanakh. Such an endeavor had little or no regardfor understanding the various indigenous cultures of ancient MediterraneanWest Asia on their own terms. Unfortunately, western interpreters of these cultures depicted them as looking very much like our own or, in the case of culturesthat resistedsuch a distortion,judgedthem to be inferior cultures, primitive and pagan. The interpretation of the ancient city of Ugarit fell victim to both tendencies evident within this cultural bias. Scholars identified in the written remains and artifactsfrom Ugariteither the direct antecedents of later western ideas or their savage,uncivilized antitheses. Two examples well illustratethese competing tendencies. N

Past Studies Our firstexamplecomes from the writingsof the late Father Mitchell Dahood, a recognized authority on Ugariticreligion. In an impressivethreevolume commentaryon the biblicalbook of Psalms, Father Dahood argued that the people of Ugarit embraced the belief in a blessed, physicallife after death. For FatherDahood, this providedthe foundation for his interpretation of several obscure passagesin the biblicalpsalms along similarlines. The fact of the matter is that his resultantdescription of Ugaritic death and afterlife beliefs closely resembled those of much later Christianand Jewish traditionspreserved in the New Testamentor in Jewishwritingsof the SecondTemple.Is this mere coincidence?Needless to say,his novel rendition of Ugariticdeath and afterlife beliefs has not been borne out by subsequent research and is today rejected by most, if not all, experts in the field of Ugariticreligion. We come now to our second example.With the exception of a handful of scholarslike FatherDahood, most researchers, past and present,have identified in the texts and material cultureremainsat Ugarit,remnantsof an aboriginaldeathor ancestor cult. Death and ancestor cults as defined by early moderns and their intellectualdescendantspresupposea morbid fear of the dead manifested by many superstitiousrites aimed at supplicatingtheir ghosts. Hence the so-called primitivenature of these cults and their respectivecultures.Accordingto this view, this fearwas given expressionin primitivesocieties throughregularacts of worship on the part of the livingthat were directed toward the dead who possessed, it was believed, powers similar to or equal with those of the gods. These interpretersheld that such powers often led to the deificationof the dead. Thus the associated rituals served either to appease the divine-like benevmalevolenceof the dead or to gainfromtheirsupernatural olence. In fact,many earlymodern intellectualsviewed this fear and its attendant cult as providingthe impetus underlyingthe origin of religiousthought in all early societies. The fear of the recently departedled to their reverence,which in turn presupposed the new acquisition of superior powers on the part of ghosts, ergothe eventualbirthof deitiesand demons from dead humans.This is a modernvariationon the ancienttheoryknown as euhemerism in which the origins of the gods were tracedto

the death of human beings. Over time, death cult and ancestor cults became the sinequa nonof most, if not all, interpretations of so-calledprimitiveor pagancultures. This western culturalbias can trace its origins, at least in part, to the Bible'sown traditions about the ancient Canaanites of which the Ugariticand later Phoenician cultures were generallythought to form two subgroups.In the Tanakhor Old Testament, the Canaanites are depicted as the nemesis of the early Israelites. Based on these textual traditions, modern renditions of ancient Canaanite culturehave more often than not portrayedthe Canaanites as primitivesor pagans.This in turnhas providedthe gridby which the materialcultureremains of non-Israelites in the region have been interpreted. Droves of Phoenician artifactsthat have been recoveredover the past two centuriesearlyon fellvictimto this fate as have those recovered more recently from Ugarit.One can readily see that from the outset, Ugarit had little chance of being understood on its own terms and in its ancient Near Easternenvironment.As determined by the experts of the day,death and ancestor cults were destined to dominate the religiouslandscape of Ugarit. Our second example is illustratedby the early interpretation of the materialcultureremains at Ugarit.The firstdirector of archaeologicalexcavationsat the site, Claude Schaeffer,identified severalcemeteries within the ancient city.Varioustubes, jars,open gutters and feeding windows were located either in or near the tombs. Schaeffer thought he had discovered in the architectural and monumental remains of the ancient city traces of an elaborate cult designed for the worship of the dead ancestors. Indeed, several tombs have been found at Ugarit, but they merely highlight the concern for proper funerary ritual and burial. Schaeffer'stomb windows were apparentlyused only at the time of inhumationand neverreused on a subsequent ritual occasion. Some were blocked off and others opened only to an area outside the tomb, but in neither case did the window open to the surface allowing for regularized ritual activity by the living subsequent to burial. In another instance, what Schaeffer identified as a cemetery, following further analysis, has been identified as a complex of domestic dwellings and the associated tubes and conduits, as channels for carrying water in and out of those buildings. Like FatherDahood's proposal, this interpretationconstitutes another mode of comparisonthat, upon closer scrutiny, might betray the same underlying Judeo-Christian cultural bias at work.

Ugaritic Ritualsand the Afterlife What then did the inhabitants of ancient Ugarit believe with regardto death and life thereafter? The textual corpus suggests that rather than adhering to some type of "proto" Judeo-Christianbelief in a blessed physicalafterlifeor embracing some uncivilized, primitive worship and deification of the dead, the people of Ugaritdevelopedanothermeans of coping with death's reality. In addition to the belief that the dead persisted physically in some weakened, shadowy form in the netherworld, they instituted cults of commemoration (orwhat anthropologistslike the BritishAfricanistMeyersFortes NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)237

