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Ancient

Egyptian Boats



EGYPTIAN ·[jJOOKSHELF

D IL W Y N J O N E S

Published for the T rustees of the B ritish M useum

by B ritish M u se um P re ss



Contents

ACKNOWLEDG El\IENTS 6 Ob elis k b ar ge s 64

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 7 Decora t ion 66

ABBREVIATIONS 8 P a dd lin g / R ow in g 68

INTRODUCTION 9Equ ipmen t 69

Bal last 69



Abbreviations Introduction

AE L Lichthcirn, M., Ancien ! tg)'/Jiiall Literature. :3 vols. California,

1973-80.,E i0Vt i s the g ift o f t il e rive r' . It was the Gr eek hi stori an Hero-

dotus (fifth century Be) borrowing the words of all earlier

visitor 10 Egvpt who made thi s now famous comment . This

obse rvat ion remains t rue today . The Nile, which winds i ts way north-

wards for a distance of about 7 'iO miles along the whole length of the

coun try , not only provides Egypt wi th the f amed I crt il itv of i ts so il , hut

also offers the swiftes t and most convenient means of communication

between north and south (sec fig. I, map). The Ancien t Egvptians

developed two principal t)-1J l'Sof boats : papyrus skiff s, used locally lor

hunting and fishing in the marshes; and wooden boats used lor longer

voyages and for t ransport ing heavy loads. Both tYVesar c known to us

from tomb paintings and boat-models and from actual wooden boats

discovered alongside the roval pyramids at Giza and Dahshur .

No c iv il isa tion , ancien t o r mode rn , has depended more on water

transport for its existence and growth than Egypt. From the earliest

pe riod down tomodern t imes , the Ni le was the main a rtery a long which

commerce and military expeditions moved. Travel by land W;L, always a

t ime-consuming and ar duous under tak ing in compari son . The move-

ment of men and materials for the building project, and the military

expedit ions that played such an important role in each successive phara-

oh 's r eign could not have been undertaken wi thou t the constan t use ofwater transport . I t isnot surpr is ing, therefore, that boats were so domi-

nant a f ea tu re in the l ives of the Ancien t Egvptians and so profoundlv

affected their mental processes and religious thinking. So all pcrvadinc

was the ro le ofwater t ransport tha t even the terms formovement nor th or

south wer e determined by signs tha t depicted ei ther a boat with i ts sa il

raised or one with its mast s towed awav, Even technical terms oriuinall .

BA R Breastcd,j.H., Ancienl Record, n/Rg)'p!, r -v. Chicago, 1906-7.

FBD Faulkner, R.O., T I, e A nc ie nt E g) pt la ll B oo k o/!lle Drad . London,

I98'i.

FCT Faulkner, R.O., Th f Linden! E g J, pt io l l C o ff il l T ex L J. :> vols.London, 1973-8.

FPT Faulkner, R.O., T h e A n c i en t E I { I' p ti a n P v r am i d T e x ts t r a ns l a te d ill/a

English. Oxford, 1969.

JEA T h e J o u r n al o f Egyptian Ar c hae o l o y j ,

KRI Kitchen, Hamess i de I n sc r ip t io n s.

Sp. Spell (FBD, FCT)

Utt. Utterance (FPT)



BO:\TS

an 'expedition' is i llus trated bv a kneeling man holding a bow followed b\

a boat sign .

: \aut ica l me taphors abound. A temple can be said to hold ' the P]'O\\-

rope of the Southland and the stern-rope of the Northland' iB.\R II.

§885). Ineni can speak of Queen Hatshcpsut as 'the bow-rope of the

South, the mooring-s take of the Southerners ; the excellent s tern-rope of

the Northland' (BAR n, §3+ I). 'Jobles, such as Harkhuf and Nefer-

2 Drau ' in~ qf b oa ts o n

. vn qnd« /1 pOUeJ) .

lIp--'-'--"-.=MLDtTERRA.NEANSEA.--I---~~!------ e

SINAI

MKH00AS)S

~

. .I

lC\iTR)[)U(: nON

sheshernra of the Sixth Dynas ty , r ecord in thei r tomb biographies that ,

besides giving bread to the hungry and clothes to the naked, they had

brought the boat lcs s to land . A s imi la r c la im ismade by the deceased

before the assembled gods in the Hall ofJudgement:

I have given bread tothe hungry, water tothe thirsty, clothes to

the naked, a boat to hirn who was boatless. (FBD, Sp. 125, p. 32)

Indeed. so closelv identified was the ownership of a boat with the

means of sur viva l that a ce rt ain Wcnnef er, who l ived in the Ptolema ic

Period could speak of himselfas:

. .. one who protected the zoeak frorn the strong, so as to be a

ferryboatfor everyone. (AEL Ill,p. 55)

From earl ie st t imes , the boa t was conside red ind ispensable to the de-

ceased' s sur viva l in the after-l ife and was a lways included among his

funerary equipment. Prince Minkhaf, a son of Khufu (Cheeps), who

se rved as vizier during the reign of Khaf ra (2 .'>20--2494 Be), had four

dif ferent types ofboats included in a lis tof offer ings carved on the side of

h is s ar cophagus. Kacmankh, who l ived during the Sixth Dynasty, no t

only mentions J ivedif ferent types ofboats on the walls ofhis tomb at Giza,

but also shows his whole dockyard, complete with workers and their tools .

The ear lies t representations of boars are those preserved on decorated

predynastic pottery of the Gerzean and Naqada II cultures and in

rock-drawings ofUpper Egypt and Nubia ( fig. 2). Miniature boats made

from terracoua , bone and ivory ar e among some of the ea rl ie st objec ts

discovered in Egypt. A large painting of a boating-scene also once

decorated the wall ofa Late Gerzean tomb discovered ar Hieraconpolis ,

and a boat appears on fragments of a linen cloth from a f-,'fave at

Gebelein, proving the existence even at this early date of a well-

e stabl ished boat -bui ld ing t rad it ion. A boat i sdepicted on the Narrncr

palet te which dates to the period of the uni li ca tion ofUppe r and Lower



-1 \ KIT{ AL A\D BELlEF

CHAPTER ONE the next, and numerous spells call upon the gods LO provide the deceased

with the means ofpas~age into the nr xt l ife :

o sounding-poles of Horus, 0wings of Thoth,ferry 117e

across, do not leave me boatless. (FPT, Utt.515)

[Thoth] listens to 1ne;he has remooed my irnpedirneni, and I

wil l not be boat less, I will not be turned away from the

horizon,Jor I am Ra, I will not be boatless in the great

crossing. (FeT Ill,Sp. 1099)

Even the k ing was not immune from such fear:

. .. theJerry-boats are made ready for the son of Atunt, Jor the

son of Atum is not boatless. The king is bound for the son of

Atw1't, and the son ofAtunl is not boatless. (FPT, Utt. 615)

However, since the majority did not have the means to provide them-

selves with full- sized boats , they had to make do with miniature copies

models - which would serve asmagical substitutes and thereby guarantce

them a means of passage into the other world .. A s the gods and stars

traversed the sky and the waters of the Netherworld by boat, so also

would the deceased join the sun-god in h is bar k and cr os s the sky by day

and the rive r of the Nethe rworld by n ight .

The fear of being stranded with oat a boat gave rise to the so-called

FerrymanText. This spell allowed the deceased to summon the 'Ferryman

of the Winding-Waterway' , appropr iately named 'Backwards-Looker 'because his face was turned backwards ashe poled his boat along, to ter ry

him across to the o ther s ide (p l. I):

ORa contmend me to MA-HAf [that is, 'Backwards Looker'],

the ferryman oJthe Winding-Waterway, so that he ntay bring

me hisferry-boat which belongs to the Winding-Waterway, in

which heferries the gods toyonder side of the Winding-

Water..vay to the eastern side oj the sky . .. (FPT, Utt. 359)

However , unlike Charon ofClassical t imes who demanded only all obol

a sh i s fee fo r t ransport ing the dead ac ross the Styx. the Fe rrvman of the

Egyptian after-life was a more fastidious character who could not he

bought o tTso eas ily. The pet it ioner had fi rs t to demonst rate tha t he was

pure and f ree from moral b lemish :

oyou who Jerry over the righteous boatless as the ferryrnanof the Field oj Rushes, Iant deemed righteous in the sky and

on earth . .. (FPT, Utt. 517)

that he knew the Fer ryman's name and the names of the boat'> individual

pa rt s (FCT n,Sp. 395 , 398; FBD, Sp . 99 ) and last, but not least, possessed

the requisite mcutal agility··· that is, was numerate:

Boats in ritual

and belief

SHIPS 11FU'lERARY BEUEFS

Icommon wit h many of the world's civilisations, the Ancient

Egyptians believed that the dead had to cross a stretch of water,

descr ibed in the texts as ' the Winding-Waterwav, before they could

exper ience resur rection in the hereafter . Travel by boat was a recur rent

theme in their religious literature.

May the soul of N (the deceased) go up with you to the sky,

may he travel in the Day-bark, ntay he 11700rin the Night-

bark, may he mix with the Unwearying Stars in the sky.

(FBD, Sp. J5,p. 41)

This destination was a place called the 'Fields ofOffer ings ' or the 'Field of

Rushes' : a fer ti le land where the deceased could til l the soiland liveon the

rich produce he harvested.

The doors of the sky are opened Jor you, the doors oj the

firmament are thrown open toyou, that you may travel by

boat to the Field of Rushes, that you may cultivate barley,

that you ntay reap entnter and prepare your sustenance

therefrom. like Horus the son of Atum. (FPT, Utt. 461)

The same thought isexpressed much later bythe scr ibe Pahcr i ofEl-Kab,who lived under either Tuthrnose lor Hatshepsut (1504-1458 Be ) of the

Eighteenth Dynasty:

You cross in theferry without being hindered. YouJare on

the water'sfiowingfiood. You COnteto life a second time ... .

(AEL II,p. 17)



-B().\TS

Only after the deceased had successfully undergone this crucial iuterrou-

ation could he expect to be granted permiss ion toenter the fer ry-boat and

pa$Sfrom this wor ld into the next.

FCNER"RY TEXTS .~"iDU"iDER\'ORLD [lOOKS

The Pyramid Tex ts inscr ibed on the walls of the roval pyramids of the Fifth

and Sixth Dynasties and the later Cof f i n Tex is painted 011 the sides of

wooden coffins of the Midd le Kingdom revea l tha t, from an ear ly date,

the Ancien t Egypt ians be li eved that the sun-god, Ra , c rossed the sky, at

first 011 two reed f loats (Jekhellw~)'), l at er on Iwo papyr iform boats > a

day-bark (mand;el ) for hisjourney across the sky by day and a evening-bark

(meskl e t ) fo r h is voyage through the Nethe rworld (the Duat : at night.

Egyptian theolog ians located the Nethe rwor ld a t one and the same

timewitll1i1the sky or the -body ofFf' :; t herserC~lldGeIow the ear th ill a

place they ca ll ed the 'Lower Sky' . Through the Ne therworld flowed a

great t ribu tar y of the !\un (the primeval waters which surrounded the

wor ld and from which all l ifeemerged) on which the bark ofRa travelled

during the hour s of n ight unt il i t r e- emerged in the morn ing in the east.

The so-called 'Books' , or compilations ofspells , of the New Kingdom,

such as T he B oo k o f W ha t- is -in -th eU nd en oo rld ( Am -D ua l) , T he B oo k o f Gales ,

T he B o ok o f Ca v e r n s and T h e B o o ks o f Da y and.ivlght, continue and develop the

same theme . All have the ir o rigins in the earl ie r Pyramid and Cof f i n texts

and, a lthough each d isplays i ts OW11 var iation of the sun-god's journey

and the process of transformation and regeneration which he had toundergo during h is nocturnal voyage, a ll , in e ss ence, descr ibe Ra's

descent into the Netherworld at night in the west and his victorious

re-emergence atdawn in the cas t as Khcpri (he who comes into existence)

in the f orm of a scar ab bee tl e.

Equally, the Egyptians could envisage life and death as a part of a

perennial cycle where the sky goddess Nut swallowed the bark of the sun

in the evcning before it passed through her body during the night to

re -emerge in the morn ing be tween her thighs. Th is popular concept i s

graphically illus trated on the alabaster sarcophagus ofScty I(1306-1290

Be) and on the ceiling of Ramses \/1'5(1151-1143 Be) bur ial chamber in

the Valley of the Kings .

Although the sun-god isoften depicted asthe soleoccupant of the boat,

more usual ly he i s accompanied by a ret inue ofo ther gods who act as h is

crew. These usually consist of Wepwawet, the 'Opener -of- the-Ways ',Geb, the ear th-god, Thoth, the god ofwriting, Hike and Sia, the personi-

f ica tions ofmagical power and of cogni sance, and Hu, the d iv ine prin-

ciple ofcreative speech ( fig. 3). Often, Maat, goddess ofdivine order and

jus ti ce, i s a lso shown stand ing on the prow of the sun-ba rk . As 'Lady of

the Bark' it was her role, as her name implied, to guide the bark on its

way . I n o ther s cenes , different gods take their olace in the bark: the

occasions the boat i s a lso said to he manned by the stars:Sunboatwith its

d im n e a e u ! ( fr om t he B oo k

o /l ht D e a d of,\;I;'The King shall go aboard the bark like Ra on the banks of the

Winding-Waterway. The King shall be rowed by the

Unwearying Stars and shall give orders to the Imperishable

Stars ... (FPT, Utt. 697)

Having ga ined admi tt ance to the bar k, the deceased was expected to be

a ll act ive member of the boat 's c rew. He had to row and pilot the boat: '1

am he who rows and docs not tire in the Bark of Ra' (FCT T , Sps. 1.'19,

161); ' ... 1 take my oar, I row Ra when traversing the sky . . .' (FPT, Uu.

467).

He must also help with thc boat's ropes and rigging: 'The bark or Ra

t ravel s i ll the Abys s (tha t i s, the Nun) and i t i s I who take he r bow-r ope'

(FCT II, Sp. 684); '1 am he who has charge of the ri gging in the God'sBark' (FeT L Sp. 159). He W,LS a lso expec ted to super vi se the c rew: '1

command the god' s hark for him' (fPT, Utt. 510) and was allowed to

steer the boat: 'N [that is the deceased] is the son of Ra who steers his

bark; I will fare upstream at the bow, Iwill guide the voyages . .. ' iFCT II,

Sp.6SR).

The deceased often a ffi rms that he has per fo rmed his tasks eflicicntlv



1l0'\T~

Representat ions, p re sumably of the sun-boat , occur on very ear ly

Egyptian wooden, ivory and bone labels ( fig. 4). These barks are charac-

t eri sed by a sick le- shaped s tem and a pro tec tive ma t or fender draped

over the prow. They are equipped with var ious pieces ofdeck-furniture

whose exact s ignificance iss ti ll a matter ofconjecture: a board with nine

ostrich (maat) feathers between two rails , two kinds of s tandards , some-times Ranked by falcons OIl poles, and, finally, at least two types of chests.

A unique painting of the evening-bark of the sun is to be found on a

ceiling of the tomb of Ramses VI of the Twent ieth Dynasty: i t s hows the

bark inplan and profile , cor rectly oriented, sailing eastwards towards the

sunrise (fig. 6).

A few models of the sun-boat have survived f rom tombs of the Middle

Kingdom notably f rom Bersheh and Meir. but they are rare ( fig.5) .Their

4 I " Olj dfl l inbdfrom tk

( omb f . !/ . -l Iw a t J I~rd{}.r.

r l zO l c in . ( r oz e l) b o at s a n d

s u n b o a t s.

5 Iioude n mod e l o f l/ I f

f u n- b oa t ' il w u; l ng d e ck -

[urniturr.

6 P ain tin gofthr SU

boat, on th ( ailing 1.}{lilr

tomb I.}( Rnmscs t rjrom

Iilr t allev o f thr ii/lip al

7h,:brs,

J:\ RITt .\ 1. :\:'\1) BI<UEF

the polit ical and religions upheavals which accompanied the dose of theOld Kingdom brought many changes, and i t soon became eve ryone' s

desi re to join Ra after death, wi th the r esul t that the Co f f in Tex ts and the

later Book of t h e D e a d contain the spell 'For bringing the gTe'athark of Ra'

(FBD, Sp . 102 and I36A).

Actual full-sized replicas of the solar-bark stood in all the Hcliopolitan

sun-temples of the Fir th Dvnasty. Thev were situated outside the temple-s



-

bui lt o fmud-brick - was d iscove red by Ludwig Borchard t in 1900, south 7 . \ )' II .r f m zJ s u n ba a t,

of the kii1i,Cssul]::terl1jiIc iCXbiJ-CniJroF- i1e, lrAbllsif oricnrarcd on a built cfnrud 11I7r(Jiul I I

eas t-wes t axi s, with i ts p row to the cast (f ig, 7 ), h is s lI ll -t em p l, a t A b ll

Chutob.

FUI\ERARY JOl:RJ\iEYS

Tombs from the Midd le Kingdom onwards con tain two types of s cene

which depict journeys by water which the deceased made, or was im-

agined to make, after death,

The first, and most common, depicts a journey (often referred to in

modern literature as a 'pilgrimage') which the deceased was believed to

make to the sacred sites ofBusiris or Abydos, traditionally associated with

the god Osiris' birth and death. Although original ly worshipped atBusiris, the god's cult soon spread all OVCf Egypt where it eventually

became loca li sed at Abvdos, F rom the Midc il e Kingdom, every p ious

Egyptian desired to vis it Abydos dur ing his hlcnmc inorder toar range for

his bur ial there or to erect a commemorative chapel on itsholv ground, or

to par ticipate in the Festival of Osiris celebrated there annuallv,

Al though the ma jori ty ofEgyptiam were buried ncar the ir own 10\\110

and vil lages, each sought, after death, tomake one las t 'pi lgrimage' [0he

holy places in order to ensure the god's favour in the next world,

However, because such a 'pos t-mortem' voyage had by tha t t ime prob-

ablv become more symbol ic than real , a s cene painted on the tomb wa ll

o r wooden mode ls 01 thei r mummies on boa ts had to ser ve in i ts p lace,

The scene isnearly always reduced to its essential elements: two funerarv

boa ts, carr ying ei ther the mummy of the deceased on a b ie r o r the sea ted

statues of the husband and wife, towed either by a sailing-boat or arowing-boat, representing the journevs to and from the place ofpilgrim-

age. Sometimes, both vovages are conllated into one scene or arc painted

heside each other in the same regis ter.

The second scene commonly found in tombs dep ic ts the actua l c ross-

ing of the Nile 011 the clay of burial and the overland journey to the

ncc rooo li s si tua ted, more often than not on the west hank (D1. Il), )iot

8 JIm r a T 1 }i 7 l/ ! , a

m um m» t o h is t om b o n a

~(lfl!-.ihap(>d bier .

transferred to a papyrifonn boat or boat-shaped bier, either actual or

miniature, whi ch was dragged on a sledge by men and oxen - in rarecases on a four-whee led wagon for i ts f inal journev ac ross the dese rt to

the tomb, Actual wooden sl edges, which may have been used for t his

purpose were d is cove red south of the pyramid or Scnusr ct I (c . 1971

1926 Be) a t Li slu, and with the Dahshur boat s of Se llus re t III ic1878-

1 11 + 1 nc). The canopy covering the bier was decked with fronds and

garlands and figure s of the goddesses h is and Ncphthvs (.os iri s' si st ers

who, according to myth, reconstituted his body after itsdismemberment

by his brother Seth) , called 'kites" represented either hy statuettes or bv

actual female mourners. In scenes (hey are oft en shown standing or

knee ling on the boat 's fo re - and a fter -decks pro tect ing ihe coffin wi th

their outstretched arms rfig, 8).

The t )l )e ofvess el shown in both scenes , ' pi lg rimage ' and funer ary , i s

a lways papyri fonn inshape with ei ther a h igh vert ical finial a t the prow

and a sickle-shaped f inial ar the s tern ending in stylised papyrus umbels,or two svmmetrical shaped fini als of the same design decorated with

st reamers which curve over gracd ldly inboar d, The mummy or seated-

s ratuc of the deceased i s she lt ered unde r a shr ine-shaped canopy amid-

ships , The boat isprovided wiIhdouble s teer ing-oars on each quarter and

its blades arc decorated with s tylised lotus f lowers and udjat-cvcs, Often

the top of the posts and the butt-ends of the oars are decorated with



- - 1I0\TS

with nar row sheer -l ines or a rcnangular pattern running parallel with the

gunwale. Sacred udjat -eve« were al so painted on both sides of the prow to

protect the vessel and its occupants f rom harm,

9 .4 p a ir a / m ud d

vtrrnng-cars it'ith jarkot-

hmd l 'd f iT l ia l l. j i· u n I a

- o cr e d b o r g! ' ,

SACRED BARKS

Ther e were two kinds of s ac red bar ks: portab le barks, e ithe r d ragged in

process ion or borne on thc shoulde rs of pries ts, and f ul l-si zed bar ks or

barges which car ried the por table bark-shrines and images of the gods on

the Nile, canals or sacred lakes during the celebration ofreligious festivals

(sec pp. 22ff.).

Each nome (district) had its own bark housed in a special bark-

s anc tuary of the principa l t emple . During major f es tival s the images of

the gods were removed from their shr ines and taken inprocess ion around

the temple or to vis it neighbour ing deities . On such occasions the divine

image was transported from one location to another ill a poriahlc

bark-shrine in imitation of the gods who were believed to cross the sky ill

their magical boats.

When the fes tival of the local god was celebrated dur ing special t imes

of the year, o rwhen the god orgoddess lefi tbc prec inct s o f h is o r her own

temple to v is it ano ther dei ty a t some other locat ion , the portab le bar ks

were carried forth on the shoulders of the temple priests amid great

jubilation.

