Egyptian Boats example essay topic

Boat building played a part in Egyptian life from its earliest times. The Niles slow flowing waters made boats an ideal and practical form of transportation. Boats played a role in everyday life and is shown in how they were used in religion, trade, war, and for transportation. In this paper a number of websites were used to help readers gain a better understanding of what Egyptian boats were like and their uses. Most of what we know today about the Egyptian river craft comes from full sized hulls that were buried with kings during prosperous times. The hundreds of models, paintings, and even life sized boats found throughout Egypt show the importance of the Nile in their lives (web).

Many scholars today believe that all seagoing ships are in some way derived from the boats of the Egyptians. The first recorded exploring expedition took place in 2750 B.C... This is known from the hieroglyphics that depict the story of Hannu (web). The Egyptians learned how to make water craft by lashing together bundles of papyrus reed bound together with string from reed fibers.

They used a variety of boats for doing different work. Huge river barges towed by a fleet of small boats would be constructed to move heavy loads such as stones for construction. Wide, flat deck boats called cattle boats, would be used by farmers to transport animals. The pharaoh used huge canopy boats that were called royal boats. The warship was another style that had a large bladed oar in the stern for steering. A warship usually had a wooden hull with papyrus rigging and cloth sail.

It must have been an amazingly large ship for its time, in that it needed around 250 soldiers. Where the Nile was to deep and wide to cross, ferries were constructed for crossing. Different nobleman would use grand boats for both business and travel (web). Most of the seagoing vessels were keel less, using a bipedal mast that carried a vertical sail. A rock often served as an anchor. These type of ships would need a large crew to operate them due to low sailing capabilities and often needed to be rowed.

These ships also could not sail into the wind, so that tacking was impossible. Therefore if the wind was unfavorable, rowing was the only way to move anywhere (nefertiti. iwebland. com). The ships of Tutankhamun's time were revolutionary in that the shipwright built the hull around a type of keel plank. This was not a traditional keel in that it consisted of many pieces fastened together, but it did serve as a center line for the ships construction. Another great difference was the addition of mortise-and-tenon joints which fastened the planks edge-to-edge (web).

Although timber was scarce in Egypt, which slowed interest in seafaring, it did not slow down trade. The Egyptians traded with Phoenician cities, importing Asiatic slaves, cedar wood and other merchandise (nefertiti. iwebland. com). Egyptian sailors sailed to Nubia, the Levant, the Sinai peninsula, and south to Punt. They went in search of luxury items like cedar trees, perfumes, spices, metals, stones, obsidian, exotic animals, and even dancing dwarfs. The ruler would redistribute these goods to the people that he favored, this act helped fuel the political system that was based on patronage. This also helped cities that controlled access to the trade routes to gain power and influence (web).

Ancient Egyptians believed that every person had two things, a ba, and a ka. The ba was a bird-soul which kept in touch with the friends and family of he dead. The ka was a persons invisible twin that would travel on a boat back and forth to the other world where gods and goddesses lived. Small boats were placed into the tombs so that the ka could travel.

If a body was not recognized by its ba and ka the person could not live forever. This is why bodies were mummified, so that the body would be recognized (web). Dead Egyptian pharaohs would be taken down the Nile in funeral boats to the pharaoh's temple. The most famous of these funeral boats is that of King Kufu. Of probably more than 1,244 pieces of wood used for construction, only 142 pieces remained of Kufu's (web). A remarkable discovery was found in the desert sands of Abydos, Egypt.

More than eight miles from the Nile a fleet of the oldest built wooden boats were found. 14 of the large vessels are dated to be from 3000 B.C. and are thought to be from 60 to 80 feet long (web). Carbon 14 dating can be used later to accurately date the ships between 200 years. At first the boats were beleive d to be models but now are thought to be viable vessels that could carry atleast thirty rowers (web). Another discovery was that of an Egyptian settlement found in the Orkney's, a small group of islands off of the coast of Scotland.

It was found in 1850 after a violent storm struck the island and uncovered the remains from underneath sand dunes. It was not known whether this was an official settlement or just a group of shipwrecked Egyptians. Hieroglyphics found prove the settlers to have been Egyptian, one translation is understood to be MER, which is a triangle, symbolizing a pyramid (web). Whether or not this group was shipwrecked or not, the distance they sailed from home proves the Egyptians to have been skilled sailors. These websites were very helpful and informative in gaining knowledge about Egyptian boats.

Each site was easily navigated and contained a surplus of facts. It is obvious that boats were a necessary part of everyday life. If it were not for the Egyptians unique religious beliefs we would not know very much about their water craft. Most of what we know comes from the paintings and models that were discovered in tombs..