refer to as geneonymy). Commemorative cults were and are designedto generateand sustainthe recollectionof the deceased in the minds of the living-those of both family and community. They have as their impetus the compulsion to avoid havingto sufferthe dreaded"deathafterdeath"or relegationof one's deeds or personhood to eternal anonymity. These rituals, when performed publicly and on family property, also legitimatedthe living'sclaimsof birthrightand land ownership. The prospect of securingsuch claimsundoubtedly providedan added motivation for the living to participate in commemorativecults. The public recitationof the names of the deceased demonstratesthat centralto the observanceof mortuaryrites beyond those of a funerarynaturewere the perpetuationof the deceased's memory and the maintenance of his genealogicalties with living family members. At Ugarit this is exemplified in a tablet containing a royal king list (RS24.257)wherein the names of several Ugaritickings listed in ascending order are each successively associated with the dynastic personal god. Owing to the likelihood that this god was known by all through its association with the royal dynasty, the scribe simply utilized the generic term, "god"(Ugaritic 7i/). This explainsthe repeated phrase throughout the text, "the god of (king) So-and-so." The royalnames were publicallyrecitedtogetherwith the name of the dynasticpersonalgod as an act of commemoration.This rite also served to sustain the divine legitimationof the current dynasty in the presenceof other elites and the generalcitizenry of Ugarit.The ritualmight also have presupposedthe presence of votive statues of the dead kings in a temple to which various commemorative offerings were made. If contemporary practicein ancient Mesopotamia is relevanthere, these statues were situated perhaps at a level lower than that of another statue, which they faced, that might have depicted the seated dynastic god to whom exclusive worship was to be directed on this solemn occasion. Another ritual text from the ancient city of Ugaritshould be mentioned at this juncture.It comprises a royal coronation litany with an accompanying funeraryliturgy (RS34.126;[see sidebar]).The occasion for its recitation was the death of the reigningking and the coronation of his successor.In all likelihood, this text was composed on the occasionof the coronation of Ammurapi, one of Ugarit'skings, as indicated by the mention of his name in the closing line of the text. The main body of the text suggeststhat his coronation immediately followed the deathof his fatherandformerkingof UgaritNiqmaddu. The text also indicatesthat a livingwarrior-nobilitywas called to assembleon this momentous day in orderto witness the new king'scoronationas genealogicalheir to the deceased monarch. Members of the livingwarrior-nobilityare individuallyidentified in this text by the term "mighty one" or RapPu(Ugaritic rpea)and collectivelyreferredto by the rubric"themighty ones of the land"or RapPumaArsi (Ugariticrp'i'ars). Elsewherein this text, the ghosts of formerkings and dead warrior-nobilityare also describedas participantsin the underlying ritual. The dead warrior-nobilityare referredto by the phrase "the ancient mighty ones" or Rapi'uma Qadimuma 238

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(Ugaritic rp'im qdmym).They are specifically summoned to assemblein the netherworldto await the arrivalof the deceased king and his throne so that they might escort him to his new abode in the underworld. They merely play the singularrole of assistantto the new arrivaldown below.The "ancientmighty ones"exhibitno abilityto exercisebeneficentpowers on behalf of the living. In other Ugaritictexts, scholarshave identifiedthe "mighty ones"or RapPuma(withoutthe qualifyingQadimuma)as ghosts of the deifieddead. In the concluding hymn of the Baal-Mot cycle,four entities are listed as subservientto Shapshu,the sun goddess. They are the "mighty ones" or RapiPuma(rp'im),the "divinities"('ilnym?),the "gods"('ilm),and the "men"or "mortals"(mtm).Two of these terms have been interpretedas ghosts of the deified dead: the "mightyones"or RapiPuma(rp'im)and the term translatedabove as "men"or "mortals."The latter is instead interpreted as the "dead"(mtm).

A Mythological Reference In view of the difficulty researchershave had in identifying the possible range of meanings for three of these terms in Ugaritic,one cannotignore or minimize what the largermythic cycle has to contribute to the interpretation of this, its concluding section. Nowhere within the Baal cycle is humanity representedas dead and deified. Humanity is threatenedwith the prospects of its annihilation,but it is never actualized.The goddess Shapshudoes assistthe goddess Anat in retrievingthe storm god Baal'scorpse afterhe had been slainby Mot, the god of death, but Baal's corpse is retrieved at the edge of earth and netherworld,in the outbackor steppe. Shapshuneversteps foot in the netherworld. Elsewhere in the cycle, the sun goddess is portrayedas possessingsufficientwisdom and authority to fix the destinies of gods and mortals by restrictingthe powers of Mot. The cycle underscores the extent of Shapshu's authority to decide the fates. These themes and topics developedwithin the mythic cycle favorthe view that each two line unit (or bicolon) in the hymn to Shapshu consists of an antitheticalparallelismthat in turn forms a merism within the respectivebicolaand that as a larger unit, the fourlines together form a chiasm furtherhighlighting that merism and the totality of Shapshu'srule. The "mighty ones"(rpeim) or heroic humans are set in contrastto the "divinities" ('ilnym):A::B; and the "gods"('ilm)are set over against "mortals"(mtm):B'::A'.Furthermore,at the largerfourline level, the entire realm of humanity (A + A' or the rp'imand mtm) forms the opposing complement to the divine sphere (B + B' or the 'ilnymand )ilm)with both worlds being mastered by the sun goddess: A Shapshu, the mighty ones (rpeim)are under you (thtk) B Shapshu, under you (thtk)are the divinities ('ilnym) B' With you ('dk)are the gods ('ilm) A' See, mortals (mtm)are with you ('dk) In line with the thrust of the Baal-Mot cycle more generally, the chiasm evident here in the Shapshu hymn not only

accentuates the sun goddess' role as judge over the fates of humanity and mortal heroes, but more central to the cycle's overall emphasis, Shapshu rules the world of the lesser divinities and ultimately that of the majorgods (like Baal and Mot). Her rule is universal. In sum, where references to the ghosts of the dead at Ugaritare unequivocally attested, they appear in typical Canaanite guise as weak, frail apparitions lacking any supernaturalbeneficent powers.