1:\ RITL '.L A:-:n BI.I.IEF

10 P c nn b le b a rk o f

Al/WI dep ic ff - fi on the

s ca l l- r r / ii f . >o f the CrealH ) ' f ' O . ' IJ ' I J H a l l 01 k r l TlwK .

and precious s tones. Their hulls were gilded and their f inials at s tem and

stern were carved in the likeness of the gods or the kings they carried. The

stems and sterns were decorated wi th ornate collars and the shrinecontaining the image ofthe god amidships was always partially concealed

from profane eyes by a white linen cloth. Although normally housed

within their bark-sanctuar ies in the temples , they were set on car rying-

poles for easv transit f rom one location to another .

The portab le bark ofAmun- Ra was ca rri ed on f ivecarr ying-poles bv

thi rty shaven-headed ,wah-priest s, o ft en shown wearing Horus- and

Anubis-maskx as representatives of the 'Souls' of the ancient cult centres

ofPc and Nckhcn, in s ix rows off ive. Before anel behind the bark walked

other priests carrying fans and, on eit her side, the king and the rnorc

senior members of the clergy ( fig. 10) .

Many individuals boast how thev had built such barks . Amcnhotep III

(13911353 Be) tells us that he made a portable hark-shrine called

Amun-has-receued-his-dinne -burk fo r h is t emple at Thebes ' as a p lace ofre st

for the lord of the gods at his Feast of the Valley ... ' (BARII, §H8S) .

Similar ly, Montuemhat, the 'Pr ince ofThebes' , a t the beginning of the

Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, informs us that he had adorned or renewed

severa l portab le barks - - those ofArnun-Ra and Mut ofAshru , 'Khons-

the-Child ' and 'Bastet-res iding- in-Thcbes' , and had 'rebuil t the divine

boat of Osiris in Abydos when he found it gone to ruin'.

A sequence of r el iefs on the cas t wal l o f the pr ocess ional colonnade in



- liO.\TS

and ceremony which surrounded the celebra tion of the Great Fest ival o fII S a cr e d b a rk o f So ( ,n

Ipet . During the fe st ival , the portab le barks ofAmun, h is wife Mut, the witlz all an /d op es head (1/

Lady ofAsheru, and their child, the moon-god Khons, were car ried for th t h e p r o ie : A I'igndle j imn

in process ion f rom the temple in Karnak down [0the Nile. There each the papyms ofAni.

was loaded on t o his or her own individual full -sized barge. The pro-

cession was accompanied on the river and on land by a large throng of

Thebans , contingents of the army, pries ts and singers . On their arr ival at

the temple of Luxor , the portab le barks were p laced in the ir individual

sanctuaries . After the completion of the fes tival, they were taken back by

r iver to their respective temples at Karnak.

Much later , dur ing the reign ofPtolemy V IlI ( J 70-163, 1·15-116 Be), a

similar scene in the temple ofEdfu records the arr ival ofa f loti lla ofseven

boat s bringing the portable bark of the goddess Hathor of Dcndera on

her annua l v isi t to the temple for the ce lebra tion of the 'Fes tiva l o f the

Per fect Reunion' or sacred marriage to Horus .

Pe rhaps the two portab le ba rks most o ften ment ioned in our sources

ar e the 'Henu-ba rk ' o fSoka r ( fig. II) and the 'Neshme t-bark ' o fOsi ri s,

which were used to transport the cult images of the gods dur ing religious

ceremonies held annually at Memphis and Abydos.

Userha t

1:<RITl· \1 .\:\)) HEl.IH

12 17u; L serh r t , the

((rmlonial ba(p' r f!l (Ilf god

A m l in ) d e pi rt fd o n t h e w a l l

r c i; 'f s c f t h« G r m t

H _ yp or t) '& H a l l a t K a ma k.

13 R a nt 's t u nd uniat

from thr s a c re d b ( l~W 'I!l

. - / / / J u n .

p a r e x c el l en c e . I twas used a t Thebes dur ing rel ig ious fe st ival s as a v in ua l

floating temple to convey the portable ba rk ofArnun- Ra, the k ing of the

gods, from his cul t cen tre a t Karnak too ther sacred locat ions dur ing the

'Festival olIpct' and the 'Beautiful Festival of the Valley' , (pl . I I I, f ig. 12) .

Dur ing such fes tivals i t was towed in process ion by other boats down the

Nile t o the temple of Luxor, or along a canal that once li nked the Ni le

with the west bank to vis it the mortua ry temples which were located

ther e. The surv ival o f seve ra l scenes port raying the barge bas al lowed

scholars to recons truct i rs appearance in some detai l and , al though the

composition ofthe symbols and number of itscrew vary OVCf the years, its

characteristic features remain remarkably consistent.

The bow and stern f inial s were carved in the shape of r ams' heads wi th

urae i on their brows wearing alcj~crowns surmounted bv solar disks above

and decked with broad col lar s below (fig. IT,. On the fore-deck st ood a

falcon on a pole crowned with the solar disk and double feathers.

Immediately behind iton the larboard and starboard sides s tood images

of the goddes ses Maat and Hathor and a r oyal sphinx on a s tandard .

Four tall, s lender columns with lotus-bud capitals surmounted bv the

reigning king\ cartouches anel falcons with solar disks and doubl e-

fc.uhcrcd crowns stood amidships before the bark-shrine. Irnmcdi.uclv to

their rear s tood two tall obelisks, sheathed ingold and, behind these, two

f lagpoles decked with s treamers . Sometimes a group of kneciing spiri ts ,

repr es ent ing the 'Soul s' o f Pcand Nckhcn , was shown doing homage to

the central naos containing the por table bark-shrine of Amun,

The- por table bark itself res ted within a magnificent shr ine amidships

under a ri chly-decorat ed baldachin support ed on slender columns

:fig. I+) . The shrine , ea rl ie r vei led but l ater shown open. had a corn ice



-

The huge vessel W,L s teered by two large steer ing-oars suspended over

each quarter. The butt-ends ofth« steering-oars. and the posts supporting

them, were surmounted bv rams' heads ( fig. 15) .The whole length 01 thehul l on ei ther s ide was cover ed in gold lea f and decora ted with panel s

depicting the king and the gods performing various religious ceremonies.

14 C oi dr n s hr mr a u Ihl

bark 4 . - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0

15 Doubir staTillg oar-

on thr L I m A - c f Amu n .

1:-:«ni .\1 .\:'-:J) BLIJIY

16 J r oo d" , m od el o f { he

ward bark ofAmun.

There i s a c rudely- ca rved wooden model of the sacr ed bar k of Amun

wi th r ams ' head finial s in the Br it ish Museum. It s shr ine amidships and

o ther insign ia have long d isappeared , bu t i twas once painted yel low to

imitate the gold leaf which once covered the actual portable bark of

Amun-Ra (fig. IG) .

Many kings and high officials of state recount how they had either

refurbished the barge or built a new one. Ahmosc, the founder of the

Eighteenth Dynasty, tel ls us, in what isposs ibly the ear lies t extant textual

r ef erence to the barge, that he bui lt ' a barge of the "Beginning-of-the -

River" named Use ihai of new cedar of the best of the terraces' (BAR II,

§32) .

Amenhotep IIIhas lef t us the most complete descr iption of the vessel on

his great s tela f rom his mor tuary temple in western Thebes:

I rnade another monument for nty father Amun-Ra Lord of

Thrones-of-the- Two-Lands, who set me on his throne, in

makingfor him agreat bark upon the river, Amun-Ra-firrn-

of-brow, of new pine wood cut by my majesty in the

countries of god's land and dragged frorn. the mountains of

Retjenu by the chiefs of all foreign lands. It is very wide and

great; the like has never been made. Its interior is made pure

with silver; i t is worked with gold throughout. A great shrine

offine goldfills the entire surface. Its projecting ends double

[its] length and bear great atef-crowns. Their uraeus-

serpents coiled about their sides, provide their protection.

Before it stand flagpoles worked with fine gold, and two tall

great obelisks are between thern. It is beautiful on all

sides ... (BAR II, §888; AEL 1I,P: 45)

Some indication of the enormous amount ofwealth that wus lavished al

i ts decoration isgiven bv another inscr iption in the temple ofRamses III:

Electron: 50,000 deben; silver: 4000 deben; black copper: 2000

deben; pure copper: 300,000 deben; lapis lazuli: 3600 deben;



CHAPTER TvVO17 TOTO(()/ft! boat,

}ljUJu/ k r N i n d t ' r . 1 Pnnr at

_ l k l ' d u . \ .

Sources

of evidence

Apar t [ rom tomb paintings and temple reliefs,which are bv far the

most common source of inform arion, our knowledge ofAncient

Egyptian shipping isder ived f rom tomb models and actual boats

which have surv ived the ravages of t ime, such as the Khulu boa t and the

boars discovered bur ied alongside the pyramid or Scnusret III (.187B-

1841 BC:) a t Dahshur (secpp. 76 -80).Since tomh paint ings and temple re li efs a re re fe rred \0 throughout,

this section willconcentrate on the physical evidence provided f rom other

sources.

BOAT MODELS

Thc dead were believed to need thc usc of s evera l boat s, both ac tual ami

divine, in the next I ifc, just as rhcv did other douicsuc objects. Each boat

had i ts own speci fi c name , shape and func tion . Seve ra l sma ll wooden ,

ivory and clay boats ( fig. 17)have survived f rum the ear ly per iod, but i t is

unclear whether these miniatures can be classed as models [or the liseof

the deceased in the after -l ife or aschildren's playthings.

Model boats first became a regular parr of burial equipment in the

Sixth Dvnastv. Usual lv at l eas t two boa ts were inc luded in the burial ,

co rrect ly or i;nted : on~ rigged with a sai l [o r voyaging upst ream, andanother wi th i ts mas t uns teppcd and stowed away on the dcckhousc roof

[or rowing downstream. However , these miniature boats arc not models

as we would understand the term today, but objects endowed with

magical power which enabled the deceased tojourney f rom this l ifeto the

nex t and to be independen t of the favours of the celest ia l Fe rryman (s ec

nr,..."i'Ul(;: Ih~nrr\

near t he mastaba olImhorep at Lishi, which was huilt in the same wav

and with preci sely the same number of p lanks as a f ul l-si zed boa t, ar«

normally carved ami shaped from a single solid block ofwood. The f inials

at the how and stern and the deckhousc, look-out platforms, mast and

r igging arc made from separate pieces ofwood and pegged on tothe main

body ofthc hull. ' \'onnally, the whole hull is c oated with a thin layer ofgesso (white plaster ) and painted. On ear ly models the internal s tructure

of the boat i s shown in miniatur e. La ter , however , d if fer en t part s o f the

boat arc represented schematically by dit lcrent paint colour s: red and

yellow for the planking and beam work, white [or movable deck hatches

and black f or t ies of lea ther and cord .

On the basi s o f f unct ion, the mode ls [a ll into three ma in ca tegories :

boats which it was believed would be needed by the deceased in the

after -l ife for travell ing, car rying I rcigin, hunting or pleasure; boats used

[or funerary purposes to t ransport the mummy of the deceased across the

Nil« or to take him on journeys to Abydos or to other sacred site-s: and

lastly, magical boats (usually confined to royalty, although a few examples

occur inpriva te tombs) fo r the use of the k ing in a so la r hereaf ter toc ross

the sky by day and the underworld by n ight . These magica ! boat s must

not be confused with the funerary or passcnger boats whose sole purpose

it was to provide t he deceased with a similar means of t ransport in the

after -l ife as he had enjoyed on ear th.

Apart from a few small figures of rowers and some models of boats

found in the tombs of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty, the first large

collection ofmodel boats , eight i ll 11 umber , which has survived was found

i ll the tomb of the Nomarch, Niankh-Pcpv-Kern a t .vlci r, dat ing to the



1l0.STS

a re Hat bot tomed with projec ting p la tfo rms at the stern and equ ipped

with the onlv small-scale models ofbiped masts that have survived I ,'om

the period, while others arc round bottomed and spoon shaped and

equipped with pole masts ( f1g. 18,i.

, \ fur ther s ixteen models were discovered bv GllstmJeqll ier in a large

p it beside the pyramid ofQueen " ici th (wife ofPepy II) a t Saqqara . The

hulls were fashioned as before from solid blocks of wood with the

superstructures and the more delicate pieces can'ed f rom separate pieces

ofwood and f it ted to the hull with pegs or l11onise-and- tellonjoints . Each

boat was provided wi th i ts own equipment: l arge stee ring-oars wi th Ha t

pr ojec ting t il ler s, rowing oars or padd le s wi th lance t shaped blades ,

landing planks, bailors , mallets and mooring stakes.Jequier believod that

the boats wercabal1donc.d_probalili:alkr _s_en.ij1J:;JhcirptJ_I}l()seofJ11agi -

cally transporting the deceased's mummy and cor tc 'ge across the :\i le ifigs

19,20).The last large group which has survived from the Old Ki ngdom was

d iscove red at the mouth of a Sixth Dynas ty burial shaf t of the mas taba or

Kaernsenu. It consisted of eleven small , crudely-carved. wooden model

20 . lrt / ,\ '/ ·\ IJTpr(\.WIlI!/

(_I/ 1!/Cl.!ft'i'II. \ ;' /1 1 1 ~ \

Irrm1/i1lf!. boats.

1B (L1 i ) .110M boa t s

( ) f . .\'I-ankh~PI'!!)'-b)m t(llI

BLack') .

boats equipped with oars, bipod masts , and other accessories ( fig. 21) , 19 ( R' !i hl ) . \l oM b o at s

Bv far the largest number of model boats held in todav's museum o r e ! ! " e n ,\"ilh,

21 .\/odd t.ootstrom

b o nn s cn u ~ \ lo m h {l/

Soqqam.

