Ras al-Bassit
رأس البسيط | |
| Location | 53 km north of Latakia, Syria |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°50′46″N 35°50′17″E / 35.846°N 35.838°E |
| Type | settlement |
| History | |
| Periods | Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic period, Roman period, Late antiquity, Crusader period |
| Cultures | Canaanite, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1971–1984, 2000 |
| Archaeologists | Paul Courbin, Jacques Y. Perreault, Nicolas Beaudry |
| Ownership | Mixed public and private |
| Public access | Partial |
Ras al-Bassit (Arabic: رأس البسيط), the classical Posidium or Posideium (Ancient Greek: Ποσιδήιον and Ποσείδιον, Posidḗion), is a small town in Syria named for a nearby cape. It has been occupied since at least the late Bronze Age and was a fortified port under Greek and Roman rule. Herodotus—although not later classical geographers—made it the northwestern point of Syria. Its beaches have a distinctive black sand and are a popular resort destination within Syria.