Memory's Place in Ugaritic Afterlife Beliefs Up to this point, the beliefsof the Ugariticroyaltyhave been the focus of our treatment. Both texts previouslymentioned, RS24.257and 34.126,pertain to the royalcommemorative cult at Ugarit.What about the afterlifebeliefs of the Ugariticcommoner?One might be temptedto concludethat forthe common folk, more so than for the royaltyand other elites, a weakened physicalstate following death posed less of an enigma. While the royalty and privileged stood to lose all station they had achieved,inheritedor obtainedin this life,one might be inclined to the view that the commoner faced relativelyminor misfortune at death. However, such cults may well have served for the common folk as they had for the elite, namely as a counterbalanceto any and all loss that was thought to be suffered at death (however measly the gains). The common denominator for elite and lowly alike was the fear of eternal anonymity-the dreaded "deathafter death."The prospect of averting the relegation of one's deeds or personhood to oblivion afforded sufficient motivation for the common folk, irrespectiveof their lowly station in life, to participatein similarcommemorative cults, albeit in more modest form, within the family,clan, or village setting. It may be difficult,if not impossible, for westerners of the twenty-first century to imagine, let alone embrace, a threeculturaltraditionin which physicalcontinuance thousand-year-old the beyond gravepersistedmerely as a shadow of one's former existence.Nonetheless, the inhabitants of Ugaritnot only conceivedof, but openly embracedthe beliefin a diminutivephysical existence postmortem. Sucha shadowy, feeble existence in the netherworld was palatable because it did not constitute the central focus of one's efforts in constructing a worthwhile life beyond death at Ugarit.The energy and resources of the living were concentrated instead on establishing and maintaining, even institutionalizing, one's immortality by the preservation of one's deeds, position, or personhood in the memories of those who were left behind. Supportedby political, legal, and religiousinstitutional infrastructures,this form of afterlifesufficientlyserved to counter the "deathafterdeath" or eternal anonymity so dreaded in ancient Ugariticsociety. Forthe inhabitantsof Ugarit,memory propagatedand sustained one's eminence for all time.

A Funerary Liturgy RS 34,126

MThe account of the sacred celebration before Zalmu: (2)"Haveyou called the RapiPumaof the Land? Have you summoned the Gathered of Didanu? He called 'Ulkn, the RapiPu,He called Trmn, the RapPu; ()He called Sdn-w-Rdn, He called Trcllmn,They called the Ancient RapiPuma;(9)Have you called the RapiPumaof the Land?Have you summoned the Gathered of Didanu? (")Hecalled Amishtamru, the (defunct) king. He called, yea, Niqmaddu the (defunct) king; (3)At the throne of Niqmaddu you must weep, as he who sheds tears at his footstool: Before him, he must weep at the table, so that the (defunct) king might swallow his tears; Gnashing of teeth and more gnashing of teeth. (19)Withgnashing of teeth, I bow down, 0 Shapshu. I bow down, 0 Great Light, Lift me up 0 Shapshu, please shine! (20Afteryour Lord, 0 throne, After your Lordto earth descend, To earth descend and be low in the dust; Go down to Sdn-w-Rdn. Go down to Trcllmn;Go down to the Ancient RapiPuma;Go down to Amishtamru, the king. May you remain warm, yea, Niqmaddu 0 king. One and an offering. Two and an offering. Three and an offering. Four and an offering.Five and an offering. Six and an offering. Seven and an offering. The sacred assembly is convened. (3)Peace! Peace to Ammurapi! and peace to his sons! Peace to Taryelli! and peace to her house! Peace to Ugarit!and peace to its gates!" Outline of RS 34.126 I. Heading: A coronation Ceremony with Sacrifices [and oath swearing] before the deity Zalmu (line 1) II. First Call for the assembly of the living warriornobility (lines 2-5) III. Summons of the deceased warrior heroes of old [to prepare to receive the soon-to-descend throne of Niqmaddu] (lines 6-8) IV Second Call for the assembly of the living warriornobility (lines 9-10) V Summons of the recently deceased kings [to prepare to receive the soon-to-descend throne of Niqmaddu] (lines 11-12) VI. Mourning by the new king for his predeccessorfather [with the shedding of tears to invigorate Niqmaddu during his journey to the netherworld] (lines 13-17) VII. Presentation of the new king before the solar deity, Shapshu (lines 18-19) VIII.Ritual netherly descent of the deceased predecessor's throne (lines 20-26) IX. Seven sacrifices to the solar deity, Shapshu (lines 27-30) X. Acclamation of the new king with blessing (lines 31-34)

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239

of Annotated Bibliography

Recent

Works

on

For ready access to the state of the art in Ugariticstudies (includingan extensive60 page bibliography)through 1999,the reader should consult the multitude of articlesby 27 different contributors in W. Watson and N. Wyatt (eds.),Handbookof Studies.Leiden:Brill,1999 and the lengthy review of this Ugaritic volume by D. Pardeein "UgariticStudiesat the End of the 20th Century"BASOR320 (2000): 49-86 (with additonal bibliography).

Ugarit Atlanta:SBL(a forthcomingEnglishabridgementof his Lestextes Narrative rituels);S. Parker,(ed.) Ugaritic Poetry.Atlanta:Scholars, 1997 (translations of several Ugaritic texts by various TextsfromUgarit.Sheffield:Sheffield authors);N. Wyatt,Religious Academic, 1998 (translationsof Ugaritictexts with extensive commentary).

