Media Relations
News Releases
For Release Upon Receipt - February 27, 2006
Contact:
Kira Jastive, 617-358-1240, kjastive@bu.edu
ARCHAEOLOGY TEAM DISCOVERS OLDEST REMAINS OF SEA-FARING SHIPS IN THE WORLD
Excavations on Red Sea coast uncover clues about Ancient Egyptian sailors and the lost-land of Punt
(Boston) – A team of archaeologists from Boston University and the University of Naples l’Orientale recently uncovered the oldest remains of sea-faring ships in the world and cargo boxes containing goods from the lost-land of Punt – a fabled southern Red Sea trading center. The discoveries were made during a round of excavations inside two man-made caves previously found by the team at Wadi Gawasis on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.
In remarkable condition, the unique artifacts of cedar planks and decking timber – some with the mortises and tenons, and copper fastenings still in place – demonstrate that the Ancient Egyptians were excellent ship builders and provide further evidence that they reached Punt by sea. The findings may also help researchers determine the location of Punt, a long-time source of debate among scholars.
In addition to the ship timber and cargo boxes, the archaeologists discovered five parallel rock-cut rooms that served as storage areas for ship equipment.
“One of the rooms contained coils of ship rope, all neatly tied and knotted – just as the sailors left them almost 4,000 years ago,” said Kathryn Bard, associate professor of archaeology at BU and co-director of the excavations. “The view into this cave is truly astonishing.”
A large stone anchor, shards of Egyptian storage jars, and a limestone tablet, or stela, of Pharaoh Amenemhat III inscribed with all five of his royal names were also found.
During the excavation last spring that unearthed the caves, the team found two cedar steering oars which the scientists speculate were used on 70-foot-long ships from a 15th-century naval expedition launched by Egypt’s Queen Hatshepsut to Punt. Well-preserved and intact, the oars are the first complete parts from a sea-faring ship to have been found in Egypt. Near the oars were pieces of pottery dating from 1500 – 1400 B.C. and a stela with hieroglyphic inscriptions detailing the trade expeditions to Punt.
The team will return to the site in December to continue the five-year project which began in 2001.
Bard and co-director Rodolfo Fattovich of the University of Naples l'Orientale will discuss their finds during a lecture for the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), New England Chapter, on Tuesday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. in room 130 of BU’s School of Education, 605 Commonwealth Ave. at Sherborn St., Boston. For more information, call 617-353-3415.
BU’s Department of Archaeology, part of the university’s College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, provides education and training in the recovery, analysis, and interpretation of archaeological materials while ensuring training in related fields such as classics, art history, anthropology, and history. Degree programs in the department also include classroom and practical training in biological and physical sciences and in quantitative methods.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 30,000 students, it is the fourth largest independent university in the United States. BU contains 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
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