The boat beneath the pyramid: King Cheops' royal ship

King Cheops' Royal Ship

The Boat Beneath the Pyramid , Text by Nancy Jenkins

Photographs by John Ross

$17-95

M o r e than a quarter o f a century ago a young Egyptian archaeologist, clearing a site just south o f the Great Pyramid at Giza, broke through a massive slab o f limestone to reveal a vault beneath his feet. For the first time in 4,500 years the sun's rays were shining down on the timbers o f a great papyriform ship, built for a king and then dismantled and buried here at the height o f the Egyptian Old K i n g d o m . Astonishingly well preserved, it was b y far the most ancient vessel ever to come to light. Nancy Jenkins is the first to tell the full story o f this R o y a l Ship — its discovery, excavation and reconstruction. She tells also w h o built it and w h y , h o w it has survived intact for so long, and what connection it may have had with the age-old Egyptian myth o f the Sun-god, eternally journeying across the heavens in his R e e d Float. B u t this is also a story o f modern E g y p t and o f one man in particular,

Ahmed

Youssef Moustafa, Chief Restorer of the Department

o f Antiquities, w h o almost

single-handedly put back together the 1,223 pieces o f .the ship. Working with a giant jigsaw puzzle—though a puzzle without (Continued on back flap)

O980

The Boat Beneath the Pyramid

\ i ; Nancy Jenkins

The Boat Beneath the Pyramid King Cheops' Royal Ship Special Consultant: Ahmed Youssef Moustafa

Photographs by John Ross

Holt, Rinehart and Winston New York

For Sara and Nicholas, with thanks

Title-pages: The reconstructed Royal Ship of Cheops (bow to the right), shown in section and plan views.

Copyright © 1980 Thames and Hudson Ltd, London All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form. First published in the United States of America in 1980 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017. Library o f Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Jenkins, Nancy. The boat beneath the pyramid. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Ships, Wooden. 2. Cheops, King of Egypt - Tomb. 3. Giza. Great Pyramid of Cheops. 4. Egypt - Civili­ zation - To 332 b.c. 5. Egypt - Religion. 6. Ships (in religion, folk-lore, etc) - Egypt. I. Title. DT62.S55J46 1980 932'.01 79-27466 isbn 0-03-057061-1 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Limited, Frome and London. Colour plates printed in Great Britain by Balding & Mansell Limited, Wisbech, Cambs.

Contents

Chronological table

6

1

Introduction

7

2

The pyramid-builders

3

Discovery

45

4

Excavation

59

5

Construction and reconstruction

83

6

Ships and ship-building in the Old Kingdom

in

7

Death, religion and survival

139

8

Conclusion

157

Acknowledgments

174

l

9

Notes on the text

1

Select bibliography

175

List of illustrations

177

Index

74

1 8 1

Chronological table BC

THE THIRTY-ONE DYNASTIES

BC

OLD KINGDOM

BC

THIRD & FOURTH DYNASTIES (principal rulers)

Prehistory

(Naqada 11 c. 3400) 3150

2700

1 2700 Archaic Period

/ Zoser (reigned 19 yrs.)

Third Dynasty

2700

Old Kingdom 2630

Dyn. 3-6

\ \

2250 1st Intermediate Period 2035

j 1

Fourth Dynasty

\ \

\

1 Middle K i n g d o m

\

I 2520

Dyn. 1 1 - 1 3

2630

\

1668 2nd Intermediate Period 1550

Huni (24 yrs.)

Sneferu (24 yrs.) Fifth Dynasty

1

\ \

Cheops (23 yrs.)

1 New Kingdom Dyn. 18-20

\ \

j

:

2400

Djedefre (8 yrs.) Chephren (?25 yrs.)

946

Mycerinus (28 yrs.) Sixth Dynasty

Late Dynastic Period Dyn. 2 1 - 3 1 332

\ \

Shepseskaf (5 yrs.) Khentkawes (?)

