Ancient Egyptian Boats

Written by Dr. Sherin ElKhawaga


Continued from page 1
Over time, ancient Egyptians created and utilized three types of boats, each with its own purpose. Simple reed rafts were used mostly for hunting in marshes and as time progressed, they were used less frequently onrepparttar Nile. Wooden boats generally replaced papyrus rafts for Nile travel, and, since they were faster and more stable than rafts, they were also used for transport. Eventually stronger wooden boats were used for lengthy ocean excursions as well as to transport boulder blocks weighing many tons and obelisks weighing hundreds of pounds from quarries to pyramid and temple building sites. The third type of boat wasrepparttar 109443 papyriform boat, made technologically similar to wooden boats but withrepparttar 109444 shape of an elaborate papyrus raft in order to maintainrepparttar 109445 connection to royalty and gods. These ships appear to have been used as pleasure boats and transportation for royalty; they were also used as funerary boats and burial boats, as well as in religious events like pilgrimages and transportingrepparttar 109446 statue of a god. The famous Royal Ship of King Cheops (fourth dynasty ruler ofrepparttar 109447 Old Kingdom), more formally known as Khufu, is a perfect example of a papyriform boat. Discovered around 1954,repparttar 109448 Royal Ship is still considered to be one ofrepparttar 109449 world’s most outstanding archaeological artifacts. The ancient boat had been dismantled into 651 separate parts, and its nearly perfectly preserved timbers were found in 13 scrupulously arranged layers that were buried in a sealed boat pit which was carved intorepparttar 109450 Giza plateau’s limestone bedrock. It took years forrepparttar 109451 boat to be painstakingly reassembled, primarily byrepparttar 109452 Egyptian Department of Antiquities’ chief restorer, Ahmed Youssef Moustafa (later known as Hag Ahmed Youssef). Once completed,repparttar 109453 Royal Ship measured approximately 150 feet in length. The timbers were made of Lebanese cedar whilerepparttar 109454 pegs and other small parts were made from native acacias, sycamores and sidders. Cedar was not new torepparttar 109455 Egypt of Cheops' time - it had been found in predynastic graves, indicating to modern archaeologists that trade had occurred with Lebanon at least as far back asrepparttar 109456 end ofrepparttar 109457 fourth millennium BC. Egyptians had what has been termed as an "emotional need" for trade with Lebanon because of that country’s large supply ofrepparttar 109458 invaluable resinous woods and oils so necessary in Egyptian funerary customs. Trade with Lebanon had to be conducted over water, becauserepparttar 109459 Egyptians had neither wheeled transportation nor heavy draft animals, andrepparttar 109460 brutal desert regions through which they would have had to travel hosted hostile tribes. The supposition is that heavy ships and smaller trading ships were most likely constructed inrepparttar 109461 Nile Valley, then dismantled and carried piecemeal to Qoseir where they were reassembled and put inrepparttar 109462 sea. In general, sea-going boats were referred to byrepparttar 109463 ancient Egyptians as "Byblos boats" becauserepparttar 109464 earliest seaworthy boats’ initial trade was withrepparttar 109465 Lebanese port town of Byblos. Transportation and trade were notrepparttar 109466 only reasons for seaworthy boats to be built in ancient Egypt. The pharaohs also recognizedrepparttar 109467 need for a powerful navy. Many pharaohs achieved incredible feats with their fleets, such as Queen Hatshepsut’s voyage to Punt, but fromrepparttar 109468 20th dynasty on, they improved their ships even more by copying some ofrepparttar 109469 more advanced models used by other cultures. Herodotus describesrepparttar 109470 Egyptians as having boats "in great numbers" and carrying "many thousands of talents’ burden". Papyriform boats were also used to transport images of important gods, but these vessels were never intended to be put inrepparttar 109471 water. The image ofrepparttar 109472 god would be placed upon a gold encrusted papyriform barque studded with gems that was carried onrepparttar 109473 shoulders of priests who took it to its place of honor. If this journey included a trip onrepparttar 109474 Nile,repparttar 109475 golden barque was put on a papyriform transport boat and taken to its destination. From boat pits such as those of Cheops and at Abydos, we know that actual full-sized boats were buried withrepparttar 109476 dead to take them on their journey inrepparttar 109477 afterlife, but byrepparttar 109478 twelfth dynasty this practice became too expensive. So instead, models of boats were placed inrepparttar 109479 tombs, which would serverepparttar 109480 same purpose asrepparttar 109481 full-sized vessels. In addition to models of boats, there were also miniature models of daily life, including bakeries, butcher shops, and potters’ studios. These models have given archaeologists wonderful glimpses into ancient life. While royal papyriform vessels remained relatively unchanged throughoutrepparttar 109482 centuries,repparttar 109483 hundreds of model boats found in private tombs show a tremendous variety of shapes. Unlike court artisans who were strictly held to tradition, private artists could customize their clients’ models according to their wishes or they could produce models with their own creative touches, as long as they stayed within certain basic limits. Even lighthouses were developed in ancient Egypt under Ptolemy Soter (circa 290-270 BC). The Pharos lighthouse of Alexandria may have beenrepparttar 109484 first Egyptian lighthouse, as there are no records describing earlier ones. The Pharos lighthouse was over 100 meters high and contained a mirror that reflectedrepparttar 109485 sun duringrepparttar 109486 day, while at nightrepparttar 109487 light of a fire was used to warn incoming and passing vessels. The light could be seen at a distance of 50 kilometers. For ancient Egyptians,repparttar 109488 Nile could have been an obstacle that kept them pinned to one location. But with their seemingly endless creativity and resourcefulness, they turned their watery boundary into an open highway of opportunity. This article is courtesy of www.kingtutshop.com ,home of handmade crafts and educational kits.