Forrecent overviews of the archaeology,art, and history of Ras Shamra-Ugarit, RasIbn Hani and Minet el-Beida(with bibForthe impact of Ugariticstudies on the Bible and a com- liographies),see the following publicationsof M. Yon:"Ugarit." Volume 6, edited by plete history of the field in general,the readeris referredto M. Pp. 695-706 in TheAnchorBibleDictionary, S. Smith. UntoldStories:The Bible and UgariticStudies in the D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992; "Ugarit."Pp. Twentieth 255-62 in The OxfordEncyclopediaof Archaeologyin the Near Century.Peabody,MA: Hendrickson,2001. East,Volume 5, edited by E. Meyers. Oxford: Oxford University, 1997;and "Ougaritet le port de Mahadou/Minet el-Beida." Forrecentworks on languageand grammar,the readermay Pp.357-69 in ResMaritimae:Cyprusand theEastern Mediterranean editedby S.Swiny,R.L. Hohlfelder, consult J.Tropper, UgaritscheGrammatik.Muenster: Ugarit- fromPrehistory toLateAntiquity, Leiden: and H. W. Swiny. Atlanta:Scholars,1997. oftheUgaritic Language. Verlag,2000; D. Sivan,A Grammar Other recentworks on archaeology,art,and history include Brill,1997; D. Pardee,"Ugaritic." Pp. 131-44 in TheSemiticLanguages,editedby R. Hetzron.London:Roudedge,1997;D. Pardee, A. Bounniand J.Lagarce,"RasIbnHani."Pp.411-13in TheOxford in theNearEast,Volume 4, edited by ofArchaeology "Ugaritic"and "UgaritInscriptions."Pp. 262-64 and 264-66 in Encyclopedia The OxfordEncyclopedia in theNearEast,Volume E. Meyers. Oxford: Oxford University, 1997; A. Caubet, "Art of Archaeology 5, edited by E. Meyers. Oxford:OxfordUniversity,1997;G. del and Architecturein Canaanand Ancient Israel."Pp.2671-2691 Olmo Lete and J Sanmartin (eds.), Diccionariode la lengua in Civilizations of theAncientNearEast,Volume 4, edited by Jack Sasson. New York:Scribner's;and "Ugarit."Pp. 529-31 in The ugaritica,Volume 1. Barcelona: Editorial AUSA, 1996 (a new multi-volume dictionary of the Ugariticlanguage);J.-L.Cun- Dictionary ofArt,Volume 31,edited by J.Turner.London: Grove, depalabrasugariticas enmorfologia 1996; H. Klengel, Syria3000 to 300 B.C A Handbookof Political chillos,and J.-PVita,Concordancia Madrid:CSIC,Instituci6nFernandoel Cat6olico, 1995 History. Berlin:Akademie,1992(Ugaritis treatedwithin its wider desplegada. Near Eastern political-historicalcontext in Chapter III, "The (a new concordance of Ugaritic). Late Bronze Age");M. Yon, La cited'Ougarit,Paris:Editions Recherchesurles Civilisations,1997 [= TheCityof Ugarit(Winona For an overview of the texts and literature recovered at Lake,IN: Eisenbrauns,forthcoming)] Ugarit(with bibliographies)see D. Pardeeand P Bordreuil,"Texts and Literature."Pp. 706-21 in TheAnchorBibleDictionary,Volume 6, edited by D. N. Freedman.New York:Doubleday, 1992. Those wishing to pursue Ugariticstudies in greater depth Other recent works on the texts and literatureinclude M. can consult the series Ras Shamra-Ougarit, which is published Dietrich, 0. Loretz, J. Sanmartin, CuneiformAlphabeticTexts in Parisby Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations and is the fromUgarit,Ras Ibn Hani and OtherPlaces.Muenster: Ugarit- official publication series for members of the archaeological Verlag,1995 (a new and improved edition of the Ugaritictexts mission to Ras Shamra-Ugarit.There are 13 volumes to date in transcription);W. W. Hallo and L. Younger,Scripture in Con- and all are in French.Finally, Ugarit-Forschungen (Neukirchentext,Volume 1.Leiden:Brill,1997 (translationsof Ugaritictexts); Vluyn:Neukirchener)is an annualjournalthatpublishestechnical G. Del Olmo Lete, CanaaniteReligion. Bethesda:CDL, 1999;D. articleson variousaspectsof Ugariticstudiesin allmajorresearch Pardee,Lestextesrituels.Paris:tditions Recherchesur les Civili- languages. sations, 2001 (first extensive edition of the ritual texts with -BS RitualTexts. accompanyingcommentary);D. Pardee,TheUgaritic 240

