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Arts & Communication Culture as a drive for art and architecture

Palace. The eastern wall of the main hall was also built on the New Sanctuary shows significant improvement in
the foundations of the western wall of the North Palace the relationship between the main hall and its subsidiary
(Figure 11A). Thus, it can be concluded that Ugaritic spaces. Accessing the main sacred hall in the New Sanctuary
people preferred to build a new local sanctuary rather followed a different system. A small vestibule was inserted
than reconstruct the North Palace, which highlights the between the hall and its residential unit, providing direct
high social and cultural significance such buildings held access to either part. Consequently, the residential unit
for Ugaritic communities during the Late Bronze Age. was not directly accessed from the main hall, similar to the
arrangement in the Sanctuary of Rhytons. Furthermore,
It is now crucial to extract the main characteristics of another access point was added to the main hall of the
the architecture, function, and cultural dimensions of local New Sanctuary, located in the eastern part of the sanctuary,
sanctuaries in Ugarit. A comparison between the Sanctuary which is supposedly the latest development of the building.
of Rhytons and the New Sanctuary shows that the main hall This access was likely established to communicate with
is the dominant space, establishing the religious function the external courtyard, which was supposed to occupy
of the complex. Furthermore, the organization of this hall the southern part of the North Palace and accommodate
and the traces of a podium, which in most cases is centrally outside ceremonies (Figure 11B).
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located against the assigned wall, indicate the public
worship and social function of the building, especially The analysis of the New Sanctuary shows that the
since there is no similar arrangement in the analyzed Ugaritic people sought to achieve better privacy for the
houses in all residential areas of the city. Both sanctuaries events taking place in the main hall. The new development
are well-integrated and communicate with the surrounding added to the east of the main hall (including an access
fabric. The Sanctuary of Rhytons was already in existence corridor, staircase, and annex space) represents a further
before 1250 BC; however, only the residential unit of the evolution in the hall’s arrangement and the overall complex.
New Sanctuary existed. Callot believes that the main hall The staircase (Figure 11B: no. 10) was likely planned to
was planned to be built next to the North Palace, but create another level (a balcony level) within the space of the
construction works had not started before the earthquake main hall, mirroring the main hall of the Temple of Baal.
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in 1250 BC. Subsequently, the destruction of the North Furthermore, the proposed courtyard to the east further
Palace by the earthquake provided an opportunity to confirms the idea that the Ugaritic people intended to have
re-plan and construct a proper sanctuary that represented an open but private space for outside cults. To sum up, it
the new Late Bronze Age architectural principles. is worth mentioning that the New Sanctuary represents
Therefore, a detailed study of the two sanctuaries reveals significant developments in Ugaritic religious architecture.
It provides ample evidence that the people were inspired
a set of evolutionary aspects. The analysis highlights that to design their local sanctuaries based on principles from
the Sanctuary of Rhytons (Figure 10) represents the pre- the main temples on the Acropolis. This points out that
earthquake form, while the New Sanctuary (Figure 11B) Ugaritic religious practices, as clearly demonstrated in the
serves as an excellent example of the evolution of Ugaritic main temple, informed the architecture of local sanctuaries
architecture after the destructive earthquake in 1250 as well, especially after the earthquake of 1250 BC, when
BC. This is clearly demonstrated by the evolution in the the Ugaritic people increasingly relied on their cultural and
quality of architectural planning and building techniques religious values to inform the reconstruction of destroyed
between the two buildings, with more refined and regular religious buildings or the construction of new ones.
spaces and ashlar stone construction evident in the New
Sanctuary building. 3. Discussion
It has been observed that the Temple of Baal was The religious structures in Ugarit stand as powerful
completely rebuilt after the earthquake, featuring better expressions of cultural and architectural progress. The
space organization and regularity, design composition, main temples located within the Acropolis area distinctly
and technical qualities, despite its use of the same Middle exemplify the advanced architectural designs, meticulous
Bronze Age foundations. The resulting new arrangements planning, and technical expertise of the Ugaritic people
were also applied in local sanctuaries. The main hall of during the Middle and Late Bronze Age periods.
the New Sanctuary is similar to the most sacred place of Furthermore, the development of these monumental
the Temple of Baal. A screen wall with a hidden staircase structures signifies shifts in societal and cultural attitudes
behind it was installed, creating an annex space accessed during the Late Bronze Age. The catastrophic earthquake
through two symmetrically located doors on either side around 1250 BC served as a catalyst, allowing people to
of the altar. Furthermore, the New Sanctuary and the express their new thoughts, cults, and beliefs through
Sanctuary of Rhytons share similar arrangements, though spatial resolution. Consequently, the temples’ architectural

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 12 doi: 10.36922/ac.3132