A Brief Overview Of Ancient Boats Of North Africa

Written By Admin on Senin, 05 Agustus 2013 | 01.42

By Gamal Rasheed


Egypt was blessed with a massive water body known as the River Nile. Flowing over a vast expanse of land the River Nile was the ideal route for transportation across Egypt. To be able to utilize the waterway as a transportation route the Egyptians were required to construct boats. Ancient Egyptian boat designs varied based on the purpose that the boats were supposed to fulfill.

Primarily boats were made for the purpose of transportation, fishing and leisure activities. Ancient Egyptian boats can also be seen portrayed in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and they also played a huge role in Egyptian religion and mythology.

Abydos and Tarkhan are two of the places where plenty of Egyptian boat remains were sighted. The ancient Egyptian Kingdom did not reveal a sufficient level of information. An exact model of the ancient Egyptian boat was portrayed in the King Khufu's ship. It is a genuine representation of the ships constructed in those times.

Numerous boats from the first dynasty were found in Abydos. The boats possess a special plan of 25 meters and were about 2 to 3 m wide. With a depth of just 60 centimeters the boats could seat up to 30 rowers. They were characterized by prows and sterns that would narrow along the length and there is a considerable amount of evidence that demonstrates that the ancient Egyptians would also decorate their boats by painting on them.

An in depth study of the Egyptian boats was not possible because they were made with wood, which deteriorates with the passing of time. The majority of the historians are of the view that Cedar was used for boat construction during the first dynasty.

The technical ways of construction have also been determined by archaeologists. Trees were cut and then wooden planks were made. They were lashed and smoothed by vigorous scrubbing and then a mortise was used to finish the process. After the structure was erected, the tiny seams were sealed by using many reeds. This prevented water from entering the boats. If the covering of the boat was removed, it can be seen that the shape is not perfect, because they did not use any supportive frame as in today's boats.

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and pictures are loaded with images of boats and ships. The tombs and temples at Medinet Habu and Deir el Bahri are particularly popular in connection with this as the walls of these structures display many different models of ancient Egyptian boats.

It is through these hieroglyphics that historians have been able to assess the boat making tradition in ancient Egypt a lot more than the actual remains that have been discovered. Nonetheless historians have very little knowledge about how the ships were constructed in the new Kingdom.

Boat building and ship building found favor amidst the state authorities also. Pharaoh snerfu and some others helped develop this skill so the navy of Egypt became efficient. Other than this, recreation and fishing also enhanced boat building.




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