~~

~

~

~

~~~~~

~

II



- - - RO.-\TS

co ll ect ions come from the Middle Kingdom, and none i s f iner than the

one which belonged to Xlckctra, the Chancellor of King '\ebhepnra

Mentuhotcp II (20G1-20 I0 H{: ; . These were discovered inMarch 1920 bv

H,£. \ \' inlock in a tomb a lit tle tothe south of the temple of Mcntuhotr -p

at Dcir cl-Bahari , The f loti lla consists offour travcll ing-bo.us: two under

sail, two rowed: two kitchen tenders ; {ourpapvrilorm craft ofs imilar type

to the Khufu boa t; two sport ing- boat s to supply the deceased with fi sh

and fowl; and, f inally, two light papyrus skillswith a trawl s lung between

them (f igs ,22 26)_

Only two mode l boa ts ar e known from the per iod between thc Middleand New Kingdoms but , incon tra st to most , one i smade ofgold and the

other ofs ilver . Both were found inthe tomb ofAhmose's (1552-1527 BC)

mother, Queen Ahhotep ( fig. 27). The gold model ispapyr iform in shape

w i t l l stylised P , - I P y r u s un1be1.lat bowa;;d~ic~-;:;-a;,(n;-aEout - + > : 3 ~1 in

length. I t is rowed bytwelve men, s it ting along-s ide the gunwales on either

side, and is steered by one large steering-oar at the stern. There are

22-26 F ir e m o de l h o (] /. ,

f rom 1M l omb O ( J [ d fI T a

a t T h eb e s .

22 P o py ri fo nn b oa t,

ici th r rr u: r ai fi ng a ( T W U :

n o n- e x is t en t } J a i l.

23 Sj ior tiT l f' , !Jo(J! .

25 T r rw e i fi n g b o at .

2 6 P oo yr us J ki ff i I£ il h a

t ro i c l-ne t be t uren th em .

SOLReFSOFf;\'IDE~(:r



Hoxr."';'

look-out platforms Oil the fo re- and alicr-drcb. The "hole \('sscl is

supported on a four-wheeled wag-on, Simi lar , ,-ago ll s a re shoxvn in a

painting f rom the tomb ofSobeknakht ofthe Scrond lntcrmcdi.nc Per iod

at El -Kab and in a later scene from the tomb of Petoxiri» elating tn t he

third celltury Be. The silver model is also papvriform ill shape .uid is

paddled by tel l men, f ive on either s ide.

Although a I C - w damaged models and par ts ofmodels had already been

found in the tombs ofAmenhotep II and Turhmosc Ill, the onlv complete

f loti lla to have survived lrom the Eighteenth Dynasty was discovered by

Howard Carter in 1922 at Thebes in the Tomb of Tutankhamun.

Tutankhamun' s fl eet consi st ed of thi rty- five model s the largest ever

found - and provided scholars with the only comple te col lec tion ofboatmodels that has survived f rom this per iod (see Appendix I:.

Although the models show a clear development in design from the

earlier b~at types found in Mekctra's tomb, their actual method of

construction differs little from that of their predecessors. Each issculpted

from a sol id b lock ofwood wi th accessories mas t. yards, dcrkhousc and

27 ( ;o/dnl mudd f ,{a

loa/Oil a}J/{/-ll'li((ftd

~" !!.JI"F(}))1 the IOln l '!J

_ I I : I ! ( J I I J ) , thr 1I/0(/lt'fl.{

Ainnosr.

2 8 1 I' (; () (! c ll mu d d lif II

{roi'd! in,i. ! .boatfrom (Itt

tomb i!/'J ulankhnmun,

29 ( T oP ! Cd f J t ia i

f rt rv -b oa ! o r s ol ar b ua t

a n d ( h e /o r r ) jlmnw)' 01

p il gr im a gr b oa tf ro m t hr

t omb o f Tutonkhomvn .

SOLRCES UF E\·IDE:-.iCE

so on - carved, as before, from separate pieces of wood and glucd or

pegged on 10 the main body of the model. The f loti lla isdivided broadly

into two main types: boats which represent actual vessels used on the

Ni le , and those which repr es en t cr af t o f a more ri tual nature .

The f ir st group contains twelve small sailing-boats , each with a singk

mast and a single s teer ing-oar; four vessels with a cleckhousc amidships

and a single s teer ing-oar, two ofwhich also had decorated kiosks 011 their

fo re -decks and eigh t boat s with two-t ie red deckhouses amidsh ips and

double steering-oars. Finally, there were three large. fully-rigged S'( 'sscis

with highlv decorated baldachins at s te"l and stern, s ingle- roofed deck-houses amidships and double s teer ing-oars ( fig. 28) .

The boats of the second type include two which were decorated to

represent reed- floats with ends painted tosimulate papyrus bundles ; two

of the rvpc genera lly descr ibed as funer ary barks with stems and sterns

terminating in papyrus umbels which curve inwards towards their

centres ; and, f inally, four of the solar -bark type with ver tical prows and

s ick le -shaped f inial s at thei r st erns, These boat s have cubo id thrones

amidsh ips simi la r to those shown on tomb wa ll s and in the v ignet te s of

fune ra ry papyri . Excep t fo r the sk if fs, which would have been poled or

paddled, all these models werc equipped with double s teer ing-oars at the

stern (fig. 29).

BOA.T PITS

Umil the discovery of the First Dynasty tombs at Saqqara, the practice of

inter ring full- sized boats alongside tombs was believed to haw begun in

thc Fourth Dynas ty and to havc been confined to members of the royal



BOATSSOI:RCES OF E\'lDEI\CIO

Khufu (2551- 2528 Be ) had five boat p it s excava ted a round his pyTa-

mid a t Giza. Two l ie along i ts east f ace, north and sou th of the mortua ry

temple. Another i s a ligned wi th the causeway and a furthe r two l ie a long

its southern side· - one ofwhich has been opened while the other remains

scaled with limestone blocks. The remains ofanother pit was discovered

by Chassinat near the pyramid ofRadjedef(2528~2520 BC: further north

at Abu Roash.Four l arge rock-cut boat pits were also discovered t o the north and

south of Khafra's (2520-2494 BC) mortua ry temple as wel l as ano ther

along the cast face of his pyramid. A deep cleft in the rock running

north-south probably r epre sen ts a sixth ves se l. A boa t-h ie roglyph dIS-

covered at Menkaura's (2490~2472 BC) pyramid may indicate the pres-ence of a t l ea st one boat -pi t in i ts v icini ty. La te r, at the end of thc Fi lth

Dynasty, Unas (2356~2323 Be ) had a boat pit excavated next to his

causeway a t Saqqa ra . It s d is cove re r t el ls us that ' it was cut into the rock

and cased with whi te l imestone masonry laid in slop ing l ines to mutate

the shape ofa wooden hul l' . What may be the groove ofa second boa t was. _ .• , . 1_ ._L ~~ dl~ ,,~rl... AT'I'lrf frnnl

30 Rmms tru c t io n !!/ I i i !

bont-pit cfAhu.

custom of burying f ul l-si zed boat s had become too cost ly and mode ls

could just as readily serve the same purpose. .

Royal wives s eem also to have been prov ided with boat s. Mervtvetcs,

Khufu 's p rincipa l queen and the daughte r o f Snefc ru (2575-255 i Be;'had a boa t p it on the sou th s ide of her pyramid a t Giza (Gla ofRei sner),

and Queen Khentkawcs, the wife ofCserkaf(2465-2458 BC) , was simi-

l arly provided with a boat p it in the sou th -wes t cor ner of her grave nca r

the Sphinx a t Giza.

Although such burials arc unusual in private tombs of t he period,

cur ious boat-shaped double rooms with curving walls were discovered atAbusi r in the south-west corner of the mastaba of P tahshepses , a h igh

offi ci al and a re lat ive of King Nyusc rr a (2416-2~19'2 Be ) of the Fi fth

Dynasty. Whethe r these wer e meant tohouse imi ta tions of the morn ing

and even ing barks of the sun or the actual boa ts used toconvey h is body

to the tomb isnot known. Two long, narrow chamber s wcre al so found

Oil top of the mastaba of Kagemni at Saqqara, a vizier under Ki ng Teti

(2323~2291 uc) of the Sixth Dynasty. These measured 11m inlength and

2m in bread th in the midd le and tapered towards thei r ends. Although

apparently undis turbed and empty when found, the excavators thought

that 'from their shape, the rooms were built to contain or imitate

solar-barques' .

The reason why the Ancient Egyptians buried boats close to their

tombs has long been the subject ofscholar ly debate. Ithas been suggested

that there may have been two dif ferent traditions under lying the practice.Those p it s loca ted to the north of graves in the Ea rly Dynast ic Pe riod ,

may ref lect a bclicfin a s tellar hereafter which envisaged the dead king's

joumev to the stars, while later groups of pits, whi ch were located on

several sides of pyramids, may be connected with the belief in a solar

hereafter and the dead king's journey in company with the sun-god

aboard his two barks. It has been suggested t hat the Khufu boat rnav,

therefore, be a copy of the mand jet or morning-bark, while t he UI~-

excavated boat s ti ll lying in the other pit may contain the representation

of the meskt e t or evening-bark (sec p. 14). However , the Khufu boat does

not display any of the character is tic attributes usuallv associated with the

p ic to ri al repre sentat ions of the solar -bark , and Ah~cd Youssef Mous -

tafa, who was responsihle for res toring the boat 10 i tsor iginal s tale , was of

the opinion that the vesselwas probably a funerary boat used totranspor t

the king's body across the Nile toits f inal res ting place on the Giza Plateau- a view supported bvrope marks on the boat's wood caused byshrinkage

on contact with water .

More recently 'a virtual fleet ' of twelve wooden boats encased in

brick-bui lt boxes has been d iscovered at Abydos a rranged in a row near

the north corner of King Khasekhemwy' s funerary enclosure dating .

perhaps, to the reiun ofDier (First Dvnastv), This isa significant discoverv

the same s it e ( fig. 30; , scho lar s quick ly r ea li sed tha t the pract ice had i ts

origins in a far more remote era. The subsequent discovery by Zaki Saad

of ni neteen graves for wooden barks buried ncar individual tombs at

Helwan confirmed that the practice was not the sole preserve of rovaltv,

but was also the custom among members ofthc upper classes . The poorer

classes , who could not afford full- sized boats , had to content themselves

with models.

S EC TI ON O N lH :r

•E :C T ION O f '! B -B

i ! i l I i I BRICKI!!!i WOOD_ G IUW f:L

rn a SAND



-CHAPTER THREE

3I O l d l ll n gd u m j a il in g

b oa s fr om t he l om b o f

Afwnanki l at (;Z::'(I.

Ancient

This chapter ' .viI Iexamine the dif ferent types of boats used by t~le

Ancient Egyptians , their functions , and the technical improv c-

mcnrs which were introduced to improve their performance

dur ing the per iod under review.

OLD KINGDOl\i

In the Old Kingdom, apart f rom papyrus skiff swhich were used locally to

car ry light loads and for f ishing and fowling in the marshes (see below),

there were four classes of vessels .

R i ve r v e ss e ls

The hul ls o f r iver cra ft werc e ither cut o fTsquar e a t the bow and stern or

ended at the prow in a carved animal figure-head, possibly that of a

hedgehog or calf. They were built with edge- joined planks with internal

b rac ing (sec pp. 76ff. ) and were gene ra llv fl at bot tomed WIth angu lar

b ilges terminat ing in fl at t ransoms fore and af t. Scenes show tha t they

were t rimmed so tha t the stern wasa l it tl e h igher than the bow, whi le the

midships section was practically horizontal.

Unlike sea-going vessels , ( see below) there were no rope- trusses, butwhat may be called a washstrake or a movable upper s trake was attached

to the gunwales to keep out spray which extended within a short dis tance

of the ~xtreme bow and stern. The deck was par tial ly removable s ince the

crew are often shown on a lower level than tbe passengers with their

heads pr ot ruding above tbe upper edge of the gunwale. Quaners fo r the. .. • 1 1 I... L" _~" ""~'''C''_H'''(T Plf"h ....r

32 Bipod mas t.

strong enough to support the weight of a crew member who is often

shown sit ting on top of it giving instructions to the helmsmen (fig. 31) .

RIver vessels wcrc equipped with bipod- or straddle-masts stepped well

forward. This type ofmast may originally have been devised tospread its

load on lighter papyrus craft. Despite its size, however, it could be

unstepped when not inuse and s towed away on forked cr utches. One leg

was rebated into the o ther a t the head toassure a good join and the wholesuucturc was further strengthened at intervals bv several cross-pieces (fig.

32) : The mast-head often ended in a curve or had a square stop-pin,

which werc probably intended to provide a secure s eat ing for the upper

yard when in place. Sometimes it ended in a ring through which the

halvard ran.

In the Fourth Dynasty the mast was secured to the stem with a

back-stay attached to the mast -head and made fas t to rope- loops in the

deck p lank ing, but by the Fi fth Dynas ty a fore -st ay was added to g i\ 'C i t

ext ra stab il ity. There do not appear tohave been anv shrouds . but sorne

ofthe numerous Lack-stays which are convenrionallv'shownleading back

ata s lant f rom ihc mast-head to the stern of the boat may. inreallife-, have

been attached to the deck or gunwales on either sicie of the mast to

provide it with athwartship support .

Although no ac tual ev idence has surv ived, when s tepped, the legs ofthe mast most probably fitt ed into sockets cut into wooden blocks or

f rames on the hul l bot tom, whi le the whole st ructure was kep t fi rmly in

place by trusses under tension lashed, atone end, to one ofits cross-pieces

and, a t the o ther, toa c ross -beam in the deck . Many Old Kingdom scenes

show such trusses s tretched obliquely between the mast-legs.

The sai lwas tal l and nar row and tapered a l it tl e towards i ts f oo t. It was



- -HeL.!. . .TS

33 B o ot u n de r s f 1 £ l , . F ' ) / I /

1 / 1 ( ma s / a b o i f ·\ J ( T l' f u ka .

On primi tive c ra ft , the s ai l may, o rigina lly, have been made ofpapyrus

ma tt ing, but thi s ma te ri al p robab ly proved too flunsy and was quick ly

replaced by linen. The sail was attached to the upper yard either directly

or, l at er , by a k ind of s addle-p iece and was hoi sted to the mast :head by ,I

halvard which passed either through a simple hole or a rmg at the

ll1a~t-head. The halyard was then brought down between the mast- legs

and secured either to one of the cross-pieces on the lower-half of the mastor to a rope-loop in the deck. From the Fif th Dynasty there were often two

halyards which eased the work load of the crew. . .

The sai l st it ch ing was always hor izon ta l and not ver ti ca l a s 1ll later

times, and it s fabric was dyed with various colours. Although never

shown in Old Kingdom scenes, the sail leeches probably had bolt- ropes

toprevent them from fraying. The sailwas attached tothe yards bya rope

which passed around the yard and into eyelets pierced illthe bolt-ropes.

Once hoi sted the sa il was t rimmed to take fu ll advan tage of the wmd bya

pai r o f brace : which wer e a tt ached to the outer ext remi ti es of the upper

yar d. Shee ts fo r con tro ll ing the lower ya rd were no t mt roduced unt il a

l ater da te when the boom was carri ed much highe r above deck .

Ev idence for the ex ist ence ofbowlines to keep the lead ing edge of the

sai l flat when sailing on the wind is provided by a rare scene from. the

tomb of Seshemnefer (early Fif th Dynasty) at Giza which shows sailorshau ling on ropes a tt ached to the leeches of the sa il a t mid-point (f ig .34) .

Old Kingdom boat s wer e s teer ed by one or more hand-held steenng-

oars suspended over the quarters. The looms of the oars were. either

worked in rope or leather grommets, or supported 1I1 semi-circular

orooves cut into the ends ofa cross-beam inset into the deck immediately." _:_~ d~",.........n thPlr

34 BU l l -/ i n f- . I- a r c dpar/ v

. 1 /10 (1 n on this hoa/.Fu!I1

tbr t omb q / Sc j h t l li n f : / c r .

Equipmcn twas of the si~nplcst kind and consisted ofmooring-s tones in

the form of tnu:cated tnangles with holes or grooves at their tops.

gangplanks and fenders ofWICkerwork (secp. (9) .

Itwas probab ly not un ti l the beg inning of the Sixth Dvnastv that any

significant changes occur red to the r igging and the sail. F i ve sailing-ship·s

arc depicted 111 the tomb ofMcr cr uka, the v iz ie r o f Pepy I (2289 2255

He ) , thr ee equ ipped wi th b ipod mast s and two with pole-mast s. The sai ls

were no longer tall aud nar row but rectangular in shape and were car ried

higher above the deck. Because of the increase in the sail's size and its

height above deck, the yards had to be suspended in lifts. The rope--

trusses which supported the mast on ear lier vessels were replaced by twos tout HTtICal s tanch ions lashed to the mast on e ithe r s ide. No sheet s a rc

shown, but these must have existed to control the angl e of" the boom

which no longer re sted on the deck. The s teering- oar s were fi tt ed wi th

short cross-pieces near their butt-ends to give the steersman better

con tro l, but no a tt empt was made , as yet , to mount the oar on a ver ti cal

stanchion (fig. 33).

S imi la~ ~ha llges a re dep ic ted in a damaged paint ing of a r iver -boat

from the 1heban tomb of the 'Over seer of Upper Egypt' , Unas-Ankh,

datmg perhaps, to the end of the Fi fth or beginn ing of the Sixth Dvnastv.

As fa r a s can be d iscerned, the hul l re ta ined i ts t radi tional shape. It was

square ended and the deck was extended a t the s te rn bvmcaus ofa s trake

above the gunwale which projected platform- like be\"~nd the end of the

hull. The vessel appears to r ide a lit tle higher in the water than previously,

but the details are unclear . Itwas equipped with a pole mast and a wide

sal! earned high ahove the deck. The mast was supported bv fore- and

back-stays. Both yards were hung ill topping-lif ts and the sailwas hoisted

by a halya rd which descended to the deck immediatelv abal t the mast .

The boat had two cab ins, one a t the ext reme s te rn and :Ulother immedi -

ately forward of it decorated with a ehequer pattern. The hoat was

s teer ed by a s ingle long oar which was, per haps , secur ed to an uprigh t



BOATS

Paintings from Sixth Dynast y t ombs at Deir cl-Gebrawi and Mcir

show hulls with bottoms which break at an angle aft ofmidships, perhaps ,

as has been suggested , to al low rapid t rimming fore and a ft peml it ti llg

them to sail with a wind that was not directly astern. AB with the

Un as-Ankh boat, there was a projecting platform at the stern and theboa ts s eem tor ide higher in the water than before . The low, broad sa il on

these ships may also indicate an attempt to sail closer to the wind. A

powerful forked knee supported the mast, and the single s teer ing-oar,

equipped with a long til ler, was mounted perhaps , ashas been suggested,

on a cable s tretched between two poles in the pr ojec ting stern .

35 UnaJ -Ankk~ ' i sa i l iJ ! : !,

b o at , l a le O l d K i ng d on :

S e a- go i ng o e ss e lsAlthough sea -going boat s shar ed much in common with thei r riverine

counterparts, there issuff icient dif ference in detail to treat them under a

separate heading.The type i swel l repres ented in a se ri es of re li efs fr om the mortua ry

temple of Sahura (2't58-2446 He ) of the Fi fth Dynasty, which show th~

depa rture and subsequen t re tu rn of a f lee t o f twelve large sh ips ( pl . Iv;'

Their hulls were long and slender and, in contrast to river boats of thesame per iod, ended in upr ight knife-shaped f inials which provided them

with ex tr a pro tect ion while a t s ea. They were probab ly bui lt in the same

manner as the ir riverine coun ter pa rt s, that i s, with edge -joined p lanks

with internal bracing. They had no keeLso inorder to strengthen the hull

fMer-avovazes , shipwrights had invented two new features. The f ir st was

36 H og gm g-lru ss o n Oil!

q /S a hu m ' s b o at s.

37 Reh , ! ! of Sahura's

b o at s h ow i n ,~ t h e h o g£ ; ln f .

truss i n u se .

after-deck AI Iever t t rust between the strand,the rope like a tourniquet and a I s enab led the cr ew to twistoverhanoing bow d PP Y the necessary tension to keep the

,,,., w an stern from sag . 0" \V' Iging' (pitching) caused by the wa .' .' ould h Itlou t the t russ , the 'hog-The wa y in which th h . ves cou ave broken the ship's back. e oggJl1O"-trussw k d i I . . .

reliefs (fig. :37) and lit tle 'I "dd ." or e IS c e a rl y v i si b le in thecan rc a ed to Faulki .' d .: -

apparatus (sec f ig 36) ' a I ( \ leI s escnpnon 01 the, . . . ever c was thr t tl h

turned until the truss acq . d he .. us lmug the strands and

I

uire t e reqursite dcg!Te f· ..on t ie t russ at (a) and (b) d I ' e 0 tautness. Scizinzs

. an e s ewhere along 'u I h h r»

the effect of the twisting so that th cIS engl , clpcd localise

the required degree of ~aUtll _ h ~ truls .s turned as a solid whole. When

, CsS an reen achie . d dwas lashed to the truss itself while th ve ,one en of the levermidships crutch. e other end was seemed to the



nOATS

The second new featur e was a narrow gi rd le- truss that enci rcled Ihe

upper pan of the hull at deck level.jus t below the gunwale. This probably

ser ved to pr even t the p lank ing the re fr om s tar ting under the pre ssur e

exerted by the deck-beams. Short ver tical s tr ips of s imilar lacing linked

the main g ird le and the gunwale, and probably helped tokeep i t s ecure ly

inplace and prevent i tf rom slipping down the hull: There we:calso strips

at the extreme bow and stern which joined the mam gm:lle. l1lIS network

of intersecting ropes worked together toprovide addit ional support tothe

hul l in the absence of a kee l and to take the pre ssure s exerted on i tby the

upward pull of the hogging-truss.The boa ts probab ly had short hal f-decks fore and a ft . The a fter-deck

was ra il ed-in to pr ov ide pro tect ion for the captain and the he lmsman ,

while the fcire=tlednvas-usec\·-probably-ili'lly-.oy-thG-'pilot' Lo r manocu-

vcr inz in shallow waters or when mooring.

As~"ith r iver boats , the r ig consisted ofa bipod mast s tepped [orward of

amidsh ips which was equ ipped with a tal l, narrow sai l which could be

