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This page is about my research on the name Siddle and its original coat of arms.

I discovered that the symbol on the shield means 'S' in an ancient written language. The language was discovered amougst the remains of the ancient city of Ugarit and is now known as Ugaritic cuneiform.

The remains of Ugarit are close to the coast in north west Syria and form a 65 feet high mound that covers 63 acres. It is now called Ras Shamra.

Ugarit was invaded and destroyed around 1200 bc by sea peoples, it lay buried for over 3000 years before its accidental discovery in 1928, then in 1929 French archaeologists led by Claude F.A. Schaeffer began its excavation.

Approximately 1500 texts on clay tablets were found, some written in known ancient langauges including Akkadian, Egyptian and Hittite but also many written in the previously unknown Ugaritic cuneiform which has the oldest known alphabet.

Above are some artifacts found when Ugarit was excavated, the city's history dates back millennia, wikipedia says a wall was built around it possibly as early as 6000 bc.

The first page (siddlearms.page.tl) in the 'useful links' section (top of page) states that the name Siddle is ancient and comes from a Mesopotamian/Phoenician root word, Sidi, which means Saint in one language and my master in another, this page was my main starting point for this research, although it says nothing about the Ugaritic cuneiform on the shield, it was confirmation for me that the symbol on the shield is Ugaritic cuneiform for the letter S.

I may or may not be a descendant of the gentry who established the Siddle coat of arms but more important to me is knowing my name's origins.

Siddle also has a tartan, the Siddle tartan.