Journey to the Ancestors: Pharaoh's Cedar Boat
Construction of an ancient Egyptian ship on the wall in the tomb of Ti - the overseer of the pyramids of the pharaohs Niuserra and Neferirkar in Saqqara
These ships were built in a new way -
the fight against the waves of the Great Arc was not in vain.
The tall and straight prows were covered with hardwood boards,
the strong deck did not have a single hole,
not covered with tight lids.
The steering wheels were placed on a high stand,
protected from the waves
the bottoms of the ships were covered with thin sheets of gold,
to avoid wood being destroyed by sea worms. I. Efremov “The Journey of Baurjed”
the fight against the waves of the Great Arc was not in vain.
The tall and straight prows were covered with hardwood boards,
the strong deck did not have a single hole,
not covered with tight lids.
The steering wheels were placed on a high stand,
protected from the waves
the bottoms of the ships were covered with thin sheets of gold,
to avoid wood being destroyed by sea worms. I. Efremov “The Journey of Baurjed”
History and culture. How do we know what the ships of Ancient Egypt looked like? Oh, the historians were lucky here, one might say, twice or even thrice!
Firstly, the Egyptians repeatedly depicted them on frescoes and bas-reliefs, and secondly, their models, together with the crew, were discovered by archaeologists in the tombs of various dignitaries and even in the unlooted tomb of Tutankhamun.
Moreover, even if something in the past was taken from it, then the vandals certainly would not have needed the ship models, but they were useful to us, and even very useful, since they accurately convey the appearance of the ships of that time down to the smallest detail.
By the way, so many boat models were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb that it was time to organize a separate exhibition of them. But there were also models from the tomb of Meketre, many of which are today exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Model of a boat from the Meketre tomb, 1981–1975. BC e. (plastered and painted wood, linen, linen twine, copper). And what kind of fish they caught, just look! Lying on the bow of the boat... Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
However, all these finds were just models, and nothing more. No one could have imagined that one day it would be possible to find the remains of a real ancient Egyptian ship. Although it has been said more than once that this is possible. After all, in Egypt it is very dry and hot, so rot practically does not start there. In any case, in those places where there is no shade and moisture, or, on the contrary, where there is shade, but the atmosphere is the driest.
And such an amazing place was found, very close to the so-called Great Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu or Cheops, as he was called in Greek. This artifact was preserved also because the boards of this ship were made of Lebanese cedar, the wood of which is very durable, fragrant and not subject to rotting.
Cedar wood has been valued for its unique properties since ancient times; it is even mentioned in the Bible. Cedar wood was widely used by Phenician shipbuilders. And Phenicia paid tribute to Egypt with it, and this is how cedar wood ended up on the shores of the Great Hapi.
However, all this was unknown until something extraordinary happened on May 26, 1954: the “Solar Boat” of Pharaoh Cheops was discovered next to the Great Pyramid.
“Solar Boat” – view from the bow
And it so happened that after World War II, the Egyptian government decided to tidy up the pyramids in Giza and make them more attractive to tourists. They began to remove the accumulated garbage from the pyramids, clearing them of dirt and sand, so much so that they poured an entire mound at the foot of the Great Pyramid.
"Solar Boat" - view from the stern
Naturally, we had to remove it later, and it was here that the workers came across a ceiling made of carefully hewn sandstone blocks 60 cm thick, while the width of the row was about 5 meters. The total number of slabs in the ceiling reached 40, that is, under them there must have been something rather narrow, but long.
View of the middle part and the “cabin”
The "pit" in which the boat was located. Now two more similar vaults have been found, and another one also with a boat, which at that time they decided to leave in place
On one of the slabs they found the name of the pharaoh “Dzhedefra”, who was the son of Cheops and whom Ivan Efremov brought out in his “Journey of Baurjed” as a “positive character”.
It was suggested that the container under the slabs could hide a boat. And the excavations immediately continued.
"Museum of the Solar Boat" at the foot of the Cheops Pyramid. “The Solar Boat” is exhibited here
Let's come closer to him...