NearEastern 63:4(2000) Archaeology

Review cite

La

d'Ougarit

sur

ByM. Yon.Pp.190.Paris:lditionsRecherchesur les Civilisations, 1997. Intendedforboth the specialistanda general audience, La cite d'Ougaritby French archeologistMargueriteYonseeks to provide a comprehensivesummaryof the currentstate of archeologicalresearchon the ancient city of Ugarit.Locatedon the north coast of Syria at the site of modernTellRasShamra,the city was the capital of a second millennium BCE petty kingdom (also called Ugarit)covering approximatelytwo thousandsquarekilometers.Yon servedas directorof the excavations at Ugarit(the Mission de Ras Shamra)from 1978to 1997,duringwhich periodshe focused considerableattentionupon the studyof urban planning and domestic architecture on the tell. Advances by Yon'steam in the analysis of building techniques and the organization of dwellings,and some revisionof earlierarchitecturalinterpretations,have put the analysis of Ugariton a muchfirmerfootingas she transfers directorship of the expedition to her successor,Yves Calvet. Since excavationbegan in 1929,a wealth of archeological, epigraphic,and historicaldata has emerged from Ugarit,information that has alteredradicallyour understandingof the history of the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia duringthe second millennium BCE.In addition, the Ugaritictextual corpus has contributedgreatlyto the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible,and the history,culture, and religion of both the Israeliteswho producedit and the Canaanite-Phoenician people with whom they livedin dose proximity.The decipherment of the alphabetic-cuneiform Ugariticlanguagehas been of inestimablevalue for comparativeSemitics, and for the elucidation of biblicalHebrew. To date, archeologicalreports from the site have been published mainly in scholarlyjournals,and attemptsto presentfindings in a form accessible to nonspecialists have been mostly lacking.Yon'smonograph is a welcome rectificationof this, and it is written in a ludd, straightforward stylethatwill appeal

I

Review

le

tel

de

Ras

Shamra

to boththe well versedandthe uninitiated. The authorfirstdiscussesthe historicaland geographicalbackgroundnecessaryfor an of the archeologyof the tell understanding A 1962-1976 ("Introduction," "Chapitre Premier'0. stratigraphic sounding("SondageSH")has revealed of thesiteextending back occupation

Yonis to be commended forherstrong Finally, commitment When to archeological integrity. research thecurrentstateof thearcheological will not allowforproperdescriptionof any Yonforbearsfrommakingconcluaccuracy, sions until such time as a properstudy is completed (see p. 87). When her concluto the eighthmillenniumBCE(NeolithicPeriod), sions canbe only provisorybecausea new she and Ugaritwas well-known in the ancient analysishasonlylatelybeenundertaken, Near East from at least the beginning of the admitsto thisin herexposition(forexample, MB Age (2300/2000-1550 BCE)forward.Its in the discussionof the Residential Quarter, time of greatestprosperity,however,was the pp.74-87). aneast-to-west, drcuitous LBAge (1550-1200BCE),and the excavations route, Following have in the main brought to light the archi- Yoncoversallof the areasthusfarexcavated tecture,archives,and culturalassemblagefrom (pp.45-131) notablytheRoyalZone,theHouse the fourteenth to twelfth century BCE.Durof Yabninu, theResidential the City Quarter, this time the was ruled a the South Central and 'Main Street" Center, ing kingdom by the SouthCity,the SouthAcropolis, successionof kings(namedin texts unearthed districts, the Acropolis,andthe EastandWestLower on the tell) who forged political and matrimonial allianceswith neighboringkingdoms City.Foreacharea,Yondelineatesits topoand, from ca. 1350BCEonwards,ruled in the shadow of theirHittitesuzerainand his intermediary,the king of Carchemish.Duringthe last phase of Ugarit,royal power appears to have expanded dramatically, a state of affairsthat provedto be detrimentalfor the city as a whole. Compromised by the total dominanceof the royalprerogative,Ugaritfell to attacksfrom the recentlyarrived"SeaPeoples"(ca.1185BCE).While the remainsof a MB ramparthavebeen found on the western side of the city, these fortifications may no longerhave been in place by the twelfth century BCE(see p. 41). The second chapteris devotedto a comprehensivearcheologicalsurveyof the site, in which maps,diagrams,andphotographsserve as a usefulcomplementto the author'sdetailed descriptions.Yon'suse of visual aids drawn from both earlierand more recent stages of the excavation gives the reader a sense of the history of archeologicalanalysis on the tell. Cogent conduding paragraphsfor each section providea useful summation of more involved material, while explanatorynotes ease comprehension for the general reader (see, for example, p. 19 regardingthe transcriptionof Semiticlanguageswithin the book).

graphicandarchitectural organi7ation,indicating

the characterof any archivesand artifacts foundtherein.Tabletsof all types (mythoritual,epistolary, logical,"para-mythological," have been unearthed administrative, lexical) the as have tell, tools,weapons, throughout of stone, made,variously, vessels,andfigurines alabaster, bronze, silver, gold, copper, ivory, andelectrum(itemsof wood, straw,leather, The anddoth have,of course,disappeared). has been rich as with well, potteryassemblage cachesof bothdomesticandimportedceramicsin evidence, thelatterconstituting lessthan fivepercentof Ugarit's totalpotteryinventory from the end of the LBAge.The finds in indudesomeof themost theforeigncategory ceramics discovered on thetell.The intriguing SouthAcropolis hasyieldedthegreatestdiversity of importedware, such as decorated (ancient craters, Mycenaean rhytons Mycenaean Greekdrinkinghornswith basein theshape of a woman or animal'shead),and a bullceramics have shapedCypriotrhyton.Foreign beenfoundaswellin the SouthCityandthe Residential Quarter. BeforeYon'sterm as directorbeganin of Ugarit 1978,onlyoneaccesspointto thedcity had been identified,at the west side of the

NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

241

tell.This was a royalentrance,and would not have been for public or commercialuse (see pp. 41-43). Since 1990,however, excavations at the south end of the tell haveled to the discovery of another entrance, through which building materials and merchandise could enterthe city.A largeavenueleadingfrom the south ("MainStreet")has been identified as a key access route to Ugarit.This roadhad to cross the Nahr ed-Delbeh and, accordingly, the remains of a great bridge-damhave been found in that riverbed (see pp. 95, 99-100). Another public/commercial access point at the north side of the tell is assumed to have existed, but erosionand debrisfrom previous excavationwill likely prevent its ever being found (see p. 99). The requirements of brevity dictate that we surveyhere only the most notable of the tell's excavation areas. The Royal Zone (excavated1950-1955)on the western side of the tell is set apartfrom the remainderof the city and dominated by the spectacular RoyalPalacecoveringalmost seven thousand square meters. Access to the Throne Room was achievedin severalstages.Beginningwith a two-column entrance porch off the Royal Plaza, one had subsequently to negotiate a small vestibule, then a large, open courtyard,and finallya second two-column porch before coming into the king'spresence.A private stairway led to the Throne Room from the king's apartments above (see p. 48). It appearsthat the royalfamilyhad moved from anotherresidence,the NorthPalace(excavated 1969-1972),which was apparentlyobsolete by the fourteenthcenturyBCE(see pp.70-72). The Royal Palace contained six archives of mainly Akkadianand Ugaritictablets,regarding the diplomaticrelationsof Ugaritand its internalpolitics(pp.53-55).These cacheswere foundinterspersedthroughoutthe Palaceinterior,and it is dear from the pattern of tablet dispersal that the texts had fallen from an upper storey, a scenario repeated in other buildingson the tell,suchas the House of Yabninu (see below). Excavated in 1955, the House of Yabninu (alsoknown as eitherthe "SouthPalace" or "SmallPalace") has yielded sixty-sevendocuments, some of which contain the name of the residence'slast owner,Yabninu,a commercial functionary in charge of maritime trade.The house contained two tombs, one of which, despite being pillagedin antiquity

242

the casefornearlyall of the had originallybeen kepton an upperfloor. (unfortunately, tombson the tell),yieldedan alabastervase Forthe archivesof thisresidence,it is hoped of RamsesII(identified thatanexactstratigraphy andlocalization will bearingthecartouche by somescholarsas the pharaohat the time be possible,somethingthathas rarelybeen of theBible'sIsraeliteexodusfromEgypt). possibleon thetell(seepp.96-98).Twoother Therewereseveralurbanresidential areas buildingsof note in the southernareaof the in Ugarit,with dwellingsrangingfromsim- city arethe "Houseof LiteraryTablets" that texts(pp.104-6) Babylonian literary ple eighty-metersquarehomesto luxurious contained Within andthe "Houseof the Priestwith Inscribed squareresidences. eighthundred-meter a typicalUgaritic andLungModels," alsocalledthe"House dwelling,one mightfindan Livers a well;drainage entrance vestibule; pitsbeneath of the Magician-Priest" (p. 110),fromwhich thestairwayfortoilets,andon thestreetcurb the "para-mythological" textshavecome. forexcessrainwater; silosset intothe floors; Thelastareaofnoteis theAcropolis (excasmallcourtyards; a darkened thehighestpointon thetell, groundfloorfor vated1929-1937), andupstairslivingquarterslead- uponwhich was foundthe Templeof Baal provisions; ing onto terraces(see p. 104).Houseswere and the Templeof Dagan.The "Baalwith dividedinto two linked,autonomouszones Thunderbolt" andEgyptian"Baalof Sapan" oneforthe steleswerediscovered neartheformer,while (eachwithits ownroadentrance), itsattribution fromtwo stefamily'sculttombandthe otherforeveryday thelatterreceived use.Smallculticinstallationsandboutiques lesbearingUgaritic dedications to Daganfound haveon occasionbeenfoundabuttinghomes. withinits precincts.Theseapparently specThelargestof theresidential areasis theRes- taculartemples dominated the city and identialQuarter,east of the royalpalace.It surrounding plain. The Temple of Baal was firstexcavatedfrom1953to 1973,with probablycontainedthreestairwellsleading a new analysisof its architecture andurban to the terraceuponwhichceremonieswere Yonsurmisesthatthisterracewas planningbegunin 1992.Locatedwithin an performed. areareferredto by the excavators as Block3, on a towereighteento twentymetershigh. the Houseof Rapanu(whohas beenidenti- Addedto theAcropolis, alreadytwentymeters fiedasa high-level has abovethe plain,the towerwouldhaverisen counselor) scribe/royal tablets, notably a remarkable fortymetersabovetheplainand yieldedmorethantwohundred a ca.1200BCEletterof theUgaritic kingto the been visible from the ocean (see p. 120). rulerofAlashiya(identified byYonasCyprus) Seventeenanchors,eachweighingas much the threatposedby the "SeaPeo- as sixhundredkilograms, werefoundbeside regarding ples"(seepp.83-87).Alsoworthmentioning the temple altar,likelyleft by sailorsas ex-voto in theResidential TheTempleof Daganmaylikewise Quarter,in "Block 2,"is the offerings. Houseof Rashapabu in 1953but havehadtwoorthreeflightsof stairs.Between (excavated notstudieduntil1979),a highfunctionary and thetemplesof BaalandDaganliestheLibrary tax collector. (orHouse)of the HighPriest.Thisstructure dis- was discoveredat the outset of the excavaThe SouthCentraland"MainStreet" trictswithinthe southernsectionof the tell tions, in 1929.Within it were found the appearto havebeenthelocationof choicefor greatmythologicaltabletsthat,by virtueof withroyal-fam- theirrapiddiscoveryandpublication,conpoliticalofficials high-ranking andbuildirgs offinearchitecturaltinue to be the Ugariticdocumentsmost ilyconnections, there(seep.94). familiarto researchers of the LBAgeLevant qualityhavebeenuncovered One suchofficialwas Urtenu,nearwhose andBiblescholars.Indudedin thisgroupof housein 1973almostonehundredimportant texts arethe BaalCycle,the legendof King Foundhereas tabletswere foundby accidentin a rubble Kirta,andtheDanelnarrative. from a bunker. well were bronze seventy-four weapons,of heap modern-agemilitary andfrom which fiveborededicationspermittingthe In1986thebunkerwasdemolished, of the Ugariticscriptandlan1986to 1994hundredsmoretabletsof vari- decipherment ous genres(eightypercentAkkadian)have guage(p.121). Finally,mentionshouldbe madeof the emergedfromthe house.The tabletsfound from1986to 1992wereeitherscattered so-called "Hurrian justto the north throughTemple," outseveralroomsorlyingon theruinsof the of theroyalpalace.Datingfromtheendof the wascharacterized separatingwalls,againindicatingthatthey MBAge,thisculticbuilding

NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

Review

as Hurrianby the firstdirectorof the expedition,ClaudeSchaeffer,due to certain artifactsfound within. Under Yon, however, the "Hurrian Temple"designationhas vanished;one of her tearn'scorrectivesof earlierideashas been the reinterpretationof this buildingas a royalchapel, the existence of which emphasizes the strong presence of the Ugariticdomestic cult (p.59). A pillaredbuildingcontiguousto it (formerlyconsideredstables)may haveservedas a gatheringplaceforroyal religiousassistants. The third and final chapteris a collection of photographs and/or drawings of artifactsand texts found in the museums or reserves of Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, and Tartous in Syria, and the Louvre, or under restorationin the Damascus museum. Drawn togetherhere for the firsttime, these are objectsrepresentativeof the differentareas on the tell, and those that have helped elucidate their architectural environment(p. 133).The selections indude tablets,seals and scarabs, stelae, ivories, pottery, cultic objects, objects in gold, and weapons. While the photographsand drawingsof this last section are accessible to all, the same cannot, of course, be said for the text of La cite d'Ougaritfor those unableto work with French.Recognizingthe great contribution that the book makes in communicating the imporis publishing tanceof these excavations to a generalaudience,Eisenbrauns an Englishtranslation,TheRoyalCityof Ugariton the Tellof RasShamra, due out this year. Similarto the French record of publication, English treatmentsof the archeologyof Ugaritsuitableforthe non-specialist have been few. Since A. Curtis' 1985 piece "Ugarit(Ras Shamra)"in the CitiesoftheBiblicalWodrd series,there have been only occasionalsurartides in reference works, such as Yon'sseven-pagepiece vey general

Daniel Miller University ofMichigan

..l\

,-

LAND

in the 1997 OxfordEncyclopedia in theNearEast.The forthofArchaeology coming publicationof TheRoyalCityof Ugaritwill give Englishreaders access to the full range of archeological findings from Ras Shamra, from no less an authority than the recent director of the expedition herself,with more than twenty years of onsite experience. It is difficultto overestimatethe importanceof La dted'Ougarit/The RoyalCityof Ugarit.The data from Ugarithas been absolutely crucial to our understandingof the culturalhistory of ancient Mediterranean West Asia duringthe LBAge, and the world view, literature,and languageof the peoples of the Levantin the centuriesfollowing (Israelites, Canaanites-Phoenicians,Philistines).As the expedition on the tell of Ras Shamra-Ugaritenters its eighth decade, MargueriteYon has provided a cogent and coherent summary of the current state of the excavations,and a comprehensiveupdate on the last two decades of discoveries.La cited'Ougarit/The RoyalCityof Ugaritis an indispensable resourcefor those interestedin the world of Ugarit,and in those peoples who were to feel its cultural influence long after the kingdom ceased to exist.

OF C1V1LIZATIONS

COMINGTO FERNBANKMUSEUMIN FEBRUARY2002 Uncoversome of the world's oldest cultures. Syria features nearly400 orginalartifactsincludingjewelry,sculptures,manuscripts, grave markers and architectural components. Mesopotamia,the Manpalace, legendaryQueen Zenobiaand her oasis city of Palmyra, Damascus, Aleppo, sumptuous ByzantineSyria, the Crusades and the great Islamic dynasties are among the topics explored in this special exhibition. At right: Funerarybas-relief of a woman, Palmyra, 137 C.E.

K M.lt't.l L: W:KKl,lK..-XN 767 Clifton Road NE Atlanta, GA 30307-1221

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I,' A\Tt'.-\I. tIIIVT-F

404.929.6300

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NearEasternArchaeology 63:4 (2000)

243

THE

CONTEXTOF

SCRIPTURE

Volume1, CanonicalCompositions from the Biblical World EDITED BY WILLIAM W. HALLO. ASSOCIATE EDITOR, K. LAWSON YOUNGER. PUBLICATION: I997 (XXVIII, 599

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CanonicalCompositions from the Biblical World, is devoted to 'literary' texts - those responses to the world about them by which the creative minds of antiquity sought to come to terms with their environment, real or imaginary. All these canons, monuments and documents provide the context in which Biblical literature flowered. They have therefore been selected in part to illuminate the comparisons or contrasts with specific Biblical passages that have been identified in the scholarly literature. These passages are identified in each selection, and in the extensive bibliography provided. Other selections have been made to illustrate the range of the ancient documentation, or to highlight new discoveries. Elaborate indices are designed to call attention, not only to Biblical parallels, but to those among the ancient sources themselves. This authoritative three-volume reference work is an invaluable research tool and essential reading for all those engaged in the study of the Hebrew Bible in its ancient Near Eastern context.

