Minet el-Beida

Minet el-Beida المينا البيضا
Duck container found at Minet el-Beida.
Shown within Syria
Alternate name	Ma'hadu
Location	Latakia, Syria
Coordinates	35°36′25″N 35°46′34″E / 35.607°N 35.776°E / 35.607; 35.776
Type	settlement, port
History
Founded	late fifteenth century BC
Periods	Bronze Age
Cultures	Canaanite
Satellite of	Ugarit
Events	Bronze Age collapse
Site notes
Excavation dates	1928—1935
Archaeologists	Claude F. A. Schaeffer
Ownership	Public
Public access	No

Minet el-Beida (Arabic: المينا البيضا‎, The White Harbor; or ancient Ma'hadu) is a small bay located 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) north of Latakia, Syria on the Mediterranean Sea. ^[1] It is an important archaeological site because it served as the harbor town and necropolis for Ugarit.

Overview

Minet el-Beida takes its name from the white rocks at the entrance of the bay.^[2] Located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west from Ugarit, the bay is the best natural port along that entire stretch of the coastline.^[3] The bay is now smaller than it was in the Bronze Age, because of the action of the alluvial fill.^[4]

The town was first settled in the late fifteenth century BC. The town plan resembles that of Ugarit, with irregular streets. Houses consisted of a courtyard surrounded by rooms, a well and an oven. Some houses contained underground tombs. The port town also had storehouses used for goods both imported or awaiting export. One such storehouse had 80 shipping jars still preserved inside.^[4] The site witnessed the first great entrepôt for international overseas trade with the Aegean and beyond, and with the central Mediterranean.^[5]

Excavation

It was the 1928 chance discovery in Minet el-Beida that prompted the excavation of the site and later of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra). The discovery happened when a local farmer was attempting to plough his land and his ploughshare struck a large piece of stone which turned out to be one of a number of stone slabs which formed the roof of a vaulted tomb.^[2]

Claude F. A. Schaeffer led the French excavation team at Minet el-Beida. The site was immediately recognized to be the main port for the Kingdom of Ugarit. It was the object of archaeological exploration until 1935 when it was abandoned in order to concentrate all efforts on Ras Shamra.^[6]

Finds at the site indicate that Ugaritians formed the main element in the population, but with a large number of foreigners including Egyptians, Cypriots, Hittites, Hurrians, and people from the Aegean. Remains found at the site included, Cypriot pottery both imported and locally made; ivory cosmetic boxes from Egypt; Mycenaean pottery; bronze weapons and tools; cylinder seals and inscribed tablets.^[4]

References

Bibliography

• Watson, Wilfred G. E.; Wyatt, Nicolas (1999). Handbook of Ugaritic studies, Part 1, Volume 39. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-10988-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=0Z2Jo01iq1YC&pg=PA5&dq=Minet+el-Beida&ei=97WhS5TBC5zKlAS9jdzsCQ&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Minet%20el-Beida&f=false. 
• Younger, K. Lawson (2007). Ugarit at Seventy-Five. EISENBRAUNS. ISBN 978-1-57506-143-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=3xbHT7ZiAtUC&pg=PA103&dq=minet+el-beida&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=v9ShS8H5A6aMkAT4kqTnBA&cd=39#v=onepage&q=minet%20el-beida&f=false. 
• Gates, Charles (2003). Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-12182-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=7K1gw8cS33UC&pg=PA159&dq=minet+el-beida&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=WbyhS7zMGILmlQST69iuCQ&cd=20#v=onepage&q=minet%20el-beida&f=false. 
• Hansen, Mogens Herman (2000). A comparative study of thirty city-state cultures: an investigation. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. ISBN 978-87-7876-177-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=8qvY8pxVxcwC&pg=PA90&dq=minet+el-beida&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=v9ShS8H5A6aMkAT4kqTnBA&cd=38#v=onepage&q=minet%20el-beida&f=false. 

See also

• Cities of the ancient Near East