"Boat Deck Plans and Hollow Hulled Boats"

Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 96: 101-124, pl. II

Based on primary data and direct observation, a reexamination of two boats excavated by Jacques De Morgan outside Senwosret III’s pyramid complex at Dahshur, and now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, is offered. Particular attention is paid to understanding the original excavation report, reconciling subsequent scholarly records, and evaluating the boats’ construction techniques. Formerly, De Morgan’s account was disregarded by scholars due to discrepancies between his descriptions and the findings of modern examinations of two boats from the same cache but now located in the United States. Unique features found on the two Cairo Dahshur boats explain the discrepancies. Based on these unique features, a new proposal is put forward to explain the boats’ construction.

Journal of Ancient Civilisations, 2019

In 2012, I proposed an expansion of the accepted range of hull types utilized by the Egyptians during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, a range based initially on the models and surviving hulls published by Reisner. 1 This series expansion ceased at Type V, as Type VI were "Solar" and VII "Divine" vessels, while Type VIII was known only from the New Kingdom. Type V, identifiable as the Manedjet (mand.t), the Day Boat, was included in this expansion due to the discovery and re-assembly of the Old Kingdom vessel of this type, found buried alongside the Great Pyramid, suggestive of its having been a functioning craft, and not mythological. For the hull types Reisner had not categorized, being known only from iconographic depictions, I allocated temporary typological labels-ETH, an abbreviation for "Expedient Type Hull," with a category and/ or a sub category number or suffix. For both the Reisner and the ETH forms, sub categories were developed, utilizing variations of such features as bow and stern finials or variations in hull shape, within the context of their category. In this paper, I seek to clarify the accuracy of the last three categories proposed by Reisner, but not dealt with in my earlier work. Although used as a categorization tool since 1913, the system contains flaws, brought about by its intended purpose-to categorise models and hulls in the Cairo Museum. Now, with additional categorization systems coming into existence, it is timely to complete the examination of the accuracy of the Reisner system, which has served as a bench mark for these latter systems. My approach is to accept that what the Egyptian artisan depicted, either in model or iconographic form, were the vessels that they saw about them. The plausibility of the accuracy of such depictions is indicated by the reassembled Khufu vessel, which can be recognized as being of the form of the Manedjet (mand.t), the Day Boat, of the Egyptian afterlife. I propose that Reisner's Type VI (Private Sun Barques) and Type VII (Divine Barques), which he attempted to link, are, broadly speaking, incorrect 1 Stephens 2012.

2005

Cattle in ancient Egypt were a measure of wealth and prestige, and as such figured prominently in tomb art, inscriptions, and even literature. Elite titles and roles such as “Overseer of Cattle” were granted to high ranking officials or nobility during the New Kingdom, and large numbers of cattle were collected as tribute throughout the Pharaonic period. The movement of these animals along the Nile, whether for secular or sacred reasons, required the development of specialized vessels. The cattle ferries of ancient Egypt provide a unique opportunity to understand facets of the Egyptian maritime community. A comparison of cattle barges with other Egyptian ship types from these same periods leads to a better understand how these vessels fit into the larger maritime paradigm, and also serves to test the plausibility of aspects such as vessel size and design, composition of crew, and lading strategies. Examples of cargo vessels similar to the cattle barge have been found and excavated, such as ships from Thonis-Heracleion, Ayn Sukhna, Alexandria, and Mersa/Wadi Gawasis. This type of cross analysis allows for the tentative reconstruction of a vessel type which has not been identified previously in the archaeological record. Elements of hull construction have been identified primarily in tomb art and tribute lists,but are supported by the remains from other types of working vessels recovered from archaeological excavations. Unique to some examples of this type of vessel are the deck structures used to contain cattle during transport. Proposals for the configuration and specifications of these deck pens also are developed in this thesis. Cattle boats of the Pharaonic period frequently appear in the reliefs of elite tombs during the Middle and New Kingdom. This vessel’s associations with elite status and wealth, despite the fact that it was a working vessel, provide a unique window through which we can gain new insight on the powerful and long-lived Egyptian civilization.

2015

Evidence for Ancient Egyptian boatbuilding during the Late Period (664-332 BC) is very scarce and thus the description of Herodotus (“Histories” II.96, c.450 BC) of the local Egyptian boat called “baris” is of great interest. Different translations of this fragment caused much debate. Excavations by the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology in Egypt allowed locating over sixty shipwrecks in the harbour area and channels of the submerged city of Thonis-Heracleion and at least eighteen of them are dated to the Late Period. The construction of shipwreck 17 has been studied during three excavation seasons (2009-2011) and it shows many parallels with the description of Herodotus. This ressemblance starts with the construction material and continues with both longitudinal and transversal structure of the ship as well as with its steering and propulsion system. Shipwreck 17 provides new data that allows not only to consider in detail the construction of this ship but also to propose some general conclusions on the constructional principles and methods characteristic to the Late Period many of which remain unique to the Ancient Egyptian boatbuilding tradition. A three-dimensional modeling of this ship gives an opportunity to make an estimate of its technical characteristics.

The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 1986

International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 43.2: 314-329, 2014

"""Ship 17 of Thonis-Hercaleion is the first vessel from the submerged city of Heracleion-Thonis in Egypt yet excavated. The peculiar constructional features of this ship, which dates to the Late Period (664–332 BC), allow us to argue for a new type of construction that finds parallels in Herodotus’ description of a Nilotic freighter called baris (History, 2.96, c.450 BC). The aim of this article is to present the main characteristics of this construction without going too far into technical details. Keywords: Maritime archaeology, Ancient shipbuilding, Ancient shipwrecks, Naval architecture (History), Late Period in Egypt, Herodotus."""

1989

MIDDLE KINGDOM BURIAL CUSTOMS.

Journal of Egyptian History 6.2: 152-176

Reuse of materials in ancient Egypt is neither a new nor novel concept. The ancient Egyptians reused a variety of materials and certainly any resource that had spiritual, ideological, or economic value that was available to them. Yet, reuse of certain raw materials has not been thoroughly examined, notably timber. This manuscript explores the modes, preferences and implications of wood use, specifically reuse, in Egypt’s Pharaonic Period, using ship timber as the illustrative example. This synthesis suggests specific preferences for commodity consumption and conservation existed, revealing cultural and behavioral trends.