Volume2, MonumentalInscriptions from the Biblical World EDITED BY WILLIAM W. HALLO. ASSOCIATE EDITOR, K. LAWSON YOUNGER. PUBLICATION:2000 (XXVI, 438

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Volume II, MonumentalInscriptions from the Biblical World, is devoted to building and votive inscriptions, seals, weights, treaties, collections of laws, and other genres originally inscribed on durable mediums or in multiple copies for long-term survival. Many are royal inscriptions, and nearly all are crucial to the reconstruction of the history of the Biblical world.

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The third volume, Archival Documents from the Biblical World, incorporates 'economic' texts - the unassuming records of daily life which nonetheless go far toward permitting the reconstruction of social, legal and commercial institutions that concerned the majority of humanity.

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CUNEORNITXTS IN THE METRP

USEUM OF ART

Ira Spar, Eva Von Dassow

Cuneiform Texts in The Metropolitan Museum ofArt, Volume 3: PrivateArchive Textsfrom the First Millennium B. C. 304 p. + 127 pl., 225 x 285 mm, Brepols, 2001, HB, ISBN 2-503-50927-4, e 80 The third volume of the series, co-authoredby Ira Spar and Eva von Dassow with contributionsby J.N. Postgate and Linda B. Bregstein, admits us to the private worlds of several of the leading financial families of Babylon duringthe Neo- and Late Babylonianperiods of Mesopotamianhistory and illuminatesthe management and investmentpractices of family-runBabylonianenterprises.Four Assyrian tablets included here illustratebusiness practicesduringNeo-Assyrian times as well. The 164 texts and fragmentsthatcomprisethe Museum'sholdings from private family archives written duringthe first millennium B.C. are presentedin a format that includes copies, transliterations,translationsand commentarytogether with drawings, photographs,and commentaryon stamp seal, cylinder seal and ring impressions.

SUBARTU K. Van Lerberghe &

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Subartu VI: Tell Beydar: Environmental and Technical Studies. 232 pp. + ill., 210 x 295 mm, PB, 2001, ISBN 2-503-99121-1, approx.? 50. In this volume technical analyses on materialderived from the excavation of Tell Beydar are presented.Next to the analyses, the book contains an archaeologicalsurvey and environmentalinvestigations of the Beydar environs. The following subjectshave been included:archaeozoology(W. Van Neer), physical anthropology (Chr. Charlier), molecular archaeology (J.J. Cassiman et al.), palaeometallurgy(P. Northover), chemical analyses of ceramics (M. Daszkiewicz et al., Chr. Romer), composition of basalt (N. Lease), potterytechnology (A. van As et al.), animal husbandry(K. Van Lerberghe),conservationof copper alloys (A. Brysbaert), dactyloscopy and sealings (J. Bretschneideret al.), numismatics(S. Scheers), archaeologicalsurvey and environmentalinvestigations (T. Wilkinson). M.G. Masetti-Rouault

Subartu VIII: Cultures locales du Moyen-Euphrate.Modeles et evenements (IIe-Ier millenaires av. J.-C.). 200 pp. + ill., 210 x 295 mm, PB, 2001, ISBN 2-503-99116-5, C 55. The analysis of the organizationof local societies in the Middle Euphratesand the NorthernMesopotamia area - and, at the same time, of the historicalmodels used to describethem - shows that duringthe late Bronze and IronAges these regions are not to be consideredsettled only by semi-nomadicAramaictribes or by their enemy, the Assyrians. The stele found in 1948 in Tell Ashara- Terqa,dated from the beginning of the Ninth centuryBC, is the best evidence of the existence and of the survival of an ancient urbanculture.

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Ancient Naukratis: Excavations at a Greek Emporium in Egypt Part II: The Excavations at Kom Hadid byAlbertLeonard,Jr

ASOR Annual vol. 55 According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the ancient city of Naukratis was the first and only city in Egypt in which the early Greek merchants were allowed to settle. Volume 55 of the Annual of ASOR is the companion volume to AASOR 54, and details the excavations to the northeast of the modern village in an area known to both Sir Flinders Petrie and local farmers as Kom Hadid. 2001, ISBN: 0-89757-025-1 Pp. 273 including numerous b/w plates Cloth only: $99.95

"East of the Jordan":Territoriesand Sites of the Hebrew Scriptures by BurtonMacDonald

ASOR Books vol. 6 This volume is a convenient tool for all those interested in the location of territoriesand sites attested in the Bible as "East of the Jordan,"i.e., in what is now The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It presents the history of the identification of each biblical site and suggests the most likely location based on information provided by the biblical text, extra-biblicalliterary information, toponymic considerations and archaeology. The volume treats all territories and sites of the Hebrew Scripturesin Transjordan,from the "Cities of the Plains" (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah), the Exodus itineraries,and the territoriesand sites of the Israelite tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh), to Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Gilead. 2000, ISBN: 0-89757-031-6 Pp. vil + 287 Paper only: $29.95

ASOR Publications

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Fax (860) 945-9468 david.brown.bk.cogsnet.net www.oxbowbooks.com II

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Written by leading scholars and archaeologists and edited by noted scholars such as David Noel Freedman, Eric Meyers, and David Hopkins, this collection of back issues-volumes 40 through 55 (1977-1992)-contains more than 325 timeless articles and 3,800 photographs, illustrations and maps, some in full color.

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Yes! Send me Biblical Archaeologist on CD-ROM, Vols. 40-55 (19771992), for the amazing price of only $39.95, plus $3.00 for shipping and handling. O Check enclosed (payable to Ezekiel Publishing) O VISA O MasterCard Name as it appears on card Card No. ExF) Date Dalte Signature Send to: Name Address City/State/Zip Telephone Send to: Ezekiel Publishing * 3111 Rittenhouse St.. NW * Washington, DC 20015. E-mail: [email protected] * Fax: 202-237.6619