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Arts & Communication Culture as a drive for art and architecture

The third part is the new annex, which includes the studies by Jean-Claude Margueron on Syrian temples and
staircase and the eastern access C (Figure 11B: no. 10–13). sanctuaries. 5,17
Archeological excavations uncovered some evidence, such Furthermore, the prestigious and expensive basalt seat
as the ramp at eastern access C, the unfinished staircase, the and trough found in the residential unit indicate the high
38
absence of the roof remains, and the minimal fire damage importance of this building for Ugaritic cultic and social
compared to the residential unit. This lesser fire damage life. These items are very well made and still exist on the
is likely due to the absence of timber rafters and reeds for site (Figure 13A). The main hall walls are constructed with
roof construction. Similar to the Sanctuary of Rhytons, two layers: the externally facing layer is built with large cut
the main hall (Figure 10: no. 36) constitutes the heart stones, most probably brought from the destroyed North
of this building and maintains strong relationships with Palace, while the interior layer was built with regular
other subsidiary spaces, but with much better regularity rubble (Figure 13B).
and construction quality, as shown in Figure 11B.
The organization of this hall led to its assignment as a The eastern part’s staircase and annex (Figure 11A
cultic function within the building. The traces of the and 11B: no. 10–13) are considered additional
altar’s foundations and the annex room behind, which improvements to the building in its last years. They were
includes a staircase, clearly point out a special character. built over the ruins of the southwest corner of the North
Furthermore, the presence of the wall that divided rooms
8/9 (Figure 11B), functioning as a screen wall behind A B
the altar, enhances the appreciation of the building’s
worshiping function. These results correspond to broader

A
C

Figure 12. The New Sanctuary, old royal area. (A and B) The ruins
conditions in May 2013. (C) The ruins of the entrance B and the main
hall, May 2013. Photos taken by the author as part of the fieldwork
in 2013.

A

B

B

Figure 11. The spatial planning of the New Sanctuary. (A) Architectural
plan of the overlapping between the New Sanctuary and the North Palace. Figure 13. The construction and materials of the New Sanctuary.
(B) Architectural plan of the New Sanctuary, old royal area. Figures (A) The basalt seat and trough in the residential unit, May 2013. (B) The
produced by the author using AutoCAD software and based on the composition of external walls of the main hall, May 2013. Photos taken by
author’s fieldwork in 2013 and available archeological reports. 10,11,13,28,35,39 the author as part of the fieldwork in 2013.

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 11 doi: 10.36922/ac.3132