2250

2520

Note: There is still considerable disagreement a m o n g scholars as to the precise chronology for ancient Egypt and dates are therefore only approximate. T h e system adopted here follows that proposed b y the Oriental Institute, University o f Chicago. T h e tinted area indicates the period o f main relevance for this book.

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

S h e m e l - N e s s i m is an ancient E g y p t i a n festival that goes back at least to P t o l e m a i c times and p r o b a b l y e v e n earlier, the o n e feast in the c r o w d e d E g y p t i a n h o l i d a y calendar that unites in celebration the stark and d i v i s i v e elements o f the c o u n t r y - y o u n g and old, m a l e and female, rich and p o o r , M u s l i m , C o p t , G r e e k , and J e w . S h e m e l - N e s s i m means 'the sniffing o f the breezes' and that is precisely w h a t e v e r y o n e does, the entire p o p u l a c e rushing out o f doors on the First o f M a y for a last breath o f fresh air before the h a m m e r o f s u m m e r ' s heat stuns the c o u n t r y into silent, submissive lethargy. T h e rich desert the city to celebrate the h o l i d a y on their c o u n t r y estates and the b o u r g e o i s i e dance and feast in the poolside gardens o f foreign hotels. B u t , for the i m p o v e r i s h e d mass o f C a i r o ' s p o p u l a t i o n - those w h o can afford n o t h i n g m o r e than the f e w piastres it costs for a w h o l e f a m i l y to c r o w d on the ramshackle city buses - a h o l i d a y o f this sort means an o u t i n g along the n a r r o w , littered stretch o f r i v e r b a n k that lies b e t w e e n the coffee-coloured surge o f the N i l e and the traffic streaming along the riverside corniche behind. A l o n g the bank, w o m e n are c o o k i n g h o l i d a y feasts, w h i l e A r a b m u s i c drones f r o m transistor radios and y o u n g men beat an a c c o m p a n i m e n t on finger drums. T h e pungent smell o f charcoal fires and roasting spiced meat and g a r b a g e - d u n g - r o t t i n g fruit mingles w i t h s o m e t h i n g rich and dark and l o a m y f r o m the r i v e r itself. T h e sun, d i p p i n g t o w a r d s the palms on the distant G i z a shore, flushes the N i l e w i t h a sheen like p e a c h - c o l o u r e d metal. Feluccas flick b a c k and forth in the stiff breeze, their lateen sails d i p p i n g perilously in the relentless n o r t h w a r d fall o f the river. O v e r l a d e n vaporetti, the little m o t o r launches that transport Cairenes f r o m one end to another o f their great city, p l y the current, w h i l e r o w b o a t s , in unskilled hands, spin like helpless w a t e r b u g s on the surface and occasionally capsize. T h e t h r o n g i n g c r o w d s , the sounds, the smells, the sense o f a chaotic release o f energies that h a v e been pent up b y the strictures o f p o v e r t y and religion alike, are o v e r w h e l m i n g . S o often in E g y p t one has this sense o f the m a g i c

7

1

8

of an event that is powerfully ancient and, despite its secular aspects, pro­ foundly religious, as charged with emotions as an ancient rite. This is a country, one feels, that is riveted in the past, its strengths and weaknesses both derived from a hypnotic fixation on three thousand years of history that ended before the birth of Christ. I was there in Cairo during Shem el-Nessim to see an ancient boat, the oldest boat in the world, and one which, many historians and archaeo­ logists believe, may once have floated on this same Nile, perhaps in a fes­ tival as joyous and emotional as the one I was witnessing. Not just the oldest boat in the world, it is also the largest and the best-preserved ancient boat known to archaeology, a graceful and elegant construction, nearly forty-five metres long from stem to stern, and solidly built of cedar from the distant mountains of the Lebanon. It is an important source of infor­ mation about the ancient origins of ship-building and a work of art as austerely impressive as the pyramid it was built to complement. The boat's discovery dates to 1954, when two massive sealed pits were found beneath a pile of rubble just south of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Carved into the limestone bedrock of the Giza plateau, the two pits, it seemed obvious, formed part of the funerary complex of the Great Pyra­ mid, the pyramid of King Cheops, second ruler of the Fourth Dynasty of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, king of Upper and Lower Egypt around the middle of the third millennium B C . When one of the pits was opened, inside it were found the remains of this ancient boat, its timbers dismantled, and its 651 separate parts care­ fully arranged in thirteen layers, one over the other, exactly as they had been placed some four and a half millennia earlier, presumably at the same time that King Cheops himself was buried in his tomb in the heart of the adjacent pyramid. Incredibly, when they were removed from the pit, the dismantled timbers were found to be almost perfectly preserved. Years

