Ras al-Bassit
Encyclopedia
Ras al-Bassit is a small cape located 53 kilometres (32.9 mi) north of Latakia
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...

, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 on the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

. The cape is a popular resort destination and the coastline is unusual for its distinctive black sand beaches.

History

Excavations led by French archaeologist Paul Courbin between 1971 and 1984 revealed a small settlement back to the Late Bronze Age, when it may have functioned as an outpost of Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...

, to the south. Unlike Ugarit, Bassit survived to the passage of the Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...

 and into the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

. It had strong links with Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

 and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

, and a Greek presence was attested from the 7th century BCE. Bassit expanded and its acropolis was fortified in the Hellenistic period
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

.

The Canadian archaeological excavations undertaken in 2000 have been focusing on the late Roman and Byzantine occupation of the site (Université du Québec à Rimouski
Université du Québec à Rimouski
The Université du Québec à Rimouski is a branch of the Université du Québec in Rimouski, Quebec. There is also a campus of the university in Lévis, Quebec, recently moved to a newly constructed building. Founded in 1969, UQAR is one of the most modern in Quebec.This university is well-known for its...

 / Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...

). Bassit thrived from the late 3rd to the early 6th century CE; this period is marked by a number of important building projects. A church complex was built at the foot of the acropolis in the 6th century, as the site was starting to decline; the site seems to have been gradually abandoned soon after the Arab conquest. Excavation in the church yielded a small chapel from the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

period (12-13th c.).

External links

MAQREB - Mission archéologique canadienne à Ras el Bassit
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