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Arts & Communication Culture as a drive for art and architecture

A

B C D

Figure 8. Archeological reading of the Temple of Baal. (A) Temple of Baal. Proposed sections by Callot and Monchambert in 2011. (B–D) Temple of Baal,
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Ugarit: the temple’s conditions in the 1930s. (B) External altar. (C) The temple’s ante and corner. (D) The temple’s most holy place: the northeast corner.
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of the external walls (Figure 8C and 8D) suggest different plans (1932–33, 1935, 1988, and 2005) (Figure 9). Only
structural characteristics of this space. The ruins of two the first three steps remained intact during the last survey.
huge piers with buttresses are located on the eastern side The location of the discovered steps suggests that this
of the hall, offset by 1.6 m from the southern and eastern staircase continued within the space between the temple
walls. Callot believes that the niche created between the walls and the altar’s structure (two piers and screen wall)
northern and southern buttresses constitutes the temple’s (Figure 7B and 7C). The presence of the staircase in this
interior altar (Figures 7B and 7C). 15 area, the intermediate space between the vestibule and the
The discovered platform, 30 cm high, between the two holiest place (Figure 7A: no. 9), along with the ruins of
buttresses further emphasizes the presence of altar facilities. the three pillar-like structures (piers) before entering the
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Another buttress can be recognized in the western wall, space, confirms the main purpose of the intermediate
which corresponds to the altar’s southern buttress to the space (Figure 7A: no. 8) as organizing horizontal and
east. The eastern and western buttresses give an impression vertical traffic within the temple while also providing
that the North Hall was divided into two different spaces. greater privacy for events taking place in the holiest place
Considering the presence of the altar inside further supports (Figure 7A: no. 9).
Callot’s assumption that the first space, the intermediate space Based on a careful analysis of the foundations’ width,
(Figure 7A: no. 8), served as a portico to organize horizontal depth, and location, 15,18 it was proposed that these internal
and vertical movement within the North Hall, the most piers, buttresses, and the altar complex also served
sacred area. The northern section, where the altar is located, structural purposes. Callot suggested that an intermediate
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was the holiest space on the ground floor (Figure 7A: no. 9), balcony level above-facilitated movement to the terrace
with its privacy enhanced by the intermediate screen wall atop the South Hall and the other staircase, which, in all
between spaces no. 8 and no. 9 in Figure 7A. likelihood, ran alongside the east-west partition above
Furthermore, the remains of the staircase that guided the intermediate space (Figure 7A: no. 8) to the south of
into upper levels have been recognized in most survey the altar section and guided up to the roof of the North

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 7 doi: 10.36922/ac.3132