OK Boats

Ancient Egyptian Boats of the Old Kingdom

Reign of Sneferu

“Construction of a ship of meru wood (of type or name) ‘adoring the Two Lands,’ of 100 cubits; and sixty royal boats of the ‘sixteen’* type….

*Note: either perhaps of sixteen lengths (perhaps of 10 cubits each), or with sixteen oars, or perhaps sixteen structural ribs...

...Construction of one ship of cedar / pine wood (of type or name) ‘adoring the Two Lands,’ of 100 cubits, and two ships of 100 cubits of meru wood.” (Strudwick 2005: 66)

‘Re-used blocks from Lisht’ Goedicke 1971, has a chapter on ‘Nautical Scenes’. An inscribed stone fragment originally from the funerary temple of Unis (?) depicts a large wooden vessel named ‘Bark of the Divine’ (dpt nTry):

“The hull, upon which the gunwale rests, is composed of two sections. The oars are attached to the gunwale by loops fitted into the boards; a rope runs along the shafts of the oars and is tied to the neck of the blades. The vessel is being rowed which means that it was presumably travelling downstream, if the usual rule of Egyptian navigation is being observed. Of the crew, fifteen men are preserved. They appear to sit on crossboards the height of the gunwale, visible except for their legs. They are shown with their arms outstretched to grasp the shafts of the oars, the upper part of their bodies leaning backwards at the end of the stroke. They sit close together so that the arms of each overlap the figure in front, the oars being held in front of the preceding man’s face. In the center of the ship, where the hull curves down farthest, stands a man with his legs wide apart and his arms lifted horizontally while he gives commands to the rowers. In one hand he holds a kind of scepter with a flower-shaped top and carved handle……The representation of vessels as part of the decoration of the royal temple is recorded from the temple of Sahure, and fragments were also found in the temples of Weserkaf and Nywoserre, though in Pepi II’s temple the subject was apparently omitted. In addition, large boats being rowed are depicted in considerable numbers in the mastabas of the nobles, beginning with the V Dynasty. As a whole, the way in which the boat is represented is most closely related to that in Sahure’s temple, and it appears likely that we have a parallel to this boat on our block. The hull and oars, including the method of attachment of the latter, are identical; the arrangement of the rowers, however is different, as Sahure’s are more widely spaced avoiding any overlapping.”

'A ship being rowed' - origin: Funerary Temple of Unis (?) Goedicke 1975: 90

4th - 5th Dynasty (?) ship under sail (Goedicke 1975: 107)

"The ship is on the starboard tack with bellying sail. The mast consists of two spars, the upper sections of which are connected by a number of crossbars. The beginning of the rigging is preserved on one side of the mast, while on the other side four lines appear to hold the mast itself in position. It is not certain if the latter was permanently stepped in the hull or if it could be lowered, the latter being the more likely because the mast is braced near its foot by a pair of stays tightened by means of Spanish windlasses. The vessel though under sail is also equipped for rowing, the oars being tied to the oarlocks by ropes…"

4th Dynasty (?) ship under sail (Goedicke 1975: 111)

6th Dynasty tomb of Weni

‘His person (i.e. Pharao Merenra) sent me to Hatnub to bring down a large offering table of Hatnub-travertine. I brought down for him this offering table in 17 days. I quarried [it] in Hatnub and I ensured that it sailed downstream (i.e. northwards) in this wsxt- boat, which I hewed for it, a wsxt-boat of acacia wood of 60 cubits in length and 30 cubits in width. I assembled [it] in 17 days in the third month of summer when there was no water on the sand- banks. I moored at the pyramid ‘Merenra appears beautifully’ in safety. It happened through me entirely in accordance with the order which the person of the lord gave’. (Sethe 1933: §108) (Africa Praehistorica 27 - Desert Road Archaeology in Ancient Egypt and Beyond - Ian Shaw 2013: 528)

“On several occasions Weni was dispatched to Upper Egypt of Nubia for granite or alabaster. On one such expedition for granite Weni used two types of boat: satch boats were of the ‘eight rib’ variety. It is tempting to identify these ‘ribs’ with the boat’s internal frames, which are often informally called ‘rib’ in English as well. If so, the Khufu boat would be a ‘sixteen-rib’ vessel, and one could estimate that the ‘eight-rib’ boats Weni used were about 21 metres long……Satch boats are shown in the pyramid causeway reliefs of the Fifth Dynasty king Unas, where they are carrying pairs of 10.5 metre stone columns laid end to end, again implying a ship of about 30 metres in length.” (Vinson 1994: 25-26)