i A composite photograph of the dismantled ship, taken shortly after the forty-one blocks covering the pit had been removed. The papyriform prow can be seen at the left-hand or western end. Fragments of white plaster that had fallen into the pit in ancient times are distributed over the surface.

of patient, diligent and meticulous work followed before the great ship was returned to its original splendour. The work was largely that of one man, Ahmed Youssef Moustafa, Chief Restorer of the Egyptian Depart­ ment of Antiquities and a man who is almost legendary for his skill and perspicacity in the demanding field of the restoration of antiquities. Today Hag Ahmed Youssef, as he has been known since his hajj-pilgrimage to Mecca in 1935, is the zealous and watchful custodian of the boat. A short, robust man in his late sixties, he is a devout and orthodox Muslim whose spirited intelligence and humour are reflected in clear, dark brown eyes. He divides most of his time between the museum that was built next to the Great Pyramid in the 1960s to house the boat, and the bunga­ low provided for him by the Department of Antiquities, a small but com­ fortable mud-brick rest-house situated in a low desert wadi between the pyramid plateau and the modern village of Kfar es-Samman below. On that warm and windy May afternoon, when all Egypt was celebrating Shem el-Nessim, I had driven out to the pyramids to meet the Hag and, I hoped, finally to see the great ship. I had visited and talked with Hag Ahmed often over the past months but always there was some reason why I could not be admitted to the museum. Permission must come from the Department of Antiquities; it is rarely given and all visitors must be accompanied by Hag Ahmed who takes frank pleasure in these rare opportunities to show off his treasure. That day, an archaeologically minded Pakistani general on an official visit to Egypt had been given permission to see the boat. Through an intermediary, the Hag had let me know that I might slip in with the official party.

8

9

2 The Nile in flood at Giza- a photograph taken in the late 1920s. Because the climate is almost totally rainless, before the completion of the Aswan High Dam agriculture in Egypt depended on the regular, annual summer flood of the Nile. The dramatic-and romantic spectacle is, alas, a thing of the past and Egypt today relies on irrigation for her needs. The village of Kfar es-Samman, at the foot of the Giza plateau, marks the edge of cultivation. Beneath the modern town lie the remains of Cheops' valley temple.

2

10

From certain parts of Cairo, the three Giza pyramids appear across the flat reach of the Nile like three perfect and slightly incongruous alps, hovering on the desert's edge beyond the dust and smoke of the city. The approach to the pyramids is along a modern dual carriageway that runs between depressing rows of cheap nightclubs and squat, ugly apartment blocks right up to the very foot of the escarpment. Desert dust and traffic fumes darken the air and choke the palms and gum trees that line the roadside. It is hard to deny the majesty of the pyramid site, rising impres­ sively above the rather squalid surroundings, yet harder still to imagine what it must have been like even as recently as fifty years ago when the Nile in flood reached to the village of Kfar es-Samman just under the pyramid plateau, and the imposing bulk of the monuments was mirrored in the placid surface of the floodwaters. It must have been easier in those days to picture what ancient Egypt was like. Today modern Egypt, noisy, dirty, exuberant, bursting with vitality, intrudes on the romantic imagi­ nation.