unstepped when r equi red and lower ed , a s on rive r ho~ ts, on to f orked

stanch ions or, a s in thi s case , on toa gant ry a t the s te rn . Companson with

r iver vessels would suggest that the mast would have been held inplace by

fore- and aficr -s tavs and bv tackles of twisted rope under heavy tension at

i ts foot to prevent · itf rom lif ting under the pressure of the wind. Shrouds

may al so have been a tt ached to the ends of the cr oss -p ieces on the mast to

provide i twith ext ra a thwart sh ip support . Although a ll the mast s on the

Sahur a boat s ar e uns tepped , i tmus t beassumed tha t the shape of the sai lsand the r igging would not have d.i .f feredsubstantially f rom those inuse on

river vessels.In order to pr esent the maximum effect ive surf ace to the wind, two

f or ked spars fo r ex tend ing the leeches of the sa il we re employed, one on

either s ide of the sail. Their butts were secured to the deck, probably near

the f oo t o f the mast , whi le thei r fo rked ends wer e inse rt ed into eye le ts in

i ts l eeches . An iden ti ca l spar, simi la rly located in the pr ow of a boa t, i s

dep ic ted on a fragment of an Old Kingdom rel ie f now in the col lect ion of

Univers ity College, London. On the Sahura boats these spars can be seen

lving in the bows . The sh ips wer e s teer ed by three large, hand-heJd oar s

on e ithe r quarter. Each oar was secured by a gua rd-rope wound around

i ts loom, jus t above the b lade, and a tt ached to the gunwale.

.""CIE1:T EGYPTL",,-, BCHTS

a long i ts longe r side . The cargo was pu t in thi s house and on i ts roof and

sometimes below deck in the hull, although more often than not it was

shown ca rr ied on deck wher e the c ross -beams cou ld support i ts we ight .

LIvestock was sometimes car ried on the forward deck. A small shcllerc

for

the crew with its roof curving down to deck level occupied the stern of the

vessel.

. The steer ing gear was similar to that on passenger boats and consisted

e ither of h 'U1d-~e ld oars secured to the gunwa les by a rope or lea ther

grommets, or ofa stcenng-oar Oil each quarter lashed toa stanchion f ixed

on the gunwales. The oars were controlled by tillers which slopedforwards so tha t one person could handle both.

, The tomb of Mcreruka, dating to the Sixth Dynasty, preserves a

fragmentary p ictur e of a cargo boat under s ai l ..More often , the b ipod

mas t was unstepped and was shown with i ts yards and rigg ing stowed on

top of the deckhouse roof (fig. 38).

3 8 C argo bo at tc ith

=1nd r i g g i n g o n i ts

roof,ftom tlu tomb o f

K a gm m i a t S a qq a ra .

Carg» boatsThe hulls ofcargo boats either tapered slightly towards the bows or were

cut off square, ending in buJkJleads. They rode much lower Inthe water

and were much broader in the beam (pl. V). They were often f it ted with

girdle- trusses tohelp strengthen the hull planking. The midships area was

either lef t f ree for cargo or was occupied by a large, roughly rectangular., I •...1_:_ ... 'h;,..l-. rrr?~n

Oars were used when travelling downstream. The oarsmen sat on

benches beh ind a low r ai ling nea r the bows or stood with one f oo t on th

railing for better leverage. e

The simpler cargo boats of this class were much smaller and had

nothing on deck excep t support s to ca rr y the mast and r igg ing. They a re

sometimes shown being towed in convoy.

P ap yr fo rm b oa ts

The fourth clas s of ves se l used in the Old Kingdom was the papyri fo rrn

boat _ a wooden copy of the double-ended papyrus boat made of

papyrus-reed bundles . Papyri fonn boat s were used for cer emonial and

re ligious purposes and as a means of t ransport ing the deceased and the

grave goods ac ross the rive r to the nec ropo li s (fig. 39) .

At each . end w~s a wooden imi tat ion of a pro ject ing sing le bundle of

papyrus WIth lashings round it at f requent intervals . These end bundles

were fl at tened out on top l ike the re st of the deck and i thad a b inod mas t



no.vrsANC!EXT EGYPTHl' BOATS

The reed-floats of the sky are set inplace for m.e

That I may cross on them to the horizon, to Ra. (FPT, Uu. 266)

. . ell I of Akhethotep-hery1 1 d II d although apaml1ng i ro rn t re C rape '. .usua v pa ( e , ~ < - ' - •o[the 'Fi fth Dynasty. now in Lc iden , shows one under oar.

-\ pass age from P liny the E lder wr it ing in the fi rs t century . \n info rms us

that such craft (viti les) s ti ll remained a popular means of transpor t among

the poorer classes in his day. These primitive craft were constructed f rom

seve ra l bundles of papyrus r eeds lashed togethe r. There was usual ly a

small , wooden platform amidships which supported the owner . Although

such skiff snormally supported only one or two persons , tomb paintings

show that larger craft existed which could transport cattle. They drew so

l it tl e wa te r tha t they wer e easi ly manoeuvrable even in shal low water.

They were usually propelled along by hand or punted by pol e. There is

no evidence that they had sails, but the l ater appearance of the biped

mast , which was origina lly des igned for use on much l ighter c ra ft , may

ind icate tha t such cr af t, occasional ly , ca rri ed sma ll sa il s. Such a belie!

may be supported by the exi st ence of a h ie roglyph dep ic ting just such a

mast on a papyrus skiffon a block f rom the so-called 'Room ofSeasons ' in

the sun-temple ofNyusc rra at Abu Ghurob.

Al though the ev idence would sugges t that the Egypt ians neve r ven-

tured very far beyond the confines of their nar row valley, the scientist and

adven ture r, Dr Thor Heye rdah l, p roved in 1970 tha t a 12m long modern

replica ofa papyTlls craft built in the traditional way was durable enough

to cross the Atlantic.

39O l d A l ll I ." d om p a p _ l ' l ? j o n l l

boa t .

P a R Y r 1 1 . 5 s k i f f r I. b . d e here of what was probably the oldest andl\1cnl1on must a so c m

fat' Egypt" the humble papvrus skiff.

most common forms 0 rranspor 111· . d f .

These craft were used by the ear lies t inhabitants for local traff ic an OJ

huntiuz and fishing in the marshes. . . "e . itl d which was alwavs a precIous commodity 111

In companson WI 1woo , 'J •IEta rus was plentiful and easily worked. When worn WIt1use,gyp , p py il di d d ld rcphced by new ones.a vrus skiffs could be eas y scar cat' . d

P p, . f hei l igious s ignificance, such craft continued tobe depicteBecause a t eir re . , had fallen out of generalin tomb scenes even though, one suspee ts, they f h Old Kingdom and

use among the r icher classes . Tomb pamtmgs 0 ted'\5M'ddl Kingdoms show the harvest ing and t ransport o f papyrus an tlI

1 I e ,",IT (ii +0 ) nd nobles constan y. the manufacture of papvrus skins .ng. , a . f

use 111 ' • fi h f eh craft A patr adepict themselves hunting and speanng s rom su kir h' If

c. the tomb of Tutankhamun show the boy ng imse ,statuettes trom

h rpoon in hand standing on similar skiffs. .' Ia, . t kill ld intimate yThe manufacture ofpapyrus skiff swas an ancien sat.

d ith Egyptians' beliefs in the after-life. Several Utterances 111connecte WI , , \ hi h theth P yr am id T ex ts descr ibe the 'double reed f loats' ( s e k h e n w e ; ' / on w lC

kingwas bel ieved toc ross the sky in the company of the sun-god , Ra (s ec

pp.14):4 0 S ki C : b U Il di ng i n Ii"

m a r sh e s. a s a ne fr o m t},I'

tomb of"!!·

MIDDLE KINGDO~[

Models and pictures of ri ver boats from the Middle Kingdom show a

considerable advance in ship design since the Sixth Dynasrv. Boats were

no longer flat bottomed with square angular ends but had round-

bot tomed, spoon-shaped hul ls . The bow was pract ical ly horizontal but

the s tem rose quite s teeply, often ending in a curved stern-piece designed

specifically to suppOrt the loom of the steer ing-oar. The girclle-truss had

disappeared and the deck-plan painted on models of the per iod show that

longi tudina l st rength was prov ided by a cen tra l shel f o r s tringer which

ran down the middle of the vessel at deck level. Lat eral strength was

provided by several transverse cross-beams which were jointed into the

cent ra l st ringer and which supported the removable deck-hatches ( pl .

VI) . Model boats of the per iod often show a projecting, notched bow-str ip

which, it has been suggested, may have functioned as a fairlead for a

mooring-rope.

By the Middle Kingdom, the bipod mast had disappeared and had

been repl aced by the pol e mast which was stepped t hrough the deck on

the hul l below. It was supported a t deck level by a sing le , double , o r even

t reb le , knee -p iece (fig. 41) and cou ld be unstepped when not in l ise and

stowed away on crutches. The mast had also moved closer to the mid-line



BOATS

The sai lhad a lso changed shape . Itwas b roader t han in the O ld King -

dom and ben t t o a yard and boom. S inc e the l at ter no longer r es te d on the

deck, i ts we igh t was suppo rt ed in a ser ies o fl if ts . These pa s~cd through a

ser ie s o f sem ici rc ul ar r ings on ei th er s id e o f t he mas t n ca r i ts t op . T~e se

rings were frequently made ofmetal , but sometimes ofwood or rope. I 'he

l if ts for t he boom passed through the lowe r set o f r ings and were secu red

e ither toakind ofrack onthe deckjust abaft the mast, orto awooden a ttach-

ment onthe sideof the steering-oar post. The boom was lashed_to th~m;~~

but the upper yard was free and could be lowered when taki~g illsa .

forked spars used for extencling the leeches ofthe sail had disappeared.

The sai l-st itch ing was no longer horizonta l as Inhe O ld Kingdom, but

vertica l and more numerous. The yards were straight and were control led

by braces and sheets which were a ttached to rope-loops i~l the deck.

There was a f or e-s tay, but no back-s tay, since the lifts for the yar d

which led back aft s erved that purpos e. T he mas t was supported ath-

wartships by a pair of shrouds.

4 I W o o de n m o d d o rm a st s up po rt o r ' kn ee ' .

42 Steering oar with

»enical t i ll e r a n d

h o ri zo n ta l c r os s -b a t o n (1

M i dd le h Z Tl gd om v (l Sd .

.\C\iCIE'JTEGYPTL~, HO.\TS

43 Ar t is t ' ) - impres s io n (!f

a M id dl e h lT lg do m b oa l

N ! ' f' G g i n g o n t h eN i l e .

The steering gear had also undergone a radical change and now

consisted e ither ofa single large oar mounted axial ly over the ste rn or, on

larger vesse ls, of two steering-oars mounted on each quarter . The loom of

the single type was lashed a t mid-point e ither to the incurving ste rn-piece

or to a block at the stern, while its butt- end was s ecured to the top of the

steering-oar post on which i tp ivoted . I ts degree ofro ta tion was control led

by a t il le r wh ich rea ched down ver ti cal ly abaf t t he rudder po st ( fi g. 42) .

The looms o f the doubl e type were l ashed above to the s ide s o f ver ti ca l

posts inset into a cross -beam on each quar ter, while their looms, just

a bove the shoulder s o f t he ir b la de s, r es ted ing rooves cu t i n t h e ends o fa

cross- beam which projected beyond the sides of the boat. .:5 with the

single type, their degree of rotation was contr olled bv sloping tillers

dowel led into the ir looms.

On smaller boa ts, there were frequently small . round-topped she lters

lor the owner immedia te ly forward ofthe steering-oar posts, a lthough, ou

larger boa ts, qui te e labora te deckhouses were bui lt or a rrangements were

made for a n awning .

The oar smen were o ft en prov id ed wi th ind iv idua l scat s e it he r i n the



- BOATS

A good example of the new t ype of boat i s t o be found in the tomb of

Senet, mother ofIntef iqer who was vizier under Senusret I(fig. 44). The

hull has a classic Middle Kingdom form: it is spoon shaped, round

bottomed, and has a pointed prow and incurving stern. The vessel is

s teer ed by means of a sing le , cent ra lly-mounted oar which i sbound at

mid- po in t to the stern which curves over inboa rd to suppor t i t. It s upper

end i s l ashed to a ring or hook on the side of the tal l s teer ing-oar post . A

rope wound a round i ts loom safegua rds i t aga inst loss . The helmsman

s tands on a sma ll ra is ed p lat fo rm abaft the post and cont ro ls the oar with

a long t il le r. The mast bas been unstepped and laid on two cru tches, one

amidsh ips, p robably in the vaca ted mast -hole, and ano ther nea re r the

prow. An awning slung over posts with lotus-shaped f inials occupies the

a ft port ion of the deck. The boat i sp ropel led by sixteen rowers whose

oars are worked through grommets on thole-pins.

P ap yi fo rm b oa tsA good example of the Midd le Kingdom 'pi lg rimage boa t' (front cover,

pl. VII) is provided by a model from the British Museum. The boat

displays the character is tic form which itwas to retain henceforward, with

minor changes, down to the end of the dynastic period. It is round

bot tomed and broad in the beam. The nea rly ver ti cal p row termina tes at

the top ina s ty li sed papyrus umbel whi le the stern curves ove r inboard in

a sickle-shape finial.The mummy of the deceased l ies on a b ie r amidships under a canopy

with a curved roof. The vessel iss teered bymeans ofdouble s teer ing-oars

suspended over each quarter . These arc supported on posts with falcon-

head finials. A helmsman squats on the deck immediately abaft the

s teer ing-oar posts . Two female mourners s tand atthe head and foot of the

44 j J id d l r l il l /g dmn

sail ing boa t , f rom t he t om b

o f Inufioe:

IThe [errpnan o f t he d ea d, fro m th e B oo k o f th e D e ad o fAni.



III The Userhet, the ceremonial barge oJthe god Amun.

V Old Kingdom cargo-boat.

VI Middle Kingdom sailing-boat depicted in the tomb of Infeft '!""

AXC:IEl':T EGYl'IL\_\ BO.\']S



VII Model o j a [ ic n er a r» bark with a mummy.

C)

r"

NEW KI"GnO~1

Although larger and more varied, : '\c\ \· Kingdom boats were constructed

in essen ti al ly t he same way a s the ir Middl e Kingdom prede ce ssor s. Thc

hulls were round bottomed and of shallow draught with a graceful

she er -l ine . They di spl ay a con sid erab le overhang a t s tem and s te rn and

a re u sual ly f it ted wi th e longate d f in ial s wi th o ft en cu ri ous not che s he-

neath. It i sd iff icul t to determine the ir interna l struc ture since paint ings

p rovide l ew det ai ls a nd th e decks of t he model s o f t he per iod no longer

display the characteristic red and white deck-plan (central-stringer. cross-

beams and mast-hole ) shown on the ir Middle Kingdom predecessors.The de ck wa s a foo t o r so below the edge o f t he gunwal e except a t e ach

end . At t he forward end i twas Rushand the re wa s a break in the de ck a li

with a platform at the stem lor the helmsmen. Deck-beams are

commonly shown protruding through the planking along the sides of

boat s p roviding ext ra l at er al suppor t t o t he hul l,

A single pole mast was stepped amidships through the deckhouse roof

and, excep t i n t he smal le st v esse ls , r ema ined f ix ed. On sma ll er boa ts i t

could be unstepped whenever the boats were in por t or under oar and

s towed away wi th the yards and sai l on the deckhouse roo f More o ft en

than not, the mast was left up and the upper yard and lower yard are

shown together supported in lifts. It is uncertain how the mast was

suppor te d, s in ce i ts ba se i s u sual ly conc ea led by the dcckhousc. More

than likely, as on earlier beats, its shan was las hed securely to a stout

c ro ss -be am and fur the r suppor ted bv a mas t- st ep a t d eck l eve l, wh il e i ts

he el was socke ted into a t ra nsve rse f rame o r a b lo ck on the hul l bot tom.

Masts of the New Kingdom had a rectangular frame or grid at the

mas t-head con sis ti ng o f several hor izont al a nd ver ti cal cross-pi ec es

t hrough wh ich the halya rd s rai l, whi le immediat el y below there wa s a

metal e ) sheath or com b with flanges a ll e ither sidepierced with eye-holes

to t ake the l if ts wh ich suppor te d the yards . A lt hough rep resen ta ti on s of

boa ts under sai l i n th e New Kingdom d ispl ay a l arge number o f ropes , i t i s

often difficult to distinguish one from another because ofthc inaccuracies

o f t he paint ing s and bec au se vesse ls ar c of te n shown ove rl apping one

ano ther . Fore- a nd back- st ays for suppo rt ing the mas t ar e very much in

evidence, but the absence ofshrouds suggests tha t, probably, byth is t ime,

a more eff ic ient method had been found ofstabil ising the mast on the hul l

bottom.

The l if ts o r rope s which suppor t t he upper yard a rc rar el y shown, but

these must have led from the upper eye-holes on the comb to theextr emities of the yard on either s ide. In some s cenes, these are alien

dep ict ed hang ing loo se when the ya rd was rai sed . The lower l if ts wh ich

supported the boom are near ly always s hown and ar c generally very

numerou s. As in the la te Old K ingdom and Middl e K ingdom, they had

the impor tan t rol e of suppor ti ng the weigh t o f t he boom which no longe r

•NCIENT [CVIyn\" BOATS



BOATS

boom ran to the lower eye- holes on the comb.Because ofits increased size, the sail was bent to yards often made from

two spars , scarfed and f ished together at mid-point , which were nearly as

long as the vess el i ts el f. The upper yar d was lowered when sai lhad to be

taken in and a double halyard ran through the caleet and down to a rack

on the deck immediately abaft the mast. The boom was always f ixed high

up on the mast above the deckhouse r oof. It was secured to the mast by a

par rel- lashingwhich allowed itto turn unhindered; but, a lthough free to

turn, i t was not removable.The rigg ing on one of the mode ls d iscovered inTutankhamun' s tomb

(no. 336) was so well preserved that it provides us with one of our best

sourc~s ofevidence in the round for the per iod ( fig.45). Aswas the custom

in the New- K;ngdOln, the maSCb1l1llerrmdel-is- steppgd- through the

deckhouse roof in the middle of the boat. The length of the mast from

head to deck isabout t \' lo-thirds of the length of the vessel. Itisfitted with

a upper halyard-block squared, with two eye-hoks a side, and a lower

comb, rounded, with four eye-holes a side. There are no shrouds or

back-stays. The fore-stay (B ) isknotted and looped around the mast-head

above the upper b lock , then led downwards ove r the forward k iosk and

made secure to the bows. As in the Hatshepsut boats, the boom is

supported by eight topping-lifts (K-K) r igged asfollows: no. I l if t ismade

fast to the yard-arm with several turns and a half-hitch and passes

through the uppennost hole in the st arboard lower comb from aft to

forward and is then made fast to the yard again forming no. 5 lift.Simi la rly, nos . 2 and 6 ,nos . 3and 7and nos . 4 and S.The same method i s

used for the topping-l ift s o f the port -side yard a rm. The shee ts (L-L) ar e

cont inua tions of the l ift s and lead a ft , on the starboa rd s ide, f rom the 5 th

l ift and , on the port -s ide, fr om the 4 th l ift .The yar d i s la shed to the mas t

by means ofa par rcl (M) which allows it to turn f reely. The sail isattached

to the upper yard ann with a continuous spiral lacing (G-G), while its foot

must have been attached, when unfurled, to the boom. The halyards

(D--D)consis t of two ropes which are made fas t to the upper yard ali tt le to

each side of its mid-point and then pass through the two lower holes inthe

ha lyard-b lock . F rom the mast -head they lead downwards and a re made

f as t to the c ross -p iece which connect s the s tee ring-oa r post s. The top-

ping-lifts ofthe upper yard-anns (E-E) pass f rom forward aft through the

upper ho le s of the halyar d-b lock and ar e s imi lar ly s ecured to the cr oss -

p iece between the steer ing-oar post s. As was usual , both the boom andupper yard are made from two pieces, scarfed and fi shed t ogether at

mid-point, (C-C,J-J). Both yards are lashed together (HI). Braces (F-F)

lead aft from each upper yard-arm. The sail is secured when furled by

gaskets (H) . The sail is made of linen dyed with madder, and is sewn

, )prtlr~ llv

45 D r a u 0z g o f m as t

a nd r ig gi ng o n a m od el

J ai lin g b oa t fro m t he to m b

~f u t nnkhomun .

to i t aft and porticos at each end su dthe fore and aft. 1 k . pporte on slender columns. SimilarlyTh - _ cr 00 -out s were extended and provided wi th cano ie~

e oai smen sat on the cross-thwarts on either side of th b . P dworked their oars in e oat angrommets attached to thole-pins in the nwalc .

. Deckhouscs a rc found on nea rly all the boats of t . gusituated either amidships, built around th he period. They arebo t Th c mast, or a, the stern of the

un; ;ovid:~e ~~~ :edr ec tangu la r in shape with cur ved roofs and, when

thev were eonstruc~eodrs,ower~open at their nar rower ends. Most often, a tramr- covered With t I boardcd-i

walls probablv finished with a rend' f ~,a s or 0 .ioardcd-in

painting. On large boats they , _. ~nng 0 p aster or gesso before

1

- . 'ACIc ottcn two-tiered and c ld Ia most from stern to ster Th li . ou exrencor m r n. e Iymg quarters normally consisted of two

a e compar tments l it by severa l windows (fig. 46)

On the prow and stern were irapczoidal-sha e d 100 .~

the navigating officers (see p p 70--71) hi h P . k out platforms forthe vesse l and wer '.j d" I W IC projected beyond the sides of, , . e ene osc Wit1a ra il on e ithe r side

1he steenng-gear of the New Kin do .' -as the Middle K' d g m was generally of the same tvpe. ll1g om. On smaller vessels the butt-end oftl . . I111 a fork at tl f .' ie oar res tee