Henet-ship and Shabet-ship

"The first important observation is that, in the ship scenes of the private tombs of the early Old Kingdom, a differentiation between two different ship types is possible. One type encompasses wooden ships with a prow bearing the head of a hedgehog twisted backwards, this ship is called Henet. The other type is made up of wooden vessels whose hull imitates that of marsh ships built from papyrus stems, this type of ship is named Shabet. Both designations are documented starting from the early Fourth Dynasty, that is, from the time of Khufu and Djedefra. The main particularities of the hedgehog-headed Henet-ship and the Shabet-ship can be easily discovered through examples of both vessels from the tomb of Seneb in Giza, which is probably to be dated in the early Fourth Dynasty. In this early Giza tomb both ships are shown in a single relief field on the south wall of the southern outer post of the false door. In the top register, a Shabet-ship is being rowed; the inscription says: Xnt m SAbt, "rowing in a Shabet-ship". In the lower register, the representation of a Henet sailboat with a prow in the shape of the turned-back head of a hedgehog can be found. Its action is designated by the inscription as fAjt TAw m Hnt, "sailing in a Henet-boat". Similar depictions of sailboats of the Henet type and of the oared Shabet boat type are to be found in other tombs in Giza of the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, including the tomb of Merib (G 2100, Annex l) and that of Kaninisut (G 2155). From there we can conclude:

All the scenes in which the hedgehog-headed ship of the Henet type and the Shabet-ship appear together in a single document show the Henet vessel as a sailboat and the Shabet vessel as oared.

However, a restriction must be made. For the typical sailboat of Henet type can also appear as an oared ship. The same inversion can be found with the Shabet-ship, for the typical oared ship of Shabet type can appear also as a sailing vessel. This case happens, however, only when the ships appear in a convoy of two or more ships and when the ship in question is in a second place. This means that the ship of Henet type can be an oared vessel when it is represented as being part of a convoy of two or more oared ships and when it takes a second position, as the Shabet-ship can appear as a sailing vessel in the back position of a sailing convoy which consists of two or more sailing ships….” (Altenmüller 2002: 275 - 276)

Tomb of Kaninisut I (G 2100-1)

The upper boat is returning from Dep, and sailing to the very beautiful Marsh of Offerings - the lower papyrus boat is heading for Iunu.

Henet-ship and Shabet-ship (Giza II Junker 1934: 156 fig. 22)

"Two boats proceed to the right (southwards). The composition shows remarkable similarities to (and some significant differences from) the only other boating scene from Cemetery 2100, in the tomb of Merib (G 2100-1). The boat in the upper register shows its sails unfurled with a hedgehog-headed prow. Kaninisut I stands in the center leaning on a staff, with a long, striated wig and a kilt extending below the knees. A crew of seventeen men fills the craft. At the stern, one man controls the sail ropes, three others hold large steering oars, and a lookout towards the prow surveys the way ahead. One individual perches atop the deckhouse, probably relaying navigation instructions between the prow and stern staff." (Giza Mastabas 8, Peter Der Manuelian 2009: 372)

'Marsh of Offerings / Rest' in the Pyramid Texts:

"Go and row to the Marsh of Offerings…" W 165; "…Teti will make his abode in the Marsh of Offerings (sxt Htpw) among the Imperishable Stars who follow Osiris." T 225; "You (the Akhet gods) should receive the arm of this Pepi and put him in the Marsh of Offering (sxt Htp). When you have made him become akh among the akhs and in control of the gods…" P 316; "When this Pepi has gone to the big island in the midst of the Marsh of Rest on which the gods and swallows land - the Imperishable Stars are the swallows……..Thus you shall put this Pepi as the greatest official of the akhs, the northern Imperishable Stars of the sky…" P 467; "…this Pepi's seats may come to the fore, his arm may be received to the Marsh of Rest, and may he sit down amongst the stars of the sky." P 478; "Pepi Neferkare will put himself on your path, Horus of Shezmet - the one on which you lead the gods to the perfect paths of the sky, of the Marsh of Rest." N 514

Heliopolis (Iunu) in the Pyramid Texts:

"Ho, Pepi! Raise yourself, stand up! The Big Ennead in Heliopolis has allotted you to your great seat…" P 319a; "Pepi is the one who prevents the gods from turning away from embracing Horus's eye. This Pepi sought it in Pe and found it in Heliopolis…" P 472;

note: Buto was a town in the north Delta that consisted of two parts - Pe and Dep. The upper boat in the tomb of Kaninisut is returning from Dep, and sailing to the Marsh of Offerings - the lower boat is heading for Heliopolis.