3 The Old Kingdom pyramid fields stretch along the Libyan escarpment, an irregular formation on the Nile's west bank that acts as an effective natural barrier between the fertile river valley and the barren wasteland of the western desert.

A l l told, there are s o m e e i g h t y p y r a m i d s n o w k n o w n in E g y p t , scattered in a l o n g irregular line along the w e s t bank o f the N i l e , w i t h most o f them concentrated in the area b e t w e e n A b u R o a s h , just n o r t h o f Giza, and the F a i y u m depression, near w h i c h the rulers o f the M i d d l e K i n g d o m erected their m o n u m e n t s . Nonetheless, m e n t i o n o f 'the p y r a ­ mids' unfailingly calls to m i n d for most people this g r o u p on the Giza plateau, w i t h o u t d o u b t the m o s t familiar g r o u p o f m o n u m e n t s in the entire w o r l d . T h e G r e a t P y r a m i d o f K i n g C h e o p s (or K h u f u , as he is less p o p u l a r l y but m o r e p r o p e r l y k n o w n ) , is the largest and oldest o f these. N e x t comes the m i d d l e p y r a m i d , that o f K i n g C h e p h r e n , or Khafre, one

3

II, 14 /

11

INTRODUCTION o f C h e o p s ' sons; it is in fact shorter than C h e o p s ' p y r a m i d b y about seventy-five centimetres, t h o u g h because it lies on h i g h e r g r o u n d f r o m s o m e aspects it appears to d o m i n a t e the earlier one. T h e p y r a m i d o f M y c e r i n u s , or M e n k a u r e , p r o b a b l y a grandson o f C h e o p s , is the smallest o f the three. T h e p y r a m i d s o f M y c e r i n u s and C h e o p s are each a c c o m ­ panied b y three smaller, subsidiary p y r a m i d s , said to h a v e been built for the principal queens o f these t w o kings, so that the w h o l e Giza ' p y r a m i d field', as E g y p t o l o g i s t s call it, in fact comprises nine p y r a m i d s . F r o m H a g A h m e d ' s rest-house to the m u s e u m , it is a short w a l k , up the c a u s e w a y w h o s e ancient p a v i n g stones still lead f r o m the v a l l e y to the C h e p h r e n p y r a m i d , and behind a g r o u p o f O l d K i n g d o m mastabas, the large, rectangular t o m b s that w e r e erected a r o u n d the p y r a m i d s for nobles and court officials. T h e G r e a t P y r a m i d , H a g A h m e d explained, as w e w a l k e d a l o n g the c a u s e w a y , w a s the first to be built on the Giza plateau. Earlier k i n g s , such as C h e o p s ' father Sneferu ( w h o m a y h a v e had as m a n y as three p y r a m i d s ) , had erected their m o n u m e n t s farther south, near the O l d K i n g d o m capital o f M e m p h i s , n o w lost a m i d the canals and marshes on the w e s t b a n k o f the r i v e r , across f r o m the m o d e r n industrial site o f H e l w a n . Indeed, w i t h the n o r t h e r l y breeze clearing the desert air, w e c o u l d see the great p y r a m i d fields e x t e n d i n g a w a y to the south: the later Fifth D y n a s t y constructions at A b u s i r ; the Step P y r a m i d o f K i n g Z o s e r , earliest o f all k n o w n p y r a m i d - b u i l d e r s , at S a q q a r a ; and, in the blue distance, the R e d P y r a m i d and the unmistakable r h o m b o i d shape o f the B e n t P y r a m i d , b o t h at D a h s h u r and b o t h apparently built b y Sneferu. W h y C h e o p s decided to erect his p y r a m i d so m u c h farther n o r t h than the others is one o f those questions that E g y p t o l o g i s t s m a y n e v e r answer, but perhaps the splendid isolation o f the site lent itself to the k i n d o f i m p o s i n g nature that C h e o p s w a n t e d for his b u r i a l . * 4 T h e glass-walled m u s e u m that houses C h e o p s ' great boat w a s erected just south o f the G r e a t P y r a m i d and directly o v e r the n o w e m p t y pit in w h i c h the boat w a s found - a l t h o u g h displayed is an inappropriate w o r d to use, for it is a m u s e u m that n o tourist is permitted to visit and f e w students h a v e e v e n been inside. T h e m u s e u m , I had been assured b y experts in the field, is a disaster in its desert location, its glass walls and r o o f p r o d u c i n g e x t r e m e s o f temperature and h u m i d i t y that subject the ship's timbers to unbearable stresses and m a k e the future o f the boat u n ­ certain.