lC top 0 a vertical post which was inset into a stout



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" ""

BOATS



truss (see below). As with the riverine type, the ship was propel led by a

low, broad sai l suspended f rom a pole mas t s tepped amidships. The sa il

was ben t to two yards which were made from two pieces ofwood lashed

together at mid-point. The lower yard was fixed to the mast with a

par rel- lashing which allowed it to rotate f reely about i ts axis.

There was a r ec tangular, g rid-l ike s tructur e a t the mast -head which

suppor ted the double halya rds. When the sa il was hoi sted , the halya rds

also helped tosuppor t the mast and doubled aspreventer back-stays. The

halya rds were at tached d ir ec tly to the boom, on e ither side of i ts mid-

point and made fast to the quarters. Braces controlled the angle of theupper yard and although, surpr is ingly enough, no sheets are shown in the

re li efs , thes e must sure ly have exi st ed to cont ro l the angle of the boom.

_ _Thel!lli'.!T_),;gd was sU2£<l!1.edin~~te_eI1Jifts, eight aside, which led

down f rom the comb on the lower hal f o f the mas t-h~'~X: S i l : ; ; i l a r l y ; t h e

upper ya rd was supported by an equal number of l i ft s, al though , when

hoisted, only two appear to have borne its full weight ( fig. 49) . Fore-and-

aft support for the mast was provided by two fore-stays which were

a tt ached to the mast -head and made fas t toe ither s ide of the bows, and a

single back-stay which was attached to a cross-piece between the steering-

oar post s. There were no shrouds, p robably because the mas t no longe r

needed such support.

There was no deckhouse which migh t upset the vesse l' s t rim in rough

weather and the sides ofthe fore- and aft-platforms followed the gunwale-

l ine ins tead ofprojecting beyond it.

50 Dra l1 .ti ng s h ow i ng fllf

anangl'lllrnf q/ t h e d o u bl e

ItftTlflg-gear ana .\-('u'

A l ll gd om J a il in g b oa t .

4 9 A la s/h ea d r i g g i n g on

Q u ee n H a /s h, ps 7 1/ C ( b o at .

The ship was stee red by two lar ge oar s mounted on each qua rter (fi".

50). The ir looms were mounted in forked stanch ions and wer e lashed ;0me posts not only by plain bindings, but also by tackles of rope under

tension secured to the ends of a pro truding c ross-beam. Tbe oars wer e

also held f irmly in place jus t above the sboulders of their blades bvcollars

ofs tout rope or leather , f ixed to the gunwales. They were manipulated by

long, curved, ver tical t il lers dowelled into their looms. The oarsmen sat

beh ind me gunwa le s on e ithe r s ide and worked the ir oars through rope or

leather grommets attached to the sides of the gunwales.

Longi tud inal support fo r the hul l was st il l p rovided f or by the t ime-

honoured syst em of the hogging-t russ. Unlike the Sahura example,

howeve r, i twas now a t rue cab le and the means of obtaining tension had

a lso been much improved . Although some de ta il s a re s ti ll obscure, one

scholar has proposed the following arrangement.

The cab le was secur ely anchored a t one end to a g irt -rope tha t g ird led

tbe sh ip a t the bow. Itwas then led back ove r two forked c ru tches to the

mas t, which se rved in p lace of the midships c ru tch on the Sahura boat s,

where itwas secured by two tackles of twisted rope which encircled both

the mast and the cable at their upper ends. Their lower ends were

- - BOATS A.NClICCITEGYI'Tl.A~ BO.~TS



mas t, the reby providing the r equi red degree of tau tness . It was then led

back a ft from the mast a long two cru tches on the a fter-deck and secured

to anothe r g irt -rope at the stern (fig. 51).

5' ,lIe/hod a / t ig h tenmg a hoggmg '

bIDS 01 1 a s e a- g oi n g s h ip .

a S e ct i on Q / h ul t b Xlas t c Th1l'011

d S e c ti o n o f / w g gi n g- I nm e Rope

t ackl es f T e n s i o n i n g i nsrs

The main difference in the two systems lies in th~ method used to

regulate the tension. In the Old Kingdom this was obtained Withthe help

of one or more wooden ba tons inse rt ed into the st rands of the t russ and

twisted - thereby shortening its length - unti l. the desired degree of

tau tness was obtained. However, by the New Kmgdom, .o r earl ier , the

Ancient Egyptians had improved on this system by attachmg two tackles

of twis ted rope on either s ide of the mast above the truss . Wooden batons

d as 11· the Old Kingdom to shorten the tackles therebywere usc, ,

ind irect ly a ff ec ting the tau tness of the hogging-t russ. There were two

advantages to this method. First , the tensioning could be better regulated

since one revol ut ion of the truss corresponded to several t urns of the

rope-tackles and, secondly, the tackles also provided athwartship support

to the mast. .

More r ecen tly, the German scho la r, B ie ss , has proposed a d if f~r en t

method of fa sten ing f or the t russ on the Hatshepsu t boa ts. He bel ieves

tha t, instead of being secur ed to g ir t-ropes fo re and aft ,. t he ends of the

hogging-truss were made fast to transverse deck-beams in the prow and

s ter n. The g irt -r opes would no t, there fo re, have func tioned SImply as.1 L __ - • •• ~ . . L-.1h ....." h'Hl .-hp 1TY'lnnrt::::.nt t>l~k-

Ca r go b o a ts

The hulls ofNew Kingdom cargo boats were s imilar tothose ofpassenger

boat s, except tha t they wer e often more bcamy and did not di sp lay anv

finials at bow and stern. They had a central steering-oar mounted in a

longitudinal l arked recess at the extreme stern. Some scenes show a

curious oblong-shaped f ix tu re a tt ached to the but t-end of the s teering-

oar. This, it has been suggest ed, may have acted as a counterweight to

facilitate the elevation of the oar out of the wat er. There was a cargo-

house amidsh ips usual ly wal led by lat ti ce but open to the skyand , a ft o f

this, a small , semicircular shelter for the crew.

111C masts and rigg ing were simi la r to o ther New Kingdom ves se ls .

and when not in LI sewer e taken down and laid on top of the deckhouse

roof. Quant poles were car ried to help ease the boats offsandbanks. Their

ends cur led over likehuge walking stickswhich could be f it ted against the

shoulder to give better leverage (Huy, Neferhotep, Kenamun).

52 P i lg r im a ge s c en e

f ro m t he l om b oj

A m m em h et a t T he be s.

Papynform boa t s

Papyr iform (funerary) boats appear lit tle altered f rom the Twelf th Dyn-

asty. They were broad and of very shallow draught with ornamental

decora tive finial s a t bow and s te rn . Amidsh ips was a level p la tfo rm on

which stood a canopy supported on four l ight co lumns. Benea th thi s the

statues of the. deceased and his wife are usually shown undertaking a

journey to one of the sacr ed s it es. The re wer e sma ll st ee ring-oars with

decora ted b lades on the quar ter s supported on pos ts (f ig .52) .

BOATSX-.;c:IE.;T EGYPTLA.!' I-IO.\TS



This type of boat was never rowed or sailed but was alwavs towed

either by another vessel or by a company of men from the bank.

L-\TE NEWKINGDOM

Although the evidence becomes increas ingly more sparse after the :'-Jew

Kingdom, the vessels shown in the celebrations of the Ipet fes tival in the

reigns of Ramses III (119-1-1163 Be) and Herihor of the Twentiet h

D';1asty (1080-1070 BC) display the same features as ear lier boats ( figs

53,54). As in the ear lier per iod, the hulls retained their traditional shape

and the steering-oars were mounted in clefts at the stern and lashed to

ver tical forked stanchions. The masts amidships were supported by-stout

f or ked mast -st eps (Herihor) and , a lthough they were not provided with

deckhouses there were elaborate kiosks on their fore-decks. The ends of

;hc-~r;;s-b~a~ls;till protr~d~-,rthrough the Sidesofplan:killg (Ramses not

Herihor) on e ithe r side and the ir b road sa il swere ben t to yards mack of

two separate spars lashed together at mid-point. Unfortunately, the

rigging isso cursorily drawn (Ramses IJI) that i t iswell-nigh impossible to

determine what ropes there were, but their mast-heads sti ll show the

same a rrangement a son earl ier ships: a mast -block for the halyar ds and

benea th a calee t f or support ing the l ift s to the lower and upper yar ds . No

fore- and after -s tays are shown, but their omiss ion may well owe more to

the negligence of the art is ts than to his torical fact.

54 Boals wwing the

g rt at b ar ge A f f! l' -A m un o n

the Nile dun,,! ' , the Opel

F e s t na l o j H r r ih o r .

Warships

Perhaps some ofthe most famous vessels dating to the late New Kingdom

are the warships which Ramses III (1194-1 163 Be) employed against the

Sea Peoples . These arc depicted on one of the outer walls ofhismortuary

temple a t Medine t Habu (f ig.55, p l. VlIl ). Even when due a llowance h ;s

been made for developments in traditional ship design, there can be lit tle

doubt that they exhibit several new features which were toappear later in

a more deve loped form in the sh ips ofPhoen ic ia , Gr eece and Rome. The

hulls arc long and low and are provided with raised bulwarks or screens .

wi th holes f or the oars , rigged a long each gunwa le to protec t. the r owers

f rom enemy missiles. The prows end in lion f igure-heads, while the s terns

are more elevated than in ear lier vessels to give a better all-round view to

the helmsman. Although ithas been claimed that these lion f igure-heads

are the f ir st example of the use ofa ram in naval warfare, this isunlikely in

v iew of the techn ique used toconst ruct Egyptian boat s. S ince the re ;; no

evidence tha t the hul ls o f these ' fight ing-sh ips' were cons tructed in anv

way dif fer en tly f rom ea rl ie r ves se ls - the pre sence ofpro tr ud ing c ross-

beams point to this _. then these boats would have been built 'shell- firs t'

with the result that they would not have had suf ficient s tructural s trength

to absorb the shock of r amming other vess el s and would have buckledand collapsed on impact.

A r ai sed gangway which prov ided an unobst ructed f ight ing a rea for

the mar ines seems to have r un the whole length of the ship and the deck

was carried on cross-beams which protruded through the hull in the

traditional way.

No hoggmg- trusses are vis ible on any of the ships which may perhaps

sugges t tha t e ithe r thei r internal st ructura l design had been much im-

proved, or that better mater ials had been used in their construction. As in

ear li er t imes, the mast was stepped amidships , bu t i tnow had a figh ting

top from which the occuoant c ou ld k e- r- n w at r- h nr l ' uu - l rlnum nr"l ..rt~lp\,

53 Boa t : towing till

royal :~ai/e)" cfRamses.

..",

BOATS



a upper yard. The boom had been dispensed with and, contrary to

previous practice, the sail was fur led byhois ting its foot to the upper yard,

where it was secured just below the fighting top, presumably to keep Itout

of the way of the fighting men during an engagement and to prevent its

use as a means of boarding when manoeuvring under oar. The loose-

footed sail with its ver tical brail ing ropes was a decided advance over the

older form ofr ig and was probably introduced in the late New Kingdom.

I t had many advan tages over the o lder fo rm in tha t i t f urn ished immed-

iate and complete control of the sail f rom the deck, and also permitted the

shortening of selected areas of the sail which increased the ship's

manoeuvrability.

Our evidcnc~ would sugges t tha t the Egyptians had begun to usc thi s

type of sail as early as the beginning of the Twentieth Dynasty. Two

vignettes on f ragments ofpapyrus in the Tur in Museum, dated loosely to

the late 'Jew Kingdom, show Nile boats filled with what may be a

t rans it iona l s tage of the rig. The sa il s o f these boat s have brai ls l ike the

Medinet Habu ships , but with the dif ference that, aswith the traditional

r ig, they are not loose-footed, but have two yards which curve upwards at

their extremities . What may be another example ofbrail ing ropes appear

on a fragment of a relief from Saqqara dat ing to the lat e Eight eenth

Dynasty now in the Ber lin Museum. The use ofloose-footcd sails s imilar

to those on Ramses III'S ships isattes ted much later in reliefs in the temple

ofEdfu in Ptolemaic limes (Main Pylon, eas t s ide) and Herodotus refers

to the rings and brailing ropes used to reef this t ype of sail in his day(Histories II,36, 4 and her e, fig. 56).

The ropes of the rigg ing had a lso under gone cons iderab le change .

Thev were much simpler, and the yard was no longer suspended in

numerous lif ts . The braces were attached to the extremities of the upper

ver n and led hack a ft to the he lmsman' s p la tfo rm.

55 . \ e r C ' AITlgdom

n-arship. A detail ofthr

.( Q battle Q f Ramses III

a / ! ,a l l l . . . / lite Se a Pe op l e s

f ro m l it e m o r tn a rv t em j Jl e

01.\ledillfl Hab u .

56 The . go d Ho rus on a

b o a t e q u i pp , d ",iln II

l o os e -f oo t ed s a il , f r om t he

Innpl, ,,/Edfu.

the archers. The ships were steered by two l arge oars suspended Over

each quarter with their tillers horizontal above the platform for easyhandling.

There i sno evidence that the innovat ions shown in the Mcdine t Habu

relief ( the new style ofhull, the mast with s implif ied staying, a f ighting top

and the loosc-fooied sa il )were borrowed by the Egypt ians from neigh-

bouring countries . Although their s traight profi le and angular ends seem

at first sight t o have their origin in the Aegean world - the duck-head

figure -head appears on a Greek vase of s light ly later date ._ the re i sno

compelling reason to ascribe such developments to an external inf luence

and jus t a sgood a case can be made for nat ive Egyptian ingenui ty .

Apart f rom the Piy ( former ly read Piankhi) relief ( secbelow) , after the

Ramesside period we have very little information about boats unt il

Graceo-Roman t imes. The boa ts dep icted in the temple of Horus at Edfu

accompanying the sac red barge of Hath orofDender a during the re ign of

Ptolemy VIII (170-163,145-116 Be) show lit tle change in their general

design f rom ear lier Nile boats . Their prows and sterns are cut off square

and the ir deck beams pro trude through the p lank ing on to the out side of

the hull. There are look-out platforms on the prow and stern and the

steer ing-oars with their long til lers are mounted in clefts at their s terns. A

tall mast is s tepped amidships supported by stays . A similar scene on thennnn<; :; tf ' v.nl l " ::hn'~ 'lnr r . ,. .h. :>. . . . .. . .. .. .. .. ... ... . ~C _L~ __ , __

- - BOArs



KI:'\G'S SHIP-OF-STATE

Apart from some ea rly drawings of boa ts on vases ofthe Ear lv Dynas ti c

Per iod f rom Abydos, perhaps the ear lies t reference, albeit infer red, to a

rova l sh ip -of-s ta te occurs in the t it le 'Di rector of the k ing' s sh ip ' which

appears on the stela of the off icial Mcrka dating to the reigll ofQa'a of the

First Dynasty.

Although the Palermo Stone records that a royal ship called the

A d or at io n -i f- th e- T w o L a nd s of 100 cubits in length (52.5m) was constructed

in the re ign ofSne fc ru , and a simi la rly named ves se l i sment ioned much

ea rl ie r on avase fr om the pyramid ofDjoser (2630-261 1 Be ) ofthe Third

Dynas ty , i t i s no t unt il we come to the Fi lth Dynasty tha t wea re g iven our

f ir st glimpse ofa real ship-of -s tate . Only the immensely tall sail rovcrcd

with an intricate star-l ike pattern and the forward portion of t he ship

sllrvives t~day,but;i-lssl'[ficiel:;tt~show h e ) \ \ ' gralld suchvessels were as

they sailed along the Nile ( fig. 57) .

The hull has a gently curving sheer and issurmounted by a washstrakc

amidships which SlOpSust short of the prow. Like the Khufu boat. i thas a

tall, delicately carved, lotus-bud f inial surmounted by a solar disk at the

prow and, a lthough the stern sec tion i s miss ing, we may safely assume

that this was similar ly provided.with a sickle-shaped f inial which curved

over inboard . On the f orward deck s tands a royal sphinx on a standar d,

while immediately abaft is a baldachin containing the king's(?) throne.

Although propelled by a t all sai l, the heads of the oarsmen can be seen

protruding above the gunwale. A protective udjat -eyc is pai nted on the

prow and most probab ly the re was origina lly a deckhouse or an awningsupported on columns amidships.

Iti s not unt il we r each the : '\ iewKingdom tha t we a rc aga in provided

with repre sentat ions of such lar ge ships . Apa rt from the splendid rive r

vessels belonging to such high off icers ofs tate asRckhmira and Huy, the

only ships ofs tate which can be securely associated with the king himself

are those represented by the models ofAmenhotep IIand Tutankh.unun.

Roya l ships of the New Kingdom, such as the Beloued-t f -Amun (fig_58;

have gen tly curv ing sheers , e levated towards the s tem, ending in e lon-

gated f inials , S treamers arc attached to the prow and stern . The cr os s-

beams which protrude through the planking on either s ide, end in carved

heads. The re ar e elabora te k iosks on the prow and stern decorated with

f igures of the king trampling upon his enemies . A large double- roofed

deckhouse iss i tuated amidships with doors and windows along its s ides .

U r a e i and a double ovo id- shaped fri eze decor ates me upper edges of theroof. Pries ts holding fans and feathered wands stand on deck while s ixty

rowers, thirty on either s ide, row the ship. A tall mast isstepped amidships

through the deckhousc roof and the ship iss teered by two large steer ing-

oars with long, ver ti ca l t il le rs suspended over each quarter. The large,

hrnorl " il is hFnt tn two Inn" varrls made of two separate SDafS and

57 A;n~Sahura',

s lz ip - r_ J j ' : ' . l / 1 1 1 f

Although pictorial evidence is l imited, several royal ships arc refer red

to, o r named, 111 our l it era ry sources . During h is st rugg le agains t the

Hy~o_s I~adef Apophis, King Kamosc of the Sevent~cllth Dynasty

tc.L)5)-~ I,)50 Be ) records on hISstela that he 'caused the mighty lIlC'k-ship

to sound the desert edge, the fleet after it as it were a kite'. Later,

:\mcnhotep II (1427-1 +0 I Be) records how he hanged seven enemy

pnnces head-downwards f rom the prow of h is fa lcon sh ip , Akhepmm-i J--

t ! t e -E,t( Jhl i J l l l' r -o; : the~ Tux-Lands (B,\R 11 , §797).Tn tnnrp. l'''-';JI'p,,1 I ;y "" ,, ,, ,. · ' \ n~" "I....~. ~_ ••~ __ .

, BOATS '\.J'JCIE~T EGYP"rtAN BOATS



A/en-Gleams ' (BAR II, §869) . Several royal ships a re a lso men ti oned in 58 Tile g rea l s /z IP-o f

associ at ion wi th the o ff ic er s or i nfant rymen who served aboa rd them: s t a t e .Mnv Amu lI , ill /I le

A k h ep c r ur a -e n d ur r s. R a m s rs II W ho -P ro tn tia te s- th eA te n, M c re np ta h B E lo ve d- of I pd F cs ti ra tal I )HoI .

S e kh m e t, T h e A t en -Gl ca m s, S t ar -o f -M em p hi s and s o o n. During his long and f ro m a r e li ef a t K a r n ak .

d is ti ngu ished c aree r, t he s tandard-be arer o f t he k ing' s ship, Bclorcd-o]-

Amun, Ahmose, son of Abana, who lived in the early part of the Eight-

eenth Dyna sty, served on several ships before ending h is c areer on the

Ris ing -in -Memph i s . A lat er ve rs ion of t he Beloued-o f -Amun i sp ict ured on an

axe-head now in the British Museum. The inscription on its blade

ident if ies i ts owner as the infantryman, Nehmem, who served aboard the

vesse l during the reign ofAmenhotcp 11.

In the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty , King Piy (750-712 Re ) had the return o f

his expedit ion from the south toThebes recorded on a wal l ofthe Temple

of Mut at Karnak. Among them was a large vessel described in the

accompanying text as ' the s hip of Piy' which was 43 cubits (22.6m) in

length.

OBELISK BARGES

No survey of Anci en t Egypt ia n shipp ing wou ld be comp let e w ithout a

b ri ef men ti on o f a spec ial t ype o fvessel used by the Anc ien t Egypt ian sfrom an early period to transport heavy loads. These were the giant

barges used to convey obe lisks and other bui ld ing materia ls from the sites

where they were quarried to the temples and tombs throughout the

l ength and breadth o f Egypt .

The e ar li es t ev id ence for such barge s comes f rom a b lock f rom Una s'

59 ting Unas ' barges

can_v in g gran it e co lumn s

from AsU'an.

Saqqara . The columns are securely lashed to the ir sledges rcadv for casy

conveyance to the ir f inal locat ion (fig. 59) .

In hi s t omb biog raphy Wen i, who l ived in the S ix th Dynas ty , t el ls u s

tha t the Pharaoh Merenra (2255-2246 Be ) sent h im to bring a false door,

l in tel s, and por tal s for h is py ramid in s ix barges and three tow-boat s of

e igh t r ib s. Some t ime l at er , t he same k ing commiss ioned h im to bui ld a

'broad- boat' 0[60 cubits ( 31.5m) in length and 30 cubits (15.75m) in

breadth oflocal acacia to transport an offer ing-table from the a labaster

quarry at Hatnub in Middle Egypt, (BAR I, §323). Similarly, Sened-

j em ib- in ti , who was v izi er under D jedkara I ses i of t he F if th Dynas ty.

(2388-2356 Be), us ed a cargo boat strengthened with a girdle- tr us s to

t ran spor t h is king 's sar cophagus and l id f rom Tura to G iza .

During the reign ofTuthmose I (1504-1492 Be), Ineni supervised the

cons truction of an 'august boat' of 120 cubits (63m) in length and 40

cubi ts (21m) in b re ad th to t ra nspo rt obel isks t o the Temp le o f Karnak.

The se obel isks c an s ti ll be seen today and together weigh 372 tons .

Perhaps the mos t f amous examp le o f such a barge i s t o be found in th e

