Post by L Roebuck on Mar 6, 2006 11:21:37 GMT -5
World's most ancient ship timbers found in Egypt
Cheryl Ward of Florida State University offers this write-up of her findings in an exclusive to USA TODAY. Related items:
In Egyptian desert, a surprising nautical find
www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2006-03-05-egyptian-ship_x.htm
Photo gallery: The Wadi Gawasis site www.usatoday.com/tech/gallery/2006/03/egyptsnapshot/flash.htm
Ship timbers from a mothballed Middle Kingdom industrial shipyard at Wadi Gawasis in Egypt provide the most ancient direct evidence for seafaring in complex watercraft anywhere in the world. In addition to marine incrustations and destruction by marine mollusks (shipworms), the technology and dimensions of hull components are consistent with what is expected of seagoing ships in the Middle Kingdom and offer unique testimony to the organization and achievement of the ancient Egyptian's sailing expeditions to Africa.
Originally shaped and assembled at a Nile shipyard, probably at modern Quft, the vessels were disassembled, carried across 150 km of desert, reassembled and launched on a voyage to seek the products of Pwnt (Punt) or God's Land. Upon the fleet's return several months later, shipbreaking began as soon as the crews offloaded precious cargoes of cargoes of frankincense and myrrh, gold, ivory, and exotic animals.
Shipwrights inspected the vessels and marked unsatisfactory timbers with red paint. Workers began prying seams apart and sawing or chiseling through the tenons, with others following behind them and pulling the planks off the ship from the outside just as shipbreakers worked to dismantle the vessel at Senwosret I's pyramid at Lisht. Once timbers were broken off the ships outside the caves, men carried them over ramps made of ship planks into the c. 20 x 4 m rock-cut caves, probably to get out of a cold and sand-filled winter winds.
Inside the caves, work areas identified by extensive deposits of chipped and gribbled wood fragments, fastenings cut and broken with tools, and, in Cave 3, marine shell mixed with wood fragments, many of which are sponge-like with gribble, testify to the trimming and reworking of planks. Examination of wood debitage indicates large scale removal of damaged wood from planks with characteristics similar to individual examples recorded in 2005/6. Once cleaned and rid of shipworm, planks were recycled in architectural features on site, used as fuel as shown by hearth samples of Cedrus libani, Pinus sp. and Quercus sp., or perhaps prepared for return to the Nile shipyards for re-use there.
Cedar (Cedrus libani) hull planks up to 3 m long, 45 cm wide, and 22 cm and 14-20 cm thick provide ample evidence of a characteristic Egyptian approach to construction, that is, overbuilding. In this case, because shipworm damage extends up to 5 cm into the plank edge, overbuilding may be an inappropriate term as some planks look like sponges with a thin layer of finished surface. The planks are similar to, but sturdier than, Dashur and Lisht planks from Middle Kingdom watercraft excavated at pyramid sites on the Nile.
In December 2005, archaeologist Chiara Zazzaro cleared fallen rock obstructing her exploration of a cave and exposed the end of a second rock-cut room (Cave 5). Today, most of the cave's 50-60 square meters are concealed by coils of line about a meter long and 60 cm wide. The bundles are complex, each representing at least 20 and probably 30 m of line. Sailors and crew heaved their bundles of rope onto the cave's floor nearly four thousand years ago and left it for the next expedition, one that never came. Protected by sealed entrances, not even sand covered these ancient lines that once ran through the rigging of ships sailing from Wadi Gawasis to Punt.
Analysis of the cordage and ship parts, in addition to other components such as a crutch, steering oar blades, and possible oar pins, and stone anchors also present at the site will contribute to more precise understanding of sailing technology. These unique artifacts elucidate not only shipbuilding technology and achievement, but also the vast administrative and bureaucratic nature of Middle Kingdom contacts with the world beyond Egypt's borders.
