Dahshur boats

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Dahshur boats
Barque-photo2-sesostris3.jpg
One of the boats during excavations
TypeFuneral boats
MaterialCedar wood
Long10 metres (33 ft)
Width2.3 metres (7.5 ft)
Createdc. 1870-1831 BC
DiscoveredDahshur
Discovered byJacques de Morgan
CultureAncient Egypt

The Dahshur boats are a group of ancient Egyptian funeral boats, originally numbering five or six, discovered near the funerary complex of the 12th Dynasty pharaoh Senusret III.[1]

Excavation[]

The boats were found during excavations conducted on the plain of Dahshur in 1894 and 1895 by French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan.[2] His original excavation report recorded six boats; however later reports by de Morgan stated there were only five.[1] The boats fell into obscurity until a study of the Carnegie boat and the Chicago boat was conducted in the mid-1980s.[2] As of 2022, the locations of only four of the boats are known; two are in the United States, one in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, and one in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The remaining two boats were on display in the Cairo Museum, but were relocated to the in 2020.[1][3]

Characteristics[]

A drawing of one of the boats made by Jacques de Morgan

The boats are each about 10 metres (33 ft) long and constructed of cedar wood.[1][4] They were once vibrantly painted, with white decks and either green or yellow hulls.[1]

Construction techniques[]

All four of the boats currently exhibit dovetail fastenings between the planks, which are not seen on most examples of ancient Egyptian watercraft.[1] Dovetail joints are commonly seen in ancient Egyptian furniture construction, and other wooden objects, such as coffins. It has rarely been observed on archaeological and iconographic records of watercraft.[1] More commonly, a system of rope lashings combined with mortise and tenon joints was used instead. This helped to keep the hull planks from separating under stress.[1] The only place this is visible on the Dahshur boats, is at the bow, stern, and the uppermost strake.[1] Dovetail construction was also found on the sledges found near the boats.[1] A theory has been proposed stating the dovetail joints found on the boats are instead simply lashing cuts that were modified after the boats excavation.[1][5] However, in 2006, excavations at the 12th Dynasty port of Wadi Gawasis claim to have uncovered boat timbers that employed dovetail joints in the same way as the Dahshur boats.[1][6]

Function[]

A drawing of one of the sledges made by Jacques de Morgan, showing a dovetail joint

The boats are thought to have been used to carry the body of the Senusret III down the Nile, and were then transported over land to his Pyramid by sledges.[1][5] These sledges were found buried next to the boats during de Morgan's excavations.[1]

The Carnegie boat[]

The Carnegie boat was donated to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1901 by Andrew Carnegie. When he purchased the boat he did not tell the Museum Director, W.J. Holland. When the boat arrived, Holland told The Pittsburgh Times he “had not been in correspondence with anyone regarding such a relic.”[7] It is on display in the Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt.[8]

The Chicago boat[]

The Chicago boat was acquired by the Field Museum of Natural History in 1900, and has been on display in the museum since then.[4][9]

The Red boat and the White boat[]

The two boats in Egypt were both given their names by de Morgan. However, they are officially known only by their General Catalogue numbers: GC 4926 for the Red boat and GC 4925 for the White boat.[1] The boats were displayed in the Cairo Museum from 1910 to 2020, when they were relocated to the Sharm El-Sheikh Museum.[3][10] During their move to the Sharm El-Sheikh Museum, the two boats were transported using a stainless steel chassis for easy movement and lifting.[10]

The fifth boat[]

The fate of the fifth boat is unknown; one theory is it exported to a museum in Europe, and another is it was left at the excavation site in Dahshur. It has also been theorized that it was destroyed by fire, supported by evidence of charring on one of the boats in Egypt.[1]

Images of the boats[]

  • The Chicago boat

  • Close-up of the Chicago boat showing an oar

  • The Red boat

  • The White boat

See also[]

  • Abydos boats
  • Ancient Egyptian technology
  • Khufu ship

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "THE CAIRO DAHSHUR BOATS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-05-07.
  2. ^ a b "The Cairo Dahshur Boats, a Digital Exhibit". cairodahshur.imrd.org. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  3. ^ a b "Sharm El-Sheikh Museum receives King Senusret III boats from Egyptian Museum in Tahrir". EgyptToday. 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  4. ^ a b "FMNH 31760.nosub[2] | Anthropological Collections". collections-anthropology.fieldmuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  5. ^ a b "introduction to Nautical Archaeology Notes - The Royal Ship of Khufu". nautarch.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  6. ^ "4,000-year-old shipyard unearthed in Egypt". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  7. ^ "Did you know that in addition to needing a larger museum..." Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  8. ^ "Funerary boat". Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  9. ^ "4,000-Year-Old Funeral Boat Gently Moved into Elaborate Museum Tomb Scene".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b "Sharm El-Sheikh Museum Receives Artifacts ahead of Opening - Sada El balad". 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2022-01-01.

External links[]

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