funerary temple ofQueen Hatshcpsut (1473-1458 Be) at Deir el-Bahari,

which shows the trans portation of two giant obelisks from Aswan to

Karnak (fig. 60) . Several scholars have a ttempted to calcula te the exact

s ize of t he ba rge by emp loying the known we igh t o f t he obel isks which

have survived . Unfor tunat el y, i t h as p roved impossibl e t o ar ri ve a t a ny

firm conclus ion, and f igures ranging f rom 84m in length and 28m in

breadth with a displacement under load of 2,664 tons (according to

Koster, Studien, It ) t o a mo re mode st 63m in l ength, a nd 25m inb readth

with a displacement under load of 1,500 tons (according to Solver,

Obr i i Jk-sk ibe, 29ff) have been propos ed. However, if recent research

cha ll enging the ident if ica ti on of t he ac tu al obe li sk s u sed in the c alc u-

l at ions i s co rr ect , t hen the f igures have to be rev ised upwards w ith the

resul t t hat we are conf ront ed w ith a barge wi th the a lmost unbe li evab le

dimens ions o f95111 in l ength, w it h a beam of 32m and a d ispl ac emen t

with l:lrlY(} nf 7 ' i n n tnt"i

-, BOATS.\!\CIENT EGYPTIAN BOATS



few narrow sheer-l ines running paral le l with the gunwale on the hul l or to

polychrome transverse str ipes on masts, cabin supports, steering-oar

posts and oar-looms. The wal ls ofthe cabins were decorated with a simple

chequcrboard pat te rn and the blades of the steering-oars were adorned

with blue and white lotus f lowers and sacred udjai-evcs. Small boa ts and

fre ight boa ts ofthe : '\ew Kingdom were e ither lef t p la in orwere painted a

simple uniform colour. On larger r iver vesse ls, the mid-sec tion ofthe hul l

was usual ly lef t p la in , but thc stems and ste rns were often decorated with

var ious des igns which could range f rom a very s ty li sed f lower o r p lan t

design to a more complex mythologica l scene or a mixture ofboth. These

often combine with other paucms: horizonta l bands enc losing a chequer

boa rd o r geomet ri c pat te rn , ci rc les o r roset tes , hor iz ont al h ands and

squares with small b lack points in the ir centres, and narrow, transverse

bands of colour encircling the hull without any other decoration. An

exc el le nt example o f such abs tr ac t hul l d ecorat ion occur s on one o f t he

Tut ankhamun model s (no . 276 ) whi le a more comp lex mytholog ica l

de co rat ion can be seen on anothe r (no . 284 ).

A painting from the Tomb of Rekhmira shows a large sailing s hip

which isdecorated with a mixed design ofplant and mythologica l seem's.

The panel on the under si de o f t he prow con tains an udjai -cvc followed by

falcons on pedestals. T he stem is similarly decorated except that a

kne el ing f igu re o f Maa t wi th ou ts tr et ched wings i sa dded. The hul l, f or e

and af t, i s a lso decorat ed w ith nar row t ran sver se bands con tai ning an

abstract plant design.

Ships decorated with purely mythologica l scenes are wel l i llustrated bymodels from the Tomb ofAmcnhotep !l(1427-140 1 Be ) and paintings

f rom the tomb ofHuy.

Deckhouses we re no t de co ra te d wi th my thologi cal f igures even on

ships of a decidedly religious character (Qenamun, Huy, Menna).

No rmal ly , th e decorat ion cons is te d o fpat te rns o fva ri ou s coloured ci r-

c les , s ty li sed f rond s and cheque rboa rd pat te rns enclosed at t he top and

sides with narrow, block-patterned dados. The side-panels ofthe look-out

pla tforms were a lso decorated with diffe rent varia tions of the chcqucr-

board design. On royal ships, however, these could be more e labora te ly

decorated either with paintings of s phinxes, lions and bulls , or with

rep resen tat ions o f t h e same an imal s ca rved out o f t h e wood .

Boats such as the royal ships-of-state, temple barg-es and those owned

by g re at s tat e o ff ic ial s, were more int ri ca tel y deco rat ed wi th rel igi ou s

scenes. The hul l ofHuy 's great ship was adorned with udJa i -eyes , the heado f t he ram o fAmun , winged falc ons on pedes ta ls a nd th e k ing as a sph inx

t rampl ing on h is f al len enemies . The s id es o f t he look-ou ts were decor -

ated with striding- figures of Mont, the Theban god of war, while the

deckhouse walls were covered with an intricate pattern ofmulti-coloured

r ir cl cs f ramed at tODand bot tom with na rrow block -pat te rned dados .

vessels, although greatly scaled-up to p rov ide a s tructure which cou ld 60 Q J l rm H a t s h ep s u t ',

suppor t t he ex tr a we igh t. The rel ie f al lows us to draw some tent at ive u b e li s k b o v g e.

conclusions ab-cmrit);-construction:' Thrceiiersof cross-bcams served to

give lateral strength to the massive hul l, whi le longi tudina l strength was

provided by five hogging-trusses supported on forked pos ts which

spanned the l ength o f t he vessel and we re made fas t t o g ir t- rope s wh ich

encircled the hull fore and aft. We may ass ume that the weight of the

obelisks would have been supported by the cros s-beams and central

she lves extending the length ofthe vesseL In his book, S h ip s o f th e P h a ra o h s,

Lands trom ha s sugge st ed a tot al of s ix she lv es : two in the mid- li ne and

two underne ath ea ch obe li sk . The hu ll bot tom and s ide s we re p robably

s tr engthened, a s i n the Khufu boat , by a ser ies of ' pa ss iv e' f rames inset

into the hul l bot tom at regular interva ls.

Because of i ts enormous size, the barge was steered , unusual ly for the

period, by two oars suspended over each quarter . It was towed by thirty

boa ts propel le d by e igh t hundred and s ixty- four oar smen deployed in

three co lumns . The exa ct method used to tow the ba rge rema ins prob -

lemat ic and the various methods proposed to date remain unconvinc ing.

Uncer ta inty a lso sur rounds the t echnique u sed by the Anc ien t Egyp -

tians to load such beavy weights. According to a pas sage in Pliny,

describ ing the transport ofan obe lisk toAlexandria in Ptolemaic t imes, a

canal was first dug beneath an obelis k and then a barge, loaded with

suf fi ci en t ba ll as t t o l owe r i ts he igh t i n t he wa ter , was f lo at ed benea th i t.

The ballas t was then removed to allow it to take the full weight of the

obelisk. More recently, a different solution has been proposed. According

to t hi s, t he barge was b rought as nea r t o th e bank o f t he r ive r a spossi bl e

and an embankment was constructed around and over i t. The obe lisk was

then man-handled up the embankment until it was directlv over thebarge and let down into place by removing the fill around'the barge

(Habachi, Obelisks. p. 27 fol lowing an earlier author) .

DECORATION

-OATSA:"CIE);T EGYPTLIN HOXrS



Sa il s wer e often decora ted with d iver se pat te rns. The sa il o fSahura ' s

ship was decorated with a pattern of adjoining squares arranged in

brick-l ike fa sh ion enclos ing e ight -pointed s tar s within ci rcles . La te r

scenes show sails decorated with yellow circles within alternating red and

whi te squa re s and plain red squa re s on a whi te background.

The mid-section of the hulls of funerary vessels were usually painted

green with gold-coloured f inials at prow and stern. Their bulwarks were

decorated with blue and red sheer -l ines . The looms of their s teer ing-oars

and the posts which supported them were often decorated with parallel,

mult i-colour ed bands, whi le the b lades of the oars were adorned with

stylised lotus blossoms and naITOWbands containing udjat-eyes.

was held bv the oarsman in a double-handed ) ., 'Tip.The rowing technique

consisted ~fa circular movement where the oarsman alicrnativelv s tood

and sat as he rowed the boat along. The oarsman started his stroke in a

standing pos it ion, then r eached wel l f orward and threw his we ight back

on the oars s imultaneously taking up a sit ting posit ion on the cross-bench.

Towards the end of the stroke, the hands were pushed downwards and

the b lade of the oar brought s lowly out of the water before the st roke was

recommenced. In order to provide the nccessary leverage for this con-

tinuous circular movement, the oarsman's feet must ei the r have been

secured to the deck in loops or wedged under the stretchers in front of

h im. Because of the wea r and tea r that such a techn ique infl ic ted on hi s

c lo th ing, the rower wore a network garment with a squa re lea ther patch

on the scat over his kil t to protect the fabric f rom the continuous chafing.ADDLING/RoWING

Egyptian vesseKwerCI)addled,rowcd-c) rpoled. Piddling, i ll which the

paddler f ir st raised the blade above his head and then leaned over the side

to reach the water, required great stamina. The stroke was not simul-

t aneous, but each man dipped hi sb lade in the water a f ract ion of a second

beh ind the man in front in a sinuous, wave-l ike motion (fig. 61 ) . Scenes

from the temple of Hatshepsut a t Dci r e l-Baha ri , s howing the d iffe rent

posi tions adopted by Ancient Egypt ian oarsmen, serve as our main

sour ce of evidence f or the technique used by them a t thi s per iod. The oar

was suspended i n a loop or grommet of leather over the shi p' s side and

6, Pa r id l e rs , jr o l ll a

reilif In t lu [u n r ra rv temple

o f " " a g Use rka f .

EQUJPl\IENT

Navigational aids, as one would expect on vessels primarily designed to

operate in a r iver environment, wcre practically non-existent. Asin later

t imes, sea-going ships probably hugged the coastline for their bearings

and protect ion. Reliefs show that each boat had a look-out on its prow

who car ri ed a long pole tosound the dep th ofwater beneath the hul l o r to

push the boat away from any obstruction which might endanger its

s af ety. Pa in tings and mode ls a lso show tha t l anding-p lanks , moor ing-

s takes, mallets and fenders were car ried. Trapezoidal s labs with holes at

the ir narr ower uppe r ends to take a cable or r ope a re frequen tly shown on

the bows and s te rns of Old Kingdom boa ts. But , a lthough seve ra l such

mooring-s tones have been discovered inEgypt, their identif ication iss ti ll

very much amatter ofdehate among scholars, and all attempts to identify

the Egypt ian word for an anchor have so fa r fa il ed .

BAJ.lAST

Al though no information is available from Anci ent Egypt, it must be

assumed that, because of their shallow keels, rather fl at bottoms and

enormous spread of s ai l, Egyptian boat s could no t have sa il ed l i~ht o r

they would have been in dange r of capsize . La rger vess el s must , ther e-

fore, have been weighted wit h ballast of some ki nd to ensure that they

maintained thei r t rim. The Anc ien t EgyVtians may have used stone to

provide the required stabili ty, as found in the bilges of classical wrecks,

but the cargo i ts el f could a lso have se rved as bal las t. Ca re had al so to betaken to ensure that the ballast was cor rectly dis tr ibuted in the hold since

i ts movement could precipi tat e the ver y d is as te r tha t i ts p re sence was

designed toprevent. In Ancient Egyptian ships ballast probably occupied

all the available space under the deck-planking. Consequently. although

nne cannot rule out the dictates of arti stic conventi on. the cargo 011

lBUAl.S



sai l a nd t igh ten ing s tay s, t hey would have bu si ed themse lve s w ith the

dail y rout in e o f running a ship.

Examp les o f such o ff ice rs c an be seen in an O ld K ingdom scene f rom

the romh o fN i-ka-nc su t a t Giza wh ich shows a lookout on the p row wi th

a sound ing-po le and a man on the cabin roo f iseshon; giving directions or

relaying orders to three helmsmen in the stern (fig. 62). .

L it tl e is known about t he s ize of a ship' s complement . Thei r number

probably varied according to t he s ize and type of boa t. Ac rew of 120 men

i sment ioned i ll t he Tale o f the S h ij l l1 ) T ec k ed S a i lo r (early Twclfih Dynasty),

whi le more than 200 arc mentioned Oll the Sphinx Stela oiAmenhotcp II.

These were large boats and it is p robable that mos t river ves sels had a

crew o f a round twenty- fi ve men. The model sai li ng boa ts found in the

tomb of Mcketra had 'c rews of six teen men inc luding the ir capta ins.

4·!i~~

~1d tm~

CRE\·\i MEMBERS

The ev idence p rov id ed by pi ctures and model s show that , be si de a c rew

ofordinary sailors ( s e qed u , n i fe u ) , each boa t, depending on i ts c lass, had two

officers who were responsib le for i ts navigat ion. The first was the pilot or

bow-officer (ash-hat, sa en imyet-hat, imey -hat i , who stood watch in the

forward lookout in the bows and was responsib le for giv ing direc tions to

the helmsman and for t es ti ng the depth o fwat er bene ath the hu ll w it h a

s ounding pole. The second was the helmsman i hemu , irey-Irffl!yt) , who

s tood o r squat ted in the s tern o f t he boat be tween the s tee ri ng -oar s a nd

was rcponsible for steering the boa t.

A thi rd group of i nd ividual s who must al so have held an impor tan t

pos it ion on board we re tho se who are often depic ted standing or squat-

t ing on the deckhouse roo f, ho ld ing a kind o fbaton o r whip inone handwh il e ge stur ing w ith the o th er as i fgiving o rder s. The se are probab ly to

be iden ti fi ed wi th the 'Di re ctor s o fa ship 's c on ti ngent o f rowe rs ' (kherep

htnyt) who were responsib le for regulat ing the oar-stroke and for relaying

the pilot's commands to the helmsman. The remainder of the crew

cons is ted of o rdinary sai lor s, who e it he r sat on the po rt a nd s ta rboa rd

62 Two boa ts from the

t omb o f Ni-ka-nesut .

BOAT BuILDI:";G



CHAPTER FOUR into lengths and joined by a variety of jo in ts: dovetai ling and cr amps,

mi tre and mort ise -and-tenon . Separa te p ieces were a lso dowel led or

lashed together with leathe r thongs. Boat bui ld ing was no except ion to

thi s, and for large vess el s, s uch as the Khufu boa t, sh ipbu ilde rs had to go

elsewhere toprocure timber of suf ficient length and quali ty, and records

show tha t fr om an early date supp li es had to be imported , notab ly from

the Lebanon.

Sneferu (2575-2551 Be ) of the Fourth Dynasty records the arr ival ofa

convoy offor ty ships laden with meru-wood f rom the Lebanon. So strong

was the connection between the country of origin of timber and the

proces s of boa t bui ld ing dependent upon i t, that the Egyptians named

the ir s ea -going ships 'Byblos- sh ips' , a t erm which was st il l in use in the

Late Per iod to descr ibe Nekau's newly introduced Greek triremes. Even

in the C o ff in T e xi s the deceased is s aid to punt wit h a pole made from the

' cedar ' o f Bvblos (FCT I,Sp. 62) and during h is Asiat ic campa igns ,

Tuthmose 1II (1479~1425 Be) bui lt cargo vessels of the same wood,

obtained f rom the same locality.

Boat building

WOODWORKING TECHNIQUES

Athough objects made of wood have been discovered from the

P redynas ti c Pe riod , fine woodwork ing only became poss ib le

with the inven tion of copper too ls in the Ea rly Dynast ic Pe riod ,

All the principles of working in wood were known and used at an early

date and, a lthough the too ls were few, they neverthe le ss f ul fi ll ed a ll th~

ess en ti al func tions of modern carpen try . Among those which have sur-vived f rom this per iod are chisels , saws, squares , levels and mallets which

dif fer l it tle f rom those in use today. Nothing comparable to the modern-

day hammer has yet been found, but it is p robable t hat they were of the

wooden ma~l or club- like var iety used in later t imes to drive in mooring-

s takes. The Jack plane was unknown inancient Egypt until Roman times,

but the adze was more than an adequate substitute in the hands of a

skilled craftsman. The saw used by the Egyptians was of the pull var iety,

tha t i s to say, the cut ting edge of the teeth was se t towards the hand le and

the cut was made on the pull, and not on the push. Small pieces of wood

could be easily worked by being held upright by the hand, but heavier

timber was lashed to a post and kept firmly in place by a tourniquet - a

st ick weigh ted with a heavy s tone - leaving the ca rpen te r f ree to use both

hands. Bradawls and bow-drills were used for making holes . The drill was

held upright, its top turning in half a dom-palm nut held in one hand,whi le the b it was rapidly ro ta ted wi th a bow held in the o ther. Because of

the sof tness of the copper tools , an oil f lask and honing stone were also an

ind ispensable par t o f the ca rpen te r' s equ ipment . Adzes and sands tone

rubbers wer e used to obtain a smooth, even surface and measurements

could be checked with a soua re . l evel o r n ll l1nh l inp

63 Boat-building scent

. from th e tomb o f RaJIOUp

al Mtidum.

BOAT BUILDING

Apart from the mention of a dockyard on an ivory tablet of the late

Second Dynast y, the earliest representation of the construction of a

wooden boat in a workshop comes from the early Fourth Dynasty

mas taba ofRahotep at Me idum where agr oup ofworkmen is shown busy

at work on a papyri f orm wooden boat (fig. 63) . Pe rhaps the mos t f amous

scene i s to be found in the Fi fth Dynasty tomb of the v izier Ti . The nowpar tly destroyed caption descr ibes the scene as the ' [ . . . construction of]

.rh.abet-boats by the carpen ter s of the fune ra ry estate' (f ig .64). One boat

has rounded ends , ano ther has a shar p- po in ted stern whi le yet ano ther i s

cut-off square at each end. Their hul ls are supported on short batons

dur ing construction. The accompanying inscr iptions lis t the several types

ofcarpentry tools being used: adze, chisel, pull-saw, axe and club-shaped

maul. The workers also use large oblong pounders/") , perhaps to hammer

the s trakes down into p lace. The ca rpen te rs a re engaged in the d iff er en t

tasks of boat buil di ng. In the bottom register, on the len, one group is

hewing a p iece of r ough t imber into shape whi le , in the cent re , ano ther i s

-BO.\TSBOA] BUILDING



at ta ch ing a bulwa rk to the topmost s tr ake. On the r ight , one ca rpen te r i s

busy sawing a piece oft imber, whi le two others, sea ted astride a fin ished

p la nk , appea r t o be p repar ing mor ti ses i n i ts upper sur fac e wi th ch isel s

and mauls. The 'Elder of the Workshop' ( se m s u w e k hr e t) occupi es a

prominent posit ion in the middle ofthe scene . He holds a ferru le and lead

wi th which to check the a ccuracy of t he bul l cu rves .

A s im il ar scene occur s i n the t ;mb o fMereruka o f t he S ixth Dvna stv

which shows two wooden papyr iform boa ts under cons truc ti o; l. T I;~

workmen use too ls s imi la r t o t ho se in T i' s t omb. A ca rpen te r c hecks the

boat's dimensions with a plumb-bob while two others stretch a

mcasuring-I ineu ') from stem to ste rn . The caption informs us tha t the two

papyriform vessels are shabe t -boats constructed of i shed-wood with which

the deceased wil l journey to the 'Beauti fu l West' .

Not much evidence of the ini tial stages of boa t bui ld ing has survived,but I t ca n be sa fe ly a ssumed tha t, as wi th o th er c ra ft s, boa t bu il di ng wa s a

t ra di ti onal o ccupa ti on whose ski ll s were passed down ve rbal l~ I rom

father to SOIL

Because only short lengths ofwood could be obtained locally, Egyptian

carpenters were forced todevise a method offit ting or tenoning tbe hul ls

64 Boat-buildit~i! . s c e 1 l e

f ro m t he t om b of Ti at

Saqq(]m.

6 5 B oa t- bu il din g s ce ne

f ro m t he t om b o f

I Jm u mh ol £p a t B m i

Ha s a n .

a t Beni Hasan (fig. 65) , whi le , a round a thousand years later , Herodotus

descr ib es essen ti al ly t he same method of boa t bu il di ng in hi s day :

Their freighters are constructed of acacia . .. From this

acacia, then, they cut planks about two cubits long [1 ,05111 j

and fit thern. together after the fashion of brickwork, building

their ships in thefollowing way: theyfix the two-cubit planks

around long tenons set close together. When they have built

their ship in this way, they stretch thwarts over thern. [sc. the

planks], They do not use ribs. They caulk the seams from.

within with papyrus. (Herodotus, Histories II,§96; Lloyd,

Classical Quarterly, uol. 29, no. 1 (May 1979), pA8)

From thi s i t i se vident t hat , i n cont ras t t o t he modem-day method o fboa t

bui ld ing, t he Anc ien t Egypt ian d id not u se a p re-er ect ed f ramework o fa

kee l and ribs on to which to fasten the planking ( 'ske le ton/frame-fi rst'

bui ld), but laid down a she ll ofplanks inbrick-like fashion into which they

later inserted cross-beams a t regular interva ls to provide lateral strength-

en ing to the hul l ( tha t i s, ' sh el l- fi rs t' bu il d) . It is not known when this

technique was first int roduced, but Egypt isa strong contender asI tsp lace

of origin. The modern technique of fastening the planking to a pre-

e rected framework ofa kee l and ribs was not introduced unt il the MiddleAges.- In fo rmat ion as to how the Anci en t Egypt ian s set about bui ldi ng the ir

boat s i sp rovided by ac tua l hu ll s wh ich have survived . The shipwr igh t

began h is hul l w it h a sor t o f k eel -p la nk made o f several l engths wh ich

formed the centre- line of thc whole construction. Short planks were

BO.-\TS

planks had reached the required height, the whole construction was

BO.--\TBe1I.DING



fini shed off wi th gunwa le s and a se ries of c ross-beams inlet into the

uppermost st rake on e ither side . These beams not only suppor ted Ie

weigh t of the deck-p lank ing, but a lso ser ved to provide arhwartship

