Ugrarit (Tell Shamra) covers the remains of an ancient port city that flourished during the Bronze Age.

The site, which was destroyed around 1185 BCE, is largely still unexcavated. However, since its rediscovery in 1928, temples, the remains of a fortification, a vast royal palace and numerous residences have been found. Above all, though, are the clay tablets with inscriptions in several languages, including Akkadian and the native Ugraritic. The latter, as the first ever phonetically based script, has provided a revolutionary simplification of writing.