Egypt
Discovery News
See the above link for more information and a video.
- Exhibition: Seafaring Expeditions To Punt
Ahram Online At the entrance hall of the Supreme Council of Antiquities' (SCA) premises in Zamalek, a dozen of journalists, photographers and TV anchors gathered as well as archeologists and top governmental officials trying to have a glimpse of the...
- More Re Wadi Gawasis
http://www.physorg.com/news11247.htmlAnother item covering the find made by Boston University and the University of Naples l’Orientale, who uncovered remains of sea-faring ships and cargo boxes containing goods from the lost-land of Punt, in caves at...
- Sailing To Punt
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/782/hr2.htm"The long-held belief that the Ancient Egyptians did not tend to travel long distances by sea because of poor naval technology proved fallacious last week when timbers, rigging and cedar planks were unearthed...
- Ancient Ship Remains At Red Sea Port
http://tinyurl.com/bae3l (Monsters and Critics)"The remains of a ship used by ancient Egyptians for commercial trips to the fabled land of Punt have been discovered in five caves engraved in a port on the Red Sea. The find, in the Marsa Gawasees area...
- Ancient Coils Of Rope
Rope coils found in a cave may be from a 4000 year old expedition to the fabled land of Punt. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/06/20/rope-cave-egyptian.html...
Egypt
Coils of Ancient Egyptian Rope Found in Cave
Discovery News
The ancient Egyptian's secret to making the strongest of all rigging ropes lies in a tangle of cord coils in a cave found in a hand-hewn cave at the ancient Red Sea port of Marsa Gawasis, 23 kilometers (14 miles) south of Safaga.
Discovered three years ago by archaeologists Rodolfo Fattovich of the Oriental Studies University of Naples and Kathryn Bard of Boston University, the ropes offer an unprecedented look at seafaring activities in ancient Egypt.
"The cave is really spectacular. Over 30 coils of ropes lie on the ground as if they had just been left there. Amazingly, these ropes were stored in the same way as nowadays sailors store their shipping cords -- just coiling and tighting them in the middle," archaeologist and rope analyst Andre Veldmeijer told Discovery News.
"Each cord is about 30 meters (98 feet) long and is very thick. No doubt these ropes were made for strong, heavy duties, Veldmeijer said. The theory is supported by the fact that the estimated length of the Egyptian ships is about 10 meters (33 feet) shorter than the ropes' lengths. This shows that sailors had five meters (16 feet) at both ends to tie the ropes.
The researchers believe they are the well-preserved riggings from an Egyptian seafaring expedition to the fabled Land of Punt (around present-day Somalia), in the 12th Dynasty, almost 4,000 years ago. The most famous expedition to the mysterious and exotic Land of Punt was conducted during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut and is described in bas-relief inscriptions in her funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri.
They are still puzzling over the material the ancient Egyptians used to make such a strong cordage.
Archaeologists have also found remains of ship timbers, anchors, expedition equipment, cargo boxes and pottery.
See the above link for more information and a video.
- Exhibition: Seafaring Expeditions To Punt
Ahram Online At the entrance hall of the Supreme Council of Antiquities' (SCA) premises in Zamalek, a dozen of journalists, photographers and TV anchors gathered as well as archeologists and top governmental officials trying to have a glimpse of the...
- More Re Wadi Gawasis
http://www.physorg.com/news11247.htmlAnother item covering the find made by Boston University and the University of Naples l’Orientale, who uncovered remains of sea-faring ships and cargo boxes containing goods from the lost-land of Punt, in caves at...
- Sailing To Punt
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/782/hr2.htm"The long-held belief that the Ancient Egyptians did not tend to travel long distances by sea because of poor naval technology proved fallacious last week when timbers, rigging and cedar planks were unearthed...
- Ancient Ship Remains At Red Sea Port
http://tinyurl.com/bae3l (Monsters and Critics)"The remains of a ship used by ancient Egyptians for commercial trips to the fabled land of Punt have been discovered in five caves engraved in a port on the Red Sea. The find, in the Marsa Gawasees area...
- Ancient Coils Of Rope
Rope coils found in a cave may be from a 4000 year old expedition to the fabled land of Punt. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/06/20/rope-cave-egyptian.html...