Citation:
Abstract:
Located 50 km to the north of Latakia, the coastal site of Bassit was initially studied under the direction of Paul Courbin. Following on from excavations of the Hellenistic and Roman acropolis (1971–1972) and the Iron Age Necropolis (1973–1974), the ‘tell’ was excavated from 1972 to 1984. This volume presents a detailed description of the stratigraphy and architecture of the ‘tell’, together with the associated ceramic assemblages, and the mobile finds dating from the Late Bronze I and II periods. Bassit was established on the northern margins of the Kingdom of Ugarit in the mid-sixteenth-century BC. Excavations revealed that Cypriot imports were numerous throughout the Late Bronze Age, while Aegean pottery appears to have been very rare. The site was destroyed well before the passage of the so-called ‘Sea Peoples’, c. 1200 BC. During the Iron Age, Bassit played an ongoing role in controlling maritime access from Cyprus and coastal shipping. The trade in Cypriot pottery clearly dominates the levels Iron I and II (Aegean and Etruscan, respectively), as well as Iron III (Attic). During the Hellenistic period, the production of amphorae and coins at Bassit confirms the site’s association with Poseidon. Finds from the Roman levels are marked by an amphorae production.
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The volume is authored by Frank Braemer and Pascal Darcque, from a grant awarded to Dr. Jacques Perreault.