In order not to work in vain, they made a hole in the joint of the slabs and, in order to at least see something in the dark, using a pocket mirror they launched a sunbeam into the depths. And they saw... A huge blade of a long rowing oar. And then everyone around felt the aroma of cedar wood, which had been accumulating in this dungeon for almost five thousand years.
A fragment of a board from the ship's side plating was taken for examination and sent to the chemical laboratory of the British Museum. There they confirmed that it was cedar wood, and it was so perfectly preserved because the hole in which the boat was located was not only covered with stones, but also all the cracks between them were tightly covered with plaster. It was decided to preserve such a unique find at all costs.
They built a canopy over the pit and began to remove the ceilings from it using a crane. The work required great care, so the stones took two months to remove.
Photo from 1954. “What a designer!”
When all the details of the ship, dismantled in antiquity, were handed over to the chief restorer of Egyptian artifacts, Haj Ahmed Yusef Mustafa, he immediately encountered many problems, which were very difficult to solve. In fact, in front of him was a puzzle made of wooden parts. But no one knew in what order they should be collected!
The work was simply hellish. After all, all fragments of the structure had to be sketched on paper or photographed. Only then could they be removed from the pit. Moreover, they were immediately treated with chemicals, since artifacts that had lain in the ground for thousands of years could crumble into dust in an instant when they came into contact with fresh air.
Copies of all the parts were made, and there were 1 of them, in a certain scale, and they began to work with them first. The work was creative, very interesting, but incredibly labor-intensive.
At the same time, wall bas-reliefs depicting ancient Egyptian ships were studied in order to understand how they were assembled into a single whole, since neither the keel nor the frames of archeology were ever found!
But they came to an important conclusion: the sheathing boards were tied together with rope, pieces of which were found here in the pit. The boards were fastened like this: a hole was made in the board on its wide side, and it came out through the edge, that is, it had an L-shape, and the rope was passed through it. Therefore, it was not visible from the outside at all. It turned out that the boards were laced together! At the same time, the lacing was very tight, durable and, moreover, should not allow water to pass through.
Restoration work lasted for fourteen years. Mustafa made as many as five models of this vessel until he figured out how best to assemble it.
As a result of all this work, the restorers came up with a ship over 43 meters long, almost 6 meters wide and with a displacement of 45 tons. The draft of the boat was 1,5 meters, which is not much for a sea vessel, which means that it was intended for sailing exclusively on the Nile.
It was possible to prove that before getting into the storage chamber, the ship had a chance to sail along the Nile, as traces of river silt were found in the ropes. And since there is only one river in Egypt, it was clear what waters it floated on and where it accumulated river mud.
Of course, the technology for building the boat was amazing: it was sewn together board to board, as if putting together a giant mosaic. And it immediately becomes clear why it was difficult for the Egyptians to sail the seas: powerful waves could break the ropes and this whole ship puzzle would fall apart piece by piece. That is why the Egyptians invited Phoenician sailors to travel around the African continent, and they most likely made this voyage on ships, again, made of Lebanese cedar, but only of a different design and more durable.
Well, the Cheops boat was probably intended to transport the body of the pharaoh from Memphis to Giza. The ship was being towed down the river. And as soon as the mummy of the son of the god Ra was in place, the boat was immediately dismantled into pieces and buried, and thus saved it for us - their descendants.
Steering oars
Well, the scientists did everything possible (and even a little more) to keep this ship safe and sound. A building of original architecture was built next to the pyramid, in which the “Solar Boat” is exhibited today. Every year it attracts many tourists who want to see such an ancient ship with their own eyes! Gaze at his wonders.
So, if you find yourself in the Valley of the Pyramids, be sure to visit this museum! You won’t have to regret it, although there seems to be nothing special about it. Just a long, oddly shaped boat with several steering oars and a “cabin” in the middle.
This is how the boards were tied together with ropes!
In 2011, some parts of the second rook were brought to the surface for analysis.
If the possibility of restoring this ship is confirmed, it will be restored and placed in the place of the first one. And the large “Solar Boat of Cheops” will become an exhibit of the new Great Egyptian Museum, which is scheduled to open in Giza. It was built a long time ago and several tens of thousands of exhibits from the old Cairo Museum have already been moved into it.
In July 2023, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities stated that he expected the opening between October 2023 and February 2024...
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