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SHIPS AND BOATS OF EGYPT

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Bianca
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« on: January 05, 2008, 09:41:52 am »



Middle Colonnade Relief, South Side
Relief Depicting the Expedition to the Land of Punt   








A thousand years later, shipbuilders were designing the ships that were shown on Hatshepsut’s reliefs. These had graceful lines and were faster than Sahure’s ships. The sail was broader, not as tall as before, extremely wide. There were fifteen rowers along each side, the overall length of these ships must have been about 90 feet. This gave not only more strength but was easier to construct., and permitted the use of a much shorter mast. Trade with Punt was steady and enriching.

Also, obelisks for her temple needed to be transported from Aswan quarries. These obelisks were each almost 100 feet high, and the barge built to ferry them was some 200 feet long with a beam of 70 feet. The barge had three rows of crossbeams instead of just one. It required almost 30 oar-driven tugs, each with 30 rowers, to tow that barge.

During the reign of Tuthmosis III, Hatshepsut’s successor, Egypt’s trade increased still more. Punt provided incense, ivory, and rare woods. Copper was brought from Cyprus and silver from Asia Minor. One king of Cyprus in turn requested horses, chariots, a wooden gold plated bed, jars of oil. In another letter he requests a sorcerer who is expert with eagles. These things all could only be shipped by sea. A record of such trade activity stands as a painting on the wall of the tomb chamber of Kenamun, official under Amenhotep III.

The decades just before and after 1200 BCE were politically troubled for Egypt. A wave of invading peoples came out of the eastern Mediterranean right to their very shores. Ramesses III repelled this invasion, celebrating his victory by carving on the temple wall an account accompanied by reliefs describing the sea battle. The description of the Egyptian ships shows that their warships at least have become shorter and heavier in the hull, the anti-sagging truss has disappeared, indicating that some other method of inner strength had been utilized. The elegant curved stern, too delicate for war, was replaced by an undecorated sloping stern and the sternpost replaced by a simple projection ending in a lion’s head. Egypt had joined the rest of the Mediterranean in building its watercraft for war.





Sources:


The Ancient Mariners by Lionel Casson

Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times by Lionel Casson


http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/shipsandboats.htm
« Last Edit: January 05, 2008, 10:48:29 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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