Dr. Sherin Elkhawaga, egyptian radiologist, sales administritive at Egypt Cyber LLC, interested in egyptology and on line education.


Tips for Encouraging Children To Write

Written by Deborah Shelton


Continued from page 1

2. Ghost Messaging: Dip a cotton swab into a small container of lemon juice. Userepparttar swab to write a message on a sheet of construction paper. When you're finished, set repparttar 109442 paper in direct sunlight and wait forrepparttar 109443 message to ghostly appear. It's creepy and fun!

3. Hometown Reporter: Read through a newspaper together to get an idea ofrepparttar 109444 kinds of stories journalists write about, and how they word headlines. Encourage your child to write his own articles: investigative, human interest, community events, celebrity profile, etc. "Publish"repparttar 109445 article in a word processing program and send copies to friends and family. Ifrepparttar 109446 article is of mass interest, send it torepparttar 109447 local newspaper!

4. Sidewalk Chalk: Give your little onesrepparttar 109448 power to express themselves and have a ton of fun atrepparttar 109449 same time. Use sidewalk chalk to write poems, jokes and short stories onrepparttar 109450 driveway.

5. Letter Puzzles: This project is fun forrepparttar 109451 writer and repparttar 109452 reader! First, write a letter to someone on a sheet of paper. When you're finished, use a pair of scissors to cut repparttar 109453 note into interlocking puzzle pieces. Placerepparttar 109454 pieces into an envelope and mail or hand-deliver it. The recipient must assemblerepparttar 109455 puzzle in order to readrepparttar 109456 letter!

6. Dear Editor: Encourage your children to voice their thoughts and opinions publicly by writing letters torepparttar 109457 editors of children's magazines, local newspapers and even radio stations! Keep a scrapbook of all published clips, or frame them as a constant reminder of their writing accomplishments.

Deborah Shelton is the author of The Five Minute Parent: Fun & Fast Activities for You and Your Little Ones. Visit The Five Minute Parent for fun rainy-day activities, family links, and a free email newsletter filled with craft ideas, guest articles, contests and so much more! http://www.fiveminuteparent.com


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