support to t he hull and prevent the sides from sagging outwards. On

larger boa ts the hul l was often s treng thened by the add it ion of a central

shelf or s tr inger which extended the whole length of thc boat f rom stem to

stern just under the cr oss -beams . This was supported by ver ti ca l s tan-

chions inset into the f rames at the bottom of the hull. Sometimes the shell

was braced by the inser tion ofseveral 'pass ive' s trengthening f rames. The

planks were set carve] fashion that i s edge-to-edr-e and never over-lapped, as in clinker-built ships:' " ,

Although some caulking with papyrus or some ot her material may

-rtave bccomrfieccss-ai'y as it-l)oatag-edancItheseamsbcgan lO lei i~

water , the edge- joincd'planking, hcl~1tightly in place by close-set mor-

t ises , was nonnaUy sufficient to maintain a water tight hull.

T he K h uf o. b oa t

The Khufu boat (fig. 66) provides us with an excel lent example of the

'sheil- firs t' , edge- joined technique of boat building used by the Ancient

Egyptians , and bears witness both to the skill of the shipwrights who built

i t and to the long t radi tion 0 1' boa t bui ld ing which pr eceded i t.

Egyptologis ts had known of the existence of two sealed boat pits beside

the Khufu pyramid for a long t ime, but i twas on ly in the noon of26 Mav

1954 that the dismant led part s of a large, wooden boat were finall~'

brought into the light of day. When found, the boat was stacked i~

thirteen layers and compr ised 1,224 pieces ranging f rom small dowels to

/

i/

J

6 7 C ro ss - se cti on o f

p la nk in g o n t he A 7m ju

boa t .

large timbers which once formed the topmost s trakcs on either s ide of the

boat.

The kee l-p lank which f orms the base of the whole s tructure i sbui lt up

of segments made of eight short pieces of wood and was probably laid

fi rs t. The p lanking of the hul l was then bui lt up to the requi red heigh t on

either s ide and bound together edge- to-edge with pegs (seef ig.67 (1) ) , and

fur ther consolidated by v-shapcd sti tching (2)which is invisible f rom theoutside. The butt-ends of the planks are joined by s-shaped hook-scarves

and long, narrow hemispherical battens are lashed over the seams to

make them water tight (8) .The shell of the boat isfur ther s trengthened by

sixteen frames inse rt ed in the hul l bot tom and lashed to the p lank ing.

A long, cent ral -shel f o r s tringer (4 ) r uns down the midd le of the boa t

supported at regu la r interval s on seven forked s tanch ions inse rt ed into

the frames at the bottom of the hul l (5). This shelf supports forty-six

cross-beams (3) inlet into the sides of the boat which, in turn, support the

deck and the removable hatches laid over the cross-beams.

There isa large, rectangular deckhouse JUStaf t ofmidships supported

on s ide -g ir ders a t i ts base and on thi rty-s ix columns wi th papyrus-bud

finial s along i ts sides (fig. 68). These columns support sl ende r, cur ved

beams which arch above the roof. The roof itself issupported internally

on three columns with palm-shaped f inials . The walls of the deckhouseconsi st o f twe lve wooden panel s, f iveon each s ide, and one a t each end .

Acces s to the interior i sgained through a double door s ecured from the

inside by a sliding bolt. On the fore-deck isa small look-out or baldachin

supported on ten slender , elegant poles with lotus-bud f inials .

The boa t has a d isplacement of 45 tons and i s43 .4mlong; 5 .9m in the

66 A h u ja 'v boa t , wi l l I

artists imtnrssian q/mm

a w l f l /! . !{ i n g .

HO-\TS

70 Cross-section o f the

BU.\T B'ILD):C;



The vessel was originally propelled by f ivepairs ofoars and steered bv

two steering-oars suspended over either quarter. .68 Dec l:how, f lam a

m o de l o f th r h h uf u b oa t.

7 1 1t D a hs hu r b oa ts

Further evidence of early boat building techniques was provided in

1394-5 by the d iscovery by the Fr ench ar chaeolog ist ,j eanjacqucs de

Morgan, of about six - the exact number is unresolved hastily con-

s tructed boats bur ied in s imple pits beside the pyramid of Scnusr; tIII

atDahshur. These may once have either fanned part of the king's burial

equipment or belonged to other members of the royal familyL(fig. 69) .

Today , two a re located in the Cai ro Museum, one a t the Field Museum of

Natur al History a t the Unive rsi ty ofChicago , and ano ther a t the Carne -69 D ah shu r b oa l o f

Smu sve t nt.

planki f l }! , q/fhr Dohshur

b o a ! J/Wlcin,E !, d u c t -' f ls a n d

bulln1b ' -aamj Js .

gie Museum in P it tsburgh. The exac t whereabou ts of the o ther two ar e

unknown and i t has been sugges ted tha t they may s ti ll be a t Dahshur.

The vessels are round bottomed, broad in the beam and have gently

curving sheers. All are of similar shape and size and their individual

d imens ions valY from 9.2 to I 0.2m in length, 2 .24 to 2 .28m inwidth and

0.34 to 0.9m indepth. All display the same, traditional 'shell- firs t' method

of const ruct ion as the Khufu boa t.

In a recent ly publi shed book, Chery l Ha ldane has pr ov ided uswith an

excellent descr iption of the boat at the Carnegie. It i s bui lt -up ar ound a

keel-pl ank composed of three sections of wood joined together with

mor tisr -and-tenon joints measuring about 3cm deep and 3C111ide. The

longest plank is4.19m long, 1.2m thick and 3.55111wide at i ts maximum

point . The s trakes which form the s ides of the vess el a rc made of shortp ieces of wood joined a long the ir cdces with mort is e- and-tenon joint s

and shallow dovetail cramps inset into the wood from the inside. The

gunwales are made up of sections lashed together at their ends and

fas tened to the uppermost s trake by mor tise-and-tenon joints.

Unlike the Khufu boat, there is no internal sewing and there are no

strengthening f rames inser ted into the hulL Lateral s trength isprovided

by seve ra l c ross -beams which r es t in notches cut in the uppe r edge of the

topmost strake. These arc fned to the hull planking bv dowels and

secured by wooden pegs cut off flush with the outside of the hull. The

thick planking and the f ramework of cross-beams are suf ficient in them-

selves to cr ea te a s table hul l and render frames unneces sa ry ( fig. 70).

Aswas the custom, the hatches laid over the dcck-bcarns were rcmov-

able, a llowing the boa ts to be adap ted f or d iffe rent uses. Seve ral o f the

cross-beams have v-shaped lashing holes in their surfaces which Haldanesuggests may have been used to attach cleck furnishings .

The bow and stern arc cut off square, but they mav once have had

decorative finials since most have mortises at the bow. Although the

hull-planking was originally held together by mortise-and-tenon anclllat,

rlnupO;] rr;mms most of these hac! disauucarcd at the time of th«

no.vr llL"lLDl:>iG



the boa ts . When discovered, the decorat ion on the s tee ring-oa rs and the

posts on which they pivoted had for the most part disappeared, but the

..blue-wiggeeHalcon-headnvhieh-urigirraHy-demrated the-tops of-th-e-posts·

had survived on the p ieces inP i tt sburgh and Chicago. One boat a lso had

small area, ofwhite plaster on its hull, while one gunwale s ti ll preserved

some remnants of the thin b lue or b lack shee r- lines enc losed within one

or two thicker red l ines which once decora ted i t - a design pecul iar to

funerary boats.

Hal dane suggests that , in view of the shallowness of the butterflv

cramps holding the shell of the hull together, the vessels mav never in fa~t

have been used on the ri ver, but have functioned only ·as very large

models!

7I Boals m o or ed a t flu

j ,t !y a t t h e c i ty o f

A k h e t at e n . e l - Am am a .

DOCKYARDS/HARBOURS

Verv lit tle evidence has survived of the art if ic ial harbours and dockyard

workshops which must once have existed to accommodate and repair the

large number of boat s which sa il ed up and down the Ni le. The earl ie st

mention of a dockyard occurs on a seal of Queen Nimaathap from the

re ign ofPe ribsen of the Second Dynas ty , which ment ions a ' sealer o f the

dockyard workshop' , while the f ir st representation ofa private dockyard

occurs in the tomb of Rahotep of the Fourth Dynasty at Meidum. The

importance of such ins ta ll at ions i s a tt est ed much later by a paint ing in

the Sixth Dynastv mastaba of Kacmankh at Giza, which mentions a

dockyard/workshop and depicts the different rypes of boats manu-

fac tu red the re , togethe r wi th the tool s used to const ruct them.

Although there can be little doubt t hat in the majority of cases the

Anc ient Egyptians e ithe r dragged the ir boa ts up on to the rive r bank or

t ied up fore and a ft to mooring stakes , l arger c ra ft must have had more

elaborate ins tallat ions to accommodate thcm. Our only example of a

jet ty pro ject ing from a bank comes f rom a tomb at Amarna, da ting to the

reign of Akhenaten (1353-13:)5 Be ) (fig. 71). However, the titles of

various ind iv idua ls buried a t Giza and Saqqa ra show that dockya rds

must have ex is ted in the a rea f rom an early date. Nakht-zaes of the Fi fth

72 T-s h ap e d h a rb o ur

b e f o r e flu t e m p " 0 /A m un -R a a t K a r n ak .

was 'Carpenter of the great dockyard of the palace' . It appears that by

Tuthmosc ni's (1479-142511C) and Amenhotep rr's (1427-1401 Be ) time,a s et tl ement had grown up around the yards cal led 'Perunefer' or 'Good

Depa rture ' equipped with shipyards, t emples and gues t-houses fo r the

reception of foreign envoys. The same dockyards continued to f lour ish

during the Nineteenth Dynasty. Accounts from the reign of Sety I

(1306-·1290 Be ) mention ' the dock of the charioteer Her i-nefcr ' s ituated

south ofMemphis aswell asan 'Inspector of the dockyards ', and Papyrus

Lansing of the Twentieth Dynasty refers to the hardships endured by the

shipwrights who worked there.

Although lit tle evidence has survived of the harbours which served the

provincial to,",TISand cities, several depictions of temple harbours come

fr om the Eigh teen th and Nine teen th Dynas ti es. These s tood in fr ont of

temples and consisted of rectangular basins with quays which were linked

to the Nile by a canal. They were used not only to accommodate the

temples' l arge fleet s o f car go boa ts, but al so as mooring p laces f or thelarge ceremonial barges, such asthe Userhat .which were used to transport

the portable barks of gods from one locat ion toanother during r el ig ious

fe st ival s. Just such a T- shaped harbour, l inked to the Nile by a canal, is

dep ic ted in the tomb ofNcfc rhotep of the Eigh teen th Dynas ty . Th is was

located before the Temple of Arnun-Ra at Thebes during the reign of

BOATSBOAT BL;JLDING

A passage from an Act of Endowment of the Temple of Khons



todav by vis itors to Karnak. Other examples which once served the

mortuary temples of Amenhotcp Iand Turhmose ru at Thebes are

depicted in the tombs of Amenmose and Khons of the Nineteenth

Dynasty , whi le excavat ion has revealed t hat s im il ar h arbour s once ex -

isted a t the royal palace ofAmenhotep III at Malkata and the temple of

Ramses IIIa t Medinet Habu.

The existence ofa stone landing quay cal led the 'Head-of- the-Cana l'

( I eP sha , le p e n s h a) at t he t emp le ofDendera inUpper Egyp t would sugges t

that all the larger temples were similarly p r o v i d e d . A funerary papyrus in

the Bri ti sh Museum ment ions a c er ta in Nebamun, t he 'Ove rseer o f t he

Dockya rd o fAmun in th e Sou the rn City' ( th at i s,Thebes ), who may we ll

have had overal l responsib il ity for the harbour and yards located there .

instructs officials:

DOCKYARD ~"ID PORT PERSONNEL

Although the evidence issparse, i twould be reasonable to assume tha t the

most important towns possessed fac il it ies for the construct ion and main-

t enanc e o f boat s and the harbou rs a nd dockya rd s which served them.

These installations ( w e kh r y l, m e r y t, m e n u o t; must have possessed governing

bodi es admini st er ed by such men as Kenamun at Perunefer n ea r Mem-

phis and Nebamun at Thebes , and a host of other officials whos e work

was related to trade and ship construct ion: the weighers who measured

the g ra in s to red in the g ranar ies r ea dy for di st ri bu ti on and scr ib es who

kept records ofsuch transac tions; caulkers, sai l- and rope-makers and the

l ike; dock workers who unloaded the cargoes and stevedores who carriedthe me rchandi se to the s torage areas . Several pa int ings c lea rl y show

boats with gang-planks set inplace, whi le scenes ofmen unloading cargo

would suggest the existence ofport fac il it ies and a busy waterborne trade

in a variety of commodities.

Several passages attest to the existence ofa well-organised bureaucracy

in Egypt which ran the ports and policed the r ive r traffic. An Eleventh

Dynasty ste la mentions the 'Overseer ofa ll pol ice patro ls on water and on

l and ' whose duty i twas to re gu lat e r iv er t raf fi c and, i n sen si ti ve areas , t o

act asimmigration control officers. An inscrip tion a t Semna dat ing to the

e ighth year of Sen usre t III shows tha t the most str ingent measures were

t aken to preven t forei gner s f rom ent er ing Egypt , bywat er or by l and:

Southern boundary rnade inyear 8 ... toprevent any

foreigner from passing it doumstrearn or overland or by boat

[also] any herds offoreigners, apart frorn any foreigner who

shall com.e to trade at [ken or upon any good business that

ntay be done with them. (BAR I,§293)

... that their [that is, the temples'] ships be not stopped by any

patrol; that their ships benot taken by (lau:/iJIIeizure in

order to carry out the cormnissions of Pharaoh. (BAR IV,

§147)

The Nau ri and f ragment ary E lephanti ne de crees of Sety I(1306~ 1290

Be) and Ramses III (1194 1163 Be) forbid any pol ice patro l from detain-

i ng ships o f t he t emp le e st at es . The l at te r k ing a lso ' appoint ed s laves as

wa tchmen of you r [ th e Temp le o fKarnak] ha rbour , i no rde r t owat ch th e

harbour o f t he He li po li tan canal' (BAR IV, §266). Some time later , a

d emoti c documen t, d at ing to the reign of Da rius , i nforms us that , unde r

Psamtck I (c. 664-610 Be), a certain Padiaset and his son Srnatutefnakht

were 'Masters of the harbours or shipping' of Hcrakleopol is.

The same k ing al so p lac ed res tr ict ions on Greek t rad ing w ith Egyp t.

G reek ship s were requ ir ed to sail up the Canop ic b ra nch o f t he N il e a nd

discharge their cargoes at the newly established trading post ofNaucratis

in the western delta (Herodotus, Histories II, §154) .

The oldest reference towhat may bea control-point (opin ions diffe r) isto

befound in the inscrip tion ofDiehurvhotep ofthe Middle Kinzdom from

- CONCLCSIO:--;

help control the movement of the steering-oar.



Conclusion

From the late Old Kingdom Egypt ian shipwrights began tobuild boa ts

whose hulls were round bottomed and spoon shaped. As before, they

we re beamy and d rew l it tl e wat er .

Af te r t he close of t he Old Kingdom the pol e ma st g radua ll y bec ame

the principal method of sus pending the sail. Although stepped in the

same wav, it was not as high as before and was located closer to the

m id- li ne ·of t he vessel . F rom the same t ime the sai l was bent to a yard

which, b ec au se o f i ts i ncreased l eng th, was no rmal ly made o f two spa rs

l ashed toge the r at m id -point . The boom or lower yard wa s held agains t

t he ma st bv a par re l- Iashing wh ich al lowed i t to turn freely on i ts axis.

With the intr oduction of the broader sail from the beginning of the

Sixth Dvnastv a diffe rent method ofsuspending the sai l had tobe found.

At first 'the b'oom res ted directly upon the dcck and did not need any

s upport. However, with the intr oduction of a broader sail which was

carried higher above deck, the lower and upper yards had to be sup-

ported by ropes, called lifts. These ran between the yards and the

mast-head and were attached to a calee t or to a series ofprotruding rings

on either side of the mast, usually situated immediately below the

halyard-block.After the Old Kingdom the steering gear consisted ofa single, large oar

suspended over the ste rn or later , in the ."' lewKingdom, in a longi tudina l

r ece ss i n the ex tr eme s tern o f t he vessel . The int roduc ti on of t hi s f ixed

type o f s te er ing gear l ed to a reduct ion in th e numbe r o fhelmsmen f rom

around five in the Old Kingdom to one or two in the Middle and NewKingdoms.Di ff er en t t ypes o f boat s h ad a lso eme rged to mee t d if fer ent ne ed s:

p ilgr image boa ts, harem boats and escort boa ts to protect the nornarchs

in the t ime s o fc iv il unres t at t he dose of th e Old Kingdom.

Boats ofthe New Kingdom, and thereafte r, preserve the same general

f ea tu re s a s t hei r Middl e Kingdom predec essor s a nd such d it fer ences as

exist arc confined to their size and variety. The hull r etains its well-

rounded form. Cross-beams protrude through the side ofthe planking (0

give extra r ig id ity to the hul l and a much improved system of rope-truss

was introduced on sea-going ships. The deckhouse was enlarged and now

occupi ed the c en tr al por tion of t he ship and , on l a rge ships , t he mas t h ad

be come f ix ed . Sa il s wc re r igged much lower on the ma st a nd the ya rds

which carried them were often as long as the vesse ls themselves. Ornate

lookouts and kiosks were built on dcck and many of the ships were

e laborat el y decorat ed . The s tee ri ng-gea r r ema ined sub st an ti al ly t he

same as in the Middle Kingdom although extra rope-tackles were added

to give i taddi tional stabi li ty . The mast-head fix ture which supported the

s ta nd ing and running r igging wa s a lso imp roved and a rack on the de ck

"h"ft rhe-mast was added to secure the halyards.

In the Old Kingdom boats were flat bottomed and square ended with

b road , shal low hul ls s ti ff ened int erna ll y by the inser ti on of f rames and

cross -beams and by the addition of girt-ropes and trusses when s ea

voyages or a mo re demand ing rol e we re int ended. The s tern was gener -

al ly h igher t han the p row , wh ich wa s e ith er square ended o r ca rved into

the shape o f an an ima l he ad .

They we re equ ipped wi th a t al l, oblong sai l, n ar rowe r at t he base than

at t he head , wh ich wa s suspended on a bipod o r s tr adcl .l emas t, s tepped

wel l forward. Despi te t hei r h eigh t, however , t hey cou ld be uns tepped

when not inuse, and supported e ither on forked crutches orlowered on to

a gan try a t t he s tern, so that t hey would no t endange r t he vessel 's t rim.

On p rimi ti ve papyrus c raf t, t he sai l was perhaps o ri ginal ly made of

papy ru s mat ti ng bu t t his was soon rep la ced by l i nen wh ich wa s far more

durable . I t was secured to a fixed lower yard which rested on the deck and

was hoisted on a upper yard. The mast was securely stayed with a

back-stay and shrouds which are convent iona lly depic ted abaft the mast.

A fore- st ay was l at er i nt roduced. When the sai l wa s lowe red , t he ve ssel

was prope lled by a crew ofrowers who faced aft or bypaddle rs who faced

forward.

A simple awning orplai ted matting supported on a wooden framework

ofcross-poles and support ing columns, located abaft the mast, providedshe lter for the crew. Larger she lters extended a lmost the whole length of

the deck.

In the early part of the Old Kingdom, boats were steered by sever al

hand-held oars on each quarter, but by the late Sixth Dynas ty it had

become customary to lash the loom of the stccrinz-oar to a vertical

-BOATS



New Kingdom. Rarnses Ill'S warships certainly display novel features (the

so-called 'ram' in the bows, the fighting top at the mast-head and the

loose-footed sai l) , but one is i ll equipped to gauge the lasting influence

such i nnovat ions had on the ma ins tr eam t rad iti on of shipbuil ding in

Egypt . Perhaps the only significant naval event which occurred during

the Pharaonic period was the introduct ion ofGreek tri remes byNckau in

the "lwentv-Sjxth Dyna sty, but one suspec ts t hat t he se rnav have be en

little more than an alien graft - controlled as they were by Creek

mercenaries - on an otherwise resilient Egyptian boat-building tradition.

The papy ri ment ion 'Greek boat s' on the Ni le , bu t th e most common , t hebans, was sti ll constructed in the tradi tional Egypt ian way. Herodotus'

t es timony al so indi ca tes t hat t he more t ime-honou red method of boat

building was still very much alive and well in his day -' at least on

freighters - and;Tveil'ln-more r e ce n t T imes , the Nilotir: ~agg r ( l 1 ugga r ) still

preserved many of the fea tures ofi ts pharaonic predecessors.

Glossary of terms

Abaft behind, on the stern side of.

After-deck short raised deck on a platform at the stern.

Amidships i n t he midd le of t he ve ssel .

Back-stay a rope us ed to brace the mast agains t oblique pres sures

a nd u sual ly secu red to the s tern or la ter t o a rack inset

i nt o the main de ck in f ron t of t he s tee ring-oa r pos ts .

Beam extreme width of a vessel.

Bend to fix t he sai l to yards ready for hoisting.

BOOIn the lower yard t o wh ich i s f it ted the foo t of t he sai l.

Bow forward end of the vessel.

Bowlines rarely shown. These lines run from the leading edge of

the sail to a point forward to keep the leech flat when

the ship was sai ling on the wind.

Braces ropes attached to upper yards used to t rim the sail a t

a sui table angle to the wind.

Brails lines for shortening a loose:footed sail. Brails were