Tomb of Kakhent

A Shabat-ship bearing the princess Iufi rows ahead of a hedgehog-prowed vessel with the tomb owner Kakhent (Altenmüller 2002 fig. 5)

Late 4th / early 5th Dynasty Tomb of Seneb - Giza west field

(Giza V Junker 1941: 62 fig. 14a)

(Giza V Junker 1941: 63 fig. 14b)

(Giza V Junker 1941: 67 fig.15)

(Giza V Junker 1941: 69 fig. 16)

Tomb of Seshathotep (sSAt-Htp)

(Giza II, Junker 1934: 186 fig. 32)

Early 5th Dynasty Tomb of Merib G2100-1

"Merib's scene contains two superimposed river boats proceeding to the right (southwards), each with a crew of fourteen. The crew on the hedgehog-prowed ship above is sailing, with tall mast and sail unfurled, while the crew of the plain-prowed ship below is rowing. In each case, Merib is shown at a scale larger than that of the crew."

The upper register reads: "The seal-bearer of the god of the fleet, Merib. Sailing to the field of offerings."

Chapel, east wall; after Lepsius, Denkmaeler 2, pls. 21-22d

(Giza Mastabas 8, Peter Der Manuelian 2009: 75, fig. 4.38)

Some of Merib's many titles: 'overseer of all royal construction projects', 'administrator of the fleet', 'greatest of seers of Iunu', 'priest of Khufu'.

Reign of Sahure

Sea-going ship from the Sun Temple of Sahure (Borchardt 1913: 134 fig. 12)

"The rigging of Sahure's ships shows a short-lived experiment in Egyptian nautical technology, the bipod mast. While the single-pole mast is the first type seen in Egypt, many Old Kingdom ships were fitted with a bipod mast designed to spread the weight of the sailing tackle over a larger area of the hull than a single-pole mast would have. Similar arrangements are known from nautical traditions as diverse as the reed boats of South America and large wooden ships of late medieval Holland - both of which shared with these early Egyptian ships the characteristic flat bottom without a keel. Strangely, however, no bipod mast is seen after the end of the sixth Dynasty, even though Egyptian ships and boats continued to be flat bottomed. Whether boatbuilders used monopod or bipod masts, their sails were hung from yards that could be hoisted and lowered by means of ropes called halyards. The sail was kept square with a boom, or lower yard, whose weight was usually supported by ropes called 'lifts. In the Old Kingdom these lifts were attached to the middle of the mast. The halyards were tied off in the stern of the boat, along with numerous other ropes called backstays. Old Kingdom boats appear to have had an inordinate number of backstays; their function is obscure but they may have also served to help hold up the stern end of the boat, as well as to provide stability to the mast. In some cases the boom was not held up by lifts but seems to have been simply laid on the deck athwart ships. A few Old Kingdom boats show a peculiar triangular sail, but this arrangement apparently had vanished by the Middle Kingdom." (Vinson 1994: 23 - 25)

Tomb of Anta, west wall, north half

(Petrie 1898: 21, pl. VI)

4th Dynasty ships under full sail (Borchardt 1913: 159 fig. 2

‘Re-used blocks from Lisht’ The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Volume XX; Hans Goedicke 1971

Egyptian Boats and Ships, Steve Vinson 1994

'A Date for the Tomb of Seneb at Giza: Revisited', Alexandra Woods 2010: 301-331 - in 'Egyptian Culture and Society' Vol. 1 ( link )

Deshashheh 1897, W.M. Flinders Petrie 1898 ( link )

Giza II and V, Hermann Junker 1934, 1941 ( link )

Archiv Orientaini 70, 2002: 269 - 290; 'Funerary Boats and Boat Pits of the Old Kingdom' - Hartwig Altenmüller ( link )

Das Grabdenkmal des Königs Sahu-re, Band II, Ludwig Borchardt 1913 ( link )

Chris Tedder, May 2014

Vihtavuori, Finland

contact: chris.tedder@gmail.com