The project is co-directed by Kathryn Bard, Boston University, and Rodolfo Fattovich, University of Naples "l'Orientale".
www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-03-05-snapshot-notes_x.htm
Cheryl Ward of Florida State University offers this write-up of her findings in an exclusive to USA TODAY. Related items:
In Egyptian desert, a surprising nautical find
www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2006-03-05-egyptian-ship_x.htm
Photo gallery: The Wadi Gawasis site www.usatoday.com/tech/gallery/2006/03/egyptsnapshot/flash.htm
Ship timbers from a mothballed Middle Kingdom industrial shipyard at Wadi Gawasis in Egypt provide the most ancient direct evidence for seafaring in complex watercraft anywhere in the world. In addition to marine incrustations and destruction by marine mollusks (shipworms), the technology and dimensions of hull components are consistent with what is expected of seagoing ships in the Middle Kingdom and offer unique testimony to the organization and achievement of the ancient Egyptian's sailing expeditions to Africa.
Originally shaped and assembled at a Nile shipyard, probably at modern Quft, the vessels were disassembled, carried across 150 km of desert, reassembled and launched on a voyage to seek the products of Pwnt (Punt) or God's Land. Upon the fleet's return several months later, shipbreaking began as soon as the crews offloaded precious cargoes of cargoes of frankincense and myrrh, gold, ivory, and exotic animals.
Shipwrights inspected the vessels and marked unsatisfactory timbers with red paint. Workers began prying seams apart and sawing or chiseling through the tenons, with others following behind them and pulling the planks off the ship from the outside just as shipbreakers worked to dismantle the vessel at Senwosret I's pyramid at Lisht. Once timbers were broken off the ships outside the caves, men carried them over ramps made of ship planks into the c. 20 x 4 m rock-cut caves, probably to get out of a cold and sand-filled winter winds.
Inside the caves, work areas identified by extensive deposits of chipped and gribbled wood fragments, fastenings cut and broken with tools, and, in Cave 3, marine shell mixed with wood fragments, many of which are sponge-like with gribble, testify to the trimming and reworking of planks. Examination of wood debitage indicates large scale removal of damaged wood from planks with characteristics similar to individual examples recorded in 2005/6. Once cleaned and rid of shipworm, planks were recycled in architectural features on site, used as fuel as shown by hearth samples of Cedrus libani, Pinus sp. and Quercus sp., or perhaps prepared for return to the Nile shipyards for re-use there.
Cedar (Cedrus libani) hull planks up to 3 m long, 45 cm wide, and 22 cm and 14-20 cm thick provide ample evidence of a characteristic Egyptian approach to construction, that is, overbuilding. In this case, because shipworm damage extends up to 5 cm into the plank edge, overbuilding may be an inappropriate term as some planks look like sponges with a thin layer of finished surface. The planks are similar to, but sturdier than, Dashur and Lisht planks from Middle Kingdom watercraft excavated at pyramid sites on the Nile.
In December 2005, archaeologist Chiara Zazzaro cleared fallen rock obstructing her exploration of a cave and exposed the end of a second rock-cut room (Cave 5). Today, most of the cave's 50-60 square meters are concealed by coils of line about a meter long and 60 cm wide. The bundles are complex, each representing at least 20 and probably 30 m of line. Sailors and crew heaved their bundles of rope onto the cave's floor nearly four thousand years ago and left it for the next expedition, one that never came. Protected by sealed entrances, not even sand covered these ancient lines that once ran through the rigging of ships sailing from Wadi Gawasis to Punt.
Analysis of the cordage and ship parts, in addition to other components such as a crutch, steering oar blades, and possible oar pins, and stone anchors also present at the site will contribute to more precise understanding of sailing technology. These unique artifacts elucidate not only shipbuilding technology and achievement, but also the vast administrative and bureaucratic nature of Middle Kingdom contacts with the world beyond Egypt's borders.
The project is co-directed by Kathryn Bard, Boston University, and Rodolfo Fattovich, University of Naples "l'Orientale".
www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-03-05-snapshot-notes_x.htm