made fas t to t he foot , t ravel led up the forward sur fa ce

through fairleads sewn in vertica l rows, passed over the

yard and came down to the aft deck.

Break the sudden rise or fall of the deck when not flush.

Bulwark the part of the hull which frames the deck.

Butt of oar upper or handle end.

Carvel -bu il d vessel whose hul l p lank s a re l ai d f lu sh edge to edge .

Caulk to inser t mat er ial i nt o the seams o f th e de ck or

planking to make the junct ion watertight.

a n ar row long it ud inal t imber running down the middl e

of the vesse l from stern to stern at deck level.

a method of boat building in which the lower edge of

ea ch s ide p lank over lap s the uppe r edge of t he one

below it. Also known as 'lapstrakc'.

semic ircula r f langes or r ings fixed immedia te ly below

the haryard-block on ei the r s id e of t he mas t to which

the l if ts of the lower yard or boorn arc fixed.

a sho rt p iec e of rope wo rked grO»t»et fashion into- < - 1 - _ L ,_ l. ._ . c•.c~ _ _ :1

Central-

shelf

Clinker-

build

COInb

Cringles

thwarts ves sel that support the deck and give lateral rigidity to

BOATS

Loom

• . , •GLOSSARY OF "1"£,,".IS

that part of an oar which extends from its point of



the hull.

Deck a platform of planks extending from side to side of the

vessel or par t o f it .

Finials the wooden extensions fitted to the stem and stern of a

vessel.

Fore-deck a short, raised deck or platform at the bow.

Fore-stay rope running from the mast-head and secured to the

bow to support the mast.

Furl the operation of taking in the sail and securing it with

gaskets.

Loose-

footed

Mast-

support

step

Parrel-

lashing

'Passive'

frame

Gantry .. a raised wooden frame consisting of two upright posts

j oi ned by a c ross-pi ec e on wh ich the ma st could be

rested when unstepped.

Gasket

Quant

a rope, plaited cord, or strip of canvas used to secure a

sai l when fur led to ayard or boom.

Girdle-trus s the rope that encircled the boat just below the

gunwales.

Girt-rope

Grommet

Gunwale

Halyard-

block

Halyards

Hogging-

truss

Keel

Larboard

Ribs

Rowlock

the rope that encircled the prow and stern of the boat

t o which th e hogging-truss was attached.

a strand of rope laid up in the form of a ring. One ofits us es was to hold the oars to the thole-pins when

rowing.

the upper edge of the bulwark (line of planks above

the deck-line on the side of boa t) .

the block immedia te ly below the mast-head, p ie rced

w ith hol es t o t ake the halyards of the s ail and the

middle topping-l if ts of the upper yard. Sometimes

referred to as the 'ca leet '.

r ope s used to hoi st o r l ower sai l.

a he avy rope under t ens ion secu red a round the hul l at

the stem and s tern and suppor ted on one or more

stanchions above deck level. It provided longitudinal

r ig id ity t o the hul l i n t he absence of a ke el .

t he lowe st and p ri nc ipa l t imber o f a wooden ship on

which the framework (ribs and planking) of the whole

is bui lt up.

the lef t-hand side of the vesse l looking forward . Later~1~_ 1~.~_

Running

rigging

Scarf

Sheer

Sheets

Shell-first

Shrouds

Skeleton-

first

Standing

rigging

Strake

pivot to the but t.

term used of a sail the foot of which is not laced to a

boom.

the wooden support a t deck level which gave lateral

suppor t t o t he ma st . A lso known as a ' knee' , 'mas t

shoe' or 'tabernacle'.

tbe rope by which the lower yard or boom was held to

th e ma st a llowing i t suf fi cie nt f reedom ofmovement t o

be b rac ed a round to the w ind .

a cu rved timber -p iec e running f rom the hul l bot tom to

the side rai ls . Often inserted after the she ll ofplanking

forming the hu ll had been set i n pl ace to provide extra

lateral sti ffening to the hul l. Cf. Khufu boa t.

a pole used for prope ll ing a vesse l through sha llow

water.

the timbers of a ship which ris e from the keel to form

the shape o f t he hu ll .

a l ooped rope at tac hed to the gunwale o fa vessel t o

r eceive the oa r whi le row ing. See al so thole-pin.

ropes used to ho is t a nd cont ro l t he angl e o f t he sai l:

halyards, sheets and braces.

a beve ll ed o r wedge- shaped joint b etween two pi ece s o f

similar sec tion a t the join.

t he curve of t he hul l f rom s tem to s tern.

the r opes attached to the lower yard or boom, which

have the same funct ion a s the braces.

a method o fboat bu il di ng m which the shell-planking

isput in place before the other strengthening members

are fitted.

t he s tanding r igging of a sai li ng ship wh ich gives a

mast its lateral support.

a method of boat building in which a framewor k of

stems, kee l and ribs 1 5 first erected before being clothed

in a ' sk in' o fp lanking . Al so known a s 'frame-first'.

f ixed-r igging which had the funct ion of support ing the

mast. Includedfore-st~s, shrouds and back-stays.

th e name g iven to each l ine of p lanking wh ich run s the

length of the ship's hul l.

- -athwartship timber at the stern ofa vessel.TransoD1

. .



the way in which a vessel floats on the water in relation

to her fore-and-aft line.

Washstrake a removable upper strake attached to the gunwales to

keep out spray.

'I'rim

Yard a spar slung by its centre from, and forward of, the

mast, which serves to support and extend a square sail.

Further reading

ABUBAKR, A M . . WD MOUSTA FA A Y 'The

Funerary Boat of Khufu', B e i tr a ge r u r i i gy p t is c he n

Bauforschung und A l t e r iumskunde , 12 (1971),

pp.H8.

BA1!ES, j.R AND MAlEK j. Atlas o f A n ci en t E g yp t.

Oxford, 1980.

BAlLARD, G.A. 'Egyptian Shipping of About

1500 BC, AIM23, p. 89ff.

BOREAUX, c. E t u d e s de n a u uq u e i g y pt i en m . Cairo

1925.

BR£ASTED,J.H A n ci tn t R e co rd s o f EgyPt , I~V.

Chicago, 1906~ 7.

CASSO! , L S hi ps a nd S ei fa ri ng i n Ancient Times.

London, 1994.

CASSON L hips and S ea ma ns hi p i n the Aruieni

World. Princeton, 1971.

CERNY, j. A n c ie n t E ! ;y p ti a n R e l ig i on . London 1981.

EDWARDS,j.ES. The Pyramids o f Egypt.

Hannondsworth, 1978.

EMERY, WB A r c ha i c E g y pt . Middlesex, 1961.

FAULKNER, R.O. 'Egypti an Seagoing Ships ' i n

lE A 26 (1940), p . 3 ff .

FAULKNER, RO T he A na en t E !; yp ti an P yr am id T ex ts

t ranslated into English. Oxford, 1969.

FAULKNER, RO Th e A nc ie nt E !; yp ti an B oo k o f t h ,

Dead. London, 1985.

FAULKNER, RO Th e A n ci en t E g yp ti an C o ff in T ex t s. 3

vols. , London, 1973~8.

GARDINER, S IR AL\N Egyp t o f the Pharaohs.

Oxford, 196L

GL<\NVILLE, S.RK Catalogue o f Eg y pt i an A n t iq u it i es

i n t he B r it is h. M u se u m, vol. II, W oo de n M o de l B oa ts ,

rev ised and compl et ed by R.O . Fau lkner.

London, 1972.

GOTTLICHF..R, A. ANDWER.:\lER, w. S c h if fm od t lf . t i m

a l ta i A g y pt c n . Wiesbaden, 1971.

HARACHI , L , T h e O b e li s ks o f Eg y pt . S k y sc r ap e r s o f the

Pasl. London, 1978.

HALDAj\JE,C.W. AND PATCH, D,C. T Ie P h ar a oh ' s

boat al the Carnegie. The Ca rnegi e Museum o f

Natural Hisrorv. Pit tsburgh, 1990.

jAvtCCS, TG H A n I nt ro d uc ti on t o A n ci en l E g yp t.

London, 1979.

,JENKINS N T he B oa t b m eu tl i t he P yr am id . A ln g

C h ee p ': R o ya l S hi p. London, i980.

jf:QUI ER, G Fouilles a S aq qa ra h. u s / Jr ra mi de s d rs

remes Neil e t Apou t) . Cairo, 1933.

JONES, D. M o de l B o at s from t he T om b 0 / Tutankhamun(TutonkhamwI's T om b S er ie s J A] . Oxford, 1990.

KOSTER, A. Studien rur G'eschichu d e s a n t ik m

seeioesms. Leipzig, 1934.

1\NDSTROM B. Ships o f th e Pha raoh s: 1000 Fea rs o f

Eg y pt i an S h ip b u il d in g . London, 1970.

L1CHTHEIM M Ancient Egyptian Literature. 3 vols.

California, 1973~80.

MCRNANE, W J. T he P en gu in G ui de to A n ci en t E g yp l.

Harmondsworth, 1983.

NEWBERRY, P .E 'Notes on sea-going ships',

Journal o f Egyp tu J II Archa eo log y , 28 (1942), p. 64ff.

OCONNER D. 'Boat Graves and Pyramid

Origins' in Expedition, Th e Unioersuy Museum

Ma g a : : . i n e ifArdiaeology a n d A n t hr o po l o gy , Un u )f r si t yo f Pennsylvania, vol . 33 , no 3 (1991), p .Sff.

POCJADE, J. T r ai l F l o ti l la dr la v t i e m e D y na st ie d e s

P h am o ns ( D oc u me n t d 'a rc h io lo gi e n au a u, Fascicule

I). Paris, 1948.

Re ISNER, GA Mode l s of S hi ps a nd B o at s ( C at al og ue

g in e ra l d e ; antiquuis ~9Ptimnes du Mu s i c d u C a i re ) .

Cairo, 1913.

SAAD, ZY The E x ca va ti on s a t Hduan. Oklahoma.

University Press, 1969.

SAVE-SODERHERGH, T. The N m _ ? ' of l i te E ig hu en th

E g y pt i an D y n as t y. Uppsala 19+6.

SOLVER, CV Obeiisk-skib,. Copenhagen, 1943.

SPENCER, A j . D e at h i n A n ci en t E ! ;y p t.

Hannondsworth, 1982.

VANDlER J. A 4 a nu e l d ' ar c he o l og i e !:glptiennf, vol.v,

p. 659f[ Paris, 1969.

VINSON s. E gy pt ia n B oa ts a nd S hi ps . Shire, 1994.

-



Appendix

Reisner T Y P e JIA Type I s qu ar e c ut r ive r b oa t, 2 s te er ing -

oars (O.K.).

IB Type I I r iv er -b oa t wit h c ur li ng s te rn a nd

single steering-oar (O.K.).

IB Type III swamp boat, papyrus raf t f rom

predynast ic period down.

IB Type IV p apyrus form wooden boat ( O.K.

_loM.K).

2B Type V f uneral bar k of p apyr us form

(MK).

3A Type VI solar bark of uncertain structural

origin (M.K.).

4A Type VII divine barks of at least two forms

(all periods).

tN o te: O .K = Ol d K ingdom; M .K =Midd l e K ingdnm)

Tutankhamun types

Al 12boa ts . B ow s rounded. S in gle s te er ing -

oar i n c le ft a t s te rn . Mast and mast-suppor t

amidships. No sai l or rigging. Perhaps

derived from Reisner's Type II.

A2 2 boats. Similar to above but with a

deckhousc amidships.

A3 2 bo ats . S imi la r t o a bove but with a

deckhouse amidships and kiosk on forward

main deck.

B 8 bo ats . Bow and s te rn f ini als w ith no tch es

on underside. Double-roofed deckhouse

amidships. No mast. Double steering-oars

on each quart er . Lookout p la tforms on

fore- and after-decks. Three 'wi th cross-

beams protruding through skin of planking.

C 3 boats. Papyriform in shape, with pointed

stem and 'fish-tai l' shaped stern. Double

steering-oars. Mast and sai l. Kiosks on fore-

____<lJ:1.- .r lj if \f .r 'ck,kscSingle-rooled deckhouse

amidships with stairway abaft leading to

roof. Perhaps der ived from Rei sner 's Type

rY(').

D 2 boats. Pap}TUSfloat, papYrus umbel fore

and aft .

E 2 boats. Funerary/pilgrimage-boat.

Papyrus-umbel finials curving inwards at

bow and ste rn . Doubl e s teer ing-oars . Cf

Rei sner 's Type VII , Form l.

F 4 boats. Celestial ferry-boat/solar-boat.

Bow finial, upright ; stern finial curves

inwards before becoming vertical. Double

s teer ing-oars . Cf Rei sner 's Type V, Form

I.D id no t manoeuv re unde r s ail . Cf Khufu

boat.

Illustration acknowledgements

Abbm i a t i o » s

BM By courtesy of the T rustees of

the Bri ti sh Museum.

UC01 R ep ro du ced c ou rt es y o f t he

O ri en ta l I ns ti tu te o f t he

University of Chicago.

RO!vf Reproduced by c ou rt esy o f t he

Royal Ontario Museum.

Toronto.

F r on t { O ve r : B!\ f EA 9525

Filmtisp£ec t: Drawing by H. Parkinson

I BM

2 From \VJvLF. Petrie andJE.

Quibell, N a qa d a a n d B a ll a s 1 8 95 ,

London 1896, pI. LXVII (12,.

3 BM EA 10477 128.4 From V v T . B . Emery Archa ic . / i g } ' Pt.

Harmondsworth, 1961 p . 52, f ig .

12. Reproduce d by permi ss ion o f

Penguin Books Ltd. Origina lly

from vV .! \ . :1.F. Petrie, T h e R o ya l

Tombs of the Ea r l iest Dyna s t ies II,

London 1901,pI. X (2) .

From G.A. Reisner , Cata logue

g tn ir al d ss antiouius i t) 'P t ie nn tJ d u

Mus" du C a l r' , N o s 4798-4976 a5 0 3 4· · 52 0 0 , Mo d el s o f S h ip s a n dB o a ls , C a i ro , 1913, p. 102, fig. 362.

From H. Schafer , ~!DIK i, 1939,

p . 147 , figs 1-3

From L. Borchardt , Da s Rthe ilig tum

d e s K i in i g s } ( e - u J tr - R e( ( R a th u r es } , I,

D e c B a u . Berlin. 1905, p l. 5 .

8 From Nina de G. Davies, Sam

Pruate T om bs a t K u m oh , London,

1948, pl. 25.

BM EA 550:) -6.

10 From C. Lepsius, D e nh m ae le r a us

A e gp t en l i nd A e th i op e n, Dritte

Abt ci lung , BL 14.

II BM EA 10470/18.

12 VeOL From The Grea t Hypo s tvle

H a ll a t !tcJnlak.: The 'Va i l Re litfi ,

University of Chicago Orienta l

Insti tute Publica tions 102, VoL I,

Part I,Chicago 1981, pI. 38.1 3 R ep ro du ce d c ou rt es y o f t he Ro ya l

On ta ri o Mu se um an d Mr Douglas

Champion.

[4 Re pro du ced co ur t es v o f t he R oy al

Ontar io Museum and Mr Douglas

Champion.

1 5 R ep ro du ce d co urt es y o f t he R oy al

Ont ar io Museum and Mr Dougl as

Champion.

,fi Rv! FA 910.1.

~ V a q a dQ a n d B a l la s 189.5, London

1896, pl. XXXVI (80).

18 From]. Poujade , Tro is fio tn lle s de la

I l _ m ~ dynastie d e s p hom on s , Paris

1948, pis. V-\,II.

1 9 Ib id , p ls . r- rv

20 Dr-awing by H. Parkinson.

21 From C. \L FI rt h an d B .G un n.

E xc oi at io ns a l S aq qa ra , T ai P yr am id

C e m et e ri e s I I , P l at t s, Cairo, 1926, pl.

49. Reproduce d c ou rt esy o f

LInstitut francais d'archcologie

orientale.

22-26 From H.E. Winlock, M o de ls o J

Da i£> lift i n A n c i e n t E g y p tf r omtk T om b q( Ald . tt-Rec a t T h e be s

( The Met ropo li ta n Museum of

Art Expedition), Cambridge,

.Massachusetts, 1955.

27 D rawing f rom K .H . D it tmann,

JfDIK 10, 1941. p. 66, fig. 5

28 Drawing by H. Parkinson.

2 9 D raw in g b y H. Pa rk in so n.

30 from \V.B. Emery, A r ch a ic E g y pt ,

Harmondsworth 1961, p. 133, fig.

78. Reproduce d by permi ss ion o f

Penguin Books.

31 From H.Junker, E x ( {w a t£ 1 J TJ S a t

G i ; : : a rr; Wien-Leipzig, 194-0 , pt.

IV.

32 From G.A. Reisner , C a t a ! o g U f

g i ni r al d e s an t iqu i tes fg yp tien ru s du

M u s s e du C a m . Nos 4798-4976 d

5 0 34 -5 2 00 , M o d el s o f S h i ps a n dBoals, Cairo, 1913, p. 54, fig. 191.

33 UeOI. From T h , M a st ab a '!!Meteu ko . Part II, vol. XXX1X

Chi ca go , 1938, p l. 142.34 From CX. Lcps ius, Denkmaeler a S

A e g ptm W I d A e th i op m , Driuc

Abteilung, BI. 28.

35 ROM.36 Fr om R.O. FaulkI1t"r,JE-I 26,

19,],0,p. 5, fig. I.

37 F rom L . Bor char dt , DasGrabdmkmar - lH d e s ! t .? j n i g Sohu-Re ff ,

D " w o n d bi ld e r. Leipzig, 1913, pl.

13.38 From C.M. Firth and B. Cunn,

E x co u at io n s a t S a qq a ra , T en P yr am i d

Cemr tenes 11, Pla te s , Cai ro , 1926, p l.53. Reproduce d c ou rt esy o f

L'Institut francais d'archeologie

orientale.

39 BM EA 9509.

40 L. E pro n a nd H. Wi ld , Le tombeau

d e T i 11, La Chapdl" Cairo, 1939,

- '1 u s( ( d u C a ir e, " "' as 4798-4976 et

5034-5200, Models ~/Sh£j)Jand

Boa ls , Cai ro , 1~13, p . i), fig.

27th.

42 Reproduce d c ou rt esy o f t he :'Roya l

Ont ar io Museum and Mr Dougl as

Champion.

4 3 Dra wi ng b y H. P ark in so n,

44 From Nina de G. Davies, The

T o m b o j A n te f o kn , London, 1920,

p l. 18.

4 5 Dr awi ng b y H. E. Wi nl ock .

r ep roduce d c ou rt esy o f t he

Griffith Institute, Oxford.

46 BM EA 3716tl.

4 7 R ep ro du ce d c ou rt es y o f t he R oy al

On ta ri o Mu seum an d Mr D ou gla s

Champion.

48 ROM .49 Dra \-ving by Mervyn Evans.

50 From T h e S h ip 5 ift h e P h a r o a hs ,

London, 1970, p. 107, fig. 33{.

R~produced by courtesy of Bjorn

Landstrom

51 From R.O. Faulkner,]&126,

1940, p. 8. fig. 2.

52 F rom Ni na d e G . Dav ie s, TW

T o m b c f Am e n rm h r t, London, 1915,

pl. 12.

53 UCOI. From Ramscs I I I ' . 1 Tnnp le

H / it hi n t he G re at I n cl os ur e r fA m un If,Re lie f, a n d I n sc n pt i on s a t Earnok;

Oriental Institute Publications \01

x xx v, C hi ca go , 1 93 6, p I. 8 6.

54 UCOL From T he T em p /~ ci f KhnnsuVo l. If S c en e s c f ! t . i l l . ! f . Hcrikor i n t he

Cour t, University of Chicago

Oriental Instittl~( ' Ptlblica;ion~ \·01

100 , Chi ca go , 1979, p l. 20.

55 UeOl. Fr~1l1 E a ti ia R e co rd s ifRamses Ill,University of Chicago

Oriental Institute Publications

VJ!I, Medina Habu , vo]. 1, Chicago

1930, pt. 37.

5 6 F rom E. I \av il lc , Tears r e .ac fs au

myhs d'Horus r ecu titlr . , dam If; !~mple

d'Edfiu, Geneva. 1890, pl. VfI.

5 7 F rom L Borch ard t, Da sG r ab de nk m al d es A u mg J S ah u- re II.

Lei pz ig , 1913, p l. g .

5 8 Fr om S . Ha ss an . , _ z A s 80, 19j5, p.137, f ig. I.

59 UCO( From Rumses JIIS Temple

~'Vi thvi t (;rl'fli

R du fs a nd I ns cn pt io n. a t

Lniversiry of Chicago Orienta l

Institute- Publications XXX\ . \ 01

Reproduced courtesy of Bjorn

- BOATS

64 From L. Epron, F.Daumas. London, 1970, p. 90. f l g - . 275.

Bjorn



Landstrom.

6 1 F rom \V. S tev en so n- Sm it h, 7 71 1

. '1 r t a n d A r c b it m ur e q / A .! I( 1 .f 1 1 l~ P l ,

Bun gay , 1 96 5, p . 7 1, fi g. 3 2.

Reproduced courtesy ofYale

Universitv Press/Pelican.

62 From H.junker, E xc au at io ns a t

Oi:a. \Yien-Leipz ig. I~n+, . 156,

fig. 22.63 From \V.tvLF. Petrie, Xladum,

London, 1892. p i. x. Photograph

r ep roduce d c ou rt esy o f P .

S cr cmin a nd Y . Har pu r.

H. wild. U tombeau dr 711I, La

rhapel l t , Cairo, 193~, pl. 129.

Reproduced courtesy of L 'Insti tut

francais d'archeologie orientale

65 From P.E. Newberry. Bm i Has an I,

London, 1893, pl. :-:X1X.

66 RO~L

67 From T he S hi pj q/ lh . ( ' Pharaohs ,

London, 1Y70 . f ig . 29.

Reproduce d c ou rt esy o f B jo rn

Landstrom.

68 B~IF"\ :17l60.

69 from T I l. {: S h ip j o f thr Pharaohs ,

Landstrom

70 D rawing by Mervyn Evans.

7 1 F rom Ni na d e- G . Dav ies . Thr

Tombs ofEl-Amama 1~ London,

1905. p l. 5 .

72 F rom Xi na d e G. Da vie s, 7 71 1'

T om b ( !f .Y if i' r- Ho te p a t T he be s t,Nt:\\,

Yor k. 1933, p l. f~.

A.Adorat ion of the '1\,';0 Lands ' 6 '2

Ahrnosc (fung) 25, 30

Ahmose son o fAbana 6 -1

Abydos 3.1

Aha :33

Ahhotcp (,Queen) 30

Akhethotep-bcrv +1Akhnaten 80

Am-Duat 1 4

Amenmosc 82

Amenhou-p I, II, 1II25

Apophis (snake) 15

Apophis (king) 63

Aswan 63, 64

'Aten-G1eams' 64

B

Ballast 69

'Baris' 86

'Bcloved-of-Amuu' 62

Bipod mast 28, 37, 42--3 , 45, 84

Boat p it s 33

Book o f Cawms I 4

Book o f t he D e ad I 4

B oo k o f G al " I 4Book o f I17wt-is-in-thr-Undl'J7l'Drld

14Books o f t he D ay a nd . .( gh t 1·1

Boom 87

Bowlines 38, 87

Bow-su-i p 45

Brail s 60, 87

Busiris 18

'Hvblos-ship' 73

C

'Ca lcet ' 58, 85, 89

Carpentry 72

Car te r, Howa rd 32

Carvel-build 87

' ce dar ' 2 5, 7 3

Coffin Texts H

DDahshur boats 9, 19,26,78

Dar ius 83

de Morgan. Jcan .Jacques 78

Deckhouse 33, ·n, .11 , 54, 67, 77,85

Index

Djer ssDjchun'ho ,ep 82

Dockvard (wor-kshop) (U' fkhrcn

11, 80, 82

Dua l 14

E

EI-Kab 12, 32

Evening-bark (Illfsklfl) ll,35

F

Fer rvman 13

Fes ti va l o fIpet 23

Festival ofthe Perfect Reunion 22

Fes ti va l o f t he Val ley 23

Field of Rushes 12 .

Field of Offerings 12

Frames 37,77,79,84,89

Fight ing-top 61, 86

Funtrary/ pap)Ti form boats 19,

48,57

G

Gang-planks/landing-planks 69,

82

Geb 14

Gebcl ei n 11Girdle-truss '+2,45, 65, 88

Girt-rope 5'> 6,66,84,88

H

Ha rkhu f I 0

Harbor 23

Hatnl lb 65

Hatshcpsut 10,50,53,65,68

H ik e 14

Helwan 34

Hmu-bark 22

Herihor 58

Herodotus 9 , 60 , 75, 8'3

Heverdahl . Thor 45

Hieraconpol is 11

Hogging-t russ 4D-2, 53-6, 59

Horus 13 14,22 ,61

Hu14

Isis 19

JJi-quicr, Gustav 28

Kagnl li ll : )5

Kamcsr- f)3

Karnak 2 2 1 T , 6+. 82

Ken amun 82

Khaf ra . Ch cph re ») I I, 3+

Khasekhemwy ~)S

Khentkawcs :))

Khep ri 1 4

Khon s 82

Khufu (Cheeps) boa t 76

hiles 19

L

Lebanon 73

U,h t 19, 27

Loose-footed sailliG 61, 86

Luxor 23

M

Maat 14.23,67

Malka ta 82

Med ine t Hahu 59, 8 2

Meidurn 73, SCI

Meir 16,27,40

Meketr a 3 0, 7 1

Menkaura (~,fvccrinus) 34

Mcrcnra (kingJ65Mereruka 39, · i3 , 7+

Morka 62

Merytyeres 35

Minkh af 11

Mont (God ofwar) 67

Montuernhat ('Prince ofThches')

21

Mooring-stone 69

Morning-bark (malllijrt) 14, 35

Morti se -and-t enon 28, 79

l \[ut 21

N

l ia g gr 8 6

Nakbt-zaes 80

Na rmc r 11

Naucratis 83

Nauri decree 83Nebamun 82

Nebhetepra ~1cnt llhotep 30

Nckau 73,86

Nc fc rs he sh emra 10 I I

Nci th 28

Sobeknakht 32



l\ial1lUl- r epv- Kern '27

Ni-iuf-Ptah 80

Nimaathap 80

Ni-ka-nesut 71

Nyuserra 17,35 , +5

Nubia 11

Nun 14 -

Nut 14

Pvramid Texts H

Q

Q'l'a62

Qenamun 67

Quant pole 57

oObelisk barge 64

Osir is 18, 19, 22

R

Radjedef3+Rahotep 73,80

'Ram' 59, 86

Ramses Ill , YI 1+, 16,25, 58ff,

8Iff , 86

Reed floats ( s e k J z f lm ' I ' ) ' ) 14,H

Rekhmira 62, 67

Retjenu 25

p

Padiaset 83

Paher i 12

Palermo Stone 62

Papyrus skiff 9, 30, 36,H

Parrel 50 , 85, 89

Pepy I, II 27, 28, 39

Peribsen 80

Perunefer 81

Petosiris 32Pilgrimages 18

Piy (Piankhi) 61, 66

Pliny 45,66

Pole mast 49, 54, 85

Portable bark 20, 23

Psamtek 183

Ptahshepses 35

S

Sahura +0, 53, 55

'Sea People ' 59

Senedjemib-inti 65

Senusret III 19, 26, 34, 78, 82

Seth (brother of Osiris) 19Sety 11+,83

'Shell-first' build 75, 79,90

Seshemnefer 39

Shrouds 37,+2,49 , 5+, 84, 90

Sia 14'Skeleton'/Frame-first build 75,

90

GV 776.83 A2 J66 1995

(.01

000064745859

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 \ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 \ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 \ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 \ 1 1 1 IIa0000597'-lS8S9b

Smatutcfnakht 83

Sokar 22Steering-gear 38,43, .n, 51,55Sun boat 16

Sun-temple 17, 45

Sun-god 13--I-L 35

T

Tabernacle 43

Teti 35

Thole-pin 47, 51

Thoth 1+

Ti 73

Tura 65

Tutankhamun 32

U

Udja t - eye 20, 67

Unas 34, 64

Urias-Ankh 39

'Userhat' 22, 81

W

Wagon 59,61,86

Washstrake 36, 62

Weni 65

Wepwawet 14

Winlock, H. E, 30

'Winding-Waterway' 12, 13

Jones,Dilwyn.ancientEgyptianBoats

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