A scene in the tomb of Nebamun has been accepted without reservation since 1904 as portraying a Syrian patient sailing to Egypt in a Syrian ship while onshore he is being sent off by Syrians standing beside Asian humped bulls hitched to Syrian chariots. An analysis of this ship’s features indicates it is an Egyptian…
Notes on the Mediterranean and Red Sea Ships and Ship Construction from Sahure to Hatshepsut
A comparison of depictions of Sahure’s Mediterranean and Red Sea ships suggests that the latter were smaller and lighter. Details from these reliefs with a comparison of structural features from the Khufu I vessel suggest that both types of Sahure’s ships were designed to be broken down and rebuilt. Moreover, Sahure’s small ships may have…
An Analysis of Two Theories Proposing Domestic Goats, Sheep, and Other Goods Were Imported into Egypt by Sea During the Neolithic Period
Based on her work in the Sinai and an evaluation of the appearance of domestic goats and sheep at sites in northeast Africa, Angela Close has proposed a sea route connecting the Sinai and Egypt as the entry point for these animals c. 7000 BP. In an earlier work Béatrix Midant-Reynes had proposed that turquoise,…
The Earliest Sailboats in Egypt and Their Influence on the Development of Trade, Seafaring in the Red Sea, and State Development
Based on iconography and trade patterns, Egyptians first outfitted their vessels with sails during the beginning of the Naqada IIc period. As a result, the Nile became such an important trade network that settlements moved from the desert fringes to the Nile floodplain. Furthermore, sailboats were the primary catalyst for the spread of Naqada culture…