* That isolation was not to most northerly pyramid of north of Giza, his successor, erected the second pyramid

12

last long. Although Cheops' son and successor Djedefre built the all, a now ruined heap of stones at A b u Roash, about five miles Chephren, returned to his father's site and only a few years later there.

4 The southern side of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, showing the modern museum in the foreground that today houses the Royal Ship.

As we went through the little museum, examining photographs, draw­ ings, models, exhibits of haphazardly coiled ropes and matting that had once covered the dismantled timbers, Hag Ahmed explained the steps of his excavation and reconstruction, a process that in the end took him about sixteen years. In fact, it was not until 1970 that the ship was reassembled in the museum - finally, after a number of false starts, erected on its present site over the pit. I had been impressed before, in reading and talking with Hag Ahmed, by the age and size of the ship; but I was quite unprepared for its tremen­ dous aesthetic impact. The ancient cedar timbers are darkly glowing, their warm, resinous perfume pervading the dusty air of the museum. The deep sheer of the boat's profile is quite extraordinarily beautiful, with its high prow and steeply raked stern pieces derived from the ancient papyrus reed rafts that must have been the first Egyptian method of transportation. T o the pure lines and the majestic concept is united a fineness and delicacy of detail that is so typical of this Fourth Dynasty civilization - a character

93

V

13

INTRODUCTION

5-7

revealed not o n l y in the exquisitely c a r v e d p a p y r u s - b u d and p a l m i f o r m finials o f the c a n o p y ' s slender c o l u m n s , but also in a detail as prosaic as a d o o r handle. T h e s e three characteristics - purity, majesty, delicacy return again and again, in stone sculpture, in architecture, e v e n in the fragments o f painted and carved relief that w e k n o w f r o m the period. T h e Fourth D y n a s t y set the stamp, as it w e r e , on E g y p t i a n civilization, establishing the classical canons to w h i c h later generations w o u l d turn. It is an important point to r e m e m b e r in o u r consideration o f the C h e o p s boat, w h e t h e r w e think o f it as an aesthetic object, a religious or ritual s y m b o l , o r indeed f r o m the point o f v i e w o f pure functionalism. A i r conditioning to control the temperature and h u m i d i t y is not a v a i l ­ able in the m u s e u m ; the reasons g i v e n are various, but the one that makes most sense is that there is s i m p l y insufficient electric p o w e r on the plateau to run the h u g e refrigerating unit that sits rusting outside the m u s e u m building. W h y the available p o w e r cannot be stepped u p is another ques­ tion, but questions like this are a source o f deep embarrassment to the E g y p t i a n g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h seems singularly helpless and peculiarly u n ­ able to d o a n y t h i n g about it. T i m e and again, w h e n I asked foreign archaeologists, E g y p t o l o g i s t s o r m u s e u m people about the ship, m y ques­ tions w o u l d b e g i n , ' W e l l , w h y d o n ' t they j u s t . . . ?' A n d the r e p l y a l w a y s c a m e back, w i t h a r e m o t e smile, ' A h , y o u see, y o u d o n ' t k n o w E g y p t . ' H a g A h m e d m o n i t o r s the ship carefully, but w i t h o u t the p r o p e r e q u i p m e n t there is little he can d o to protect it, d e v o t e d t h o u g h he is to its w e l l - b e i n g . C h e o p s ' R o y a l S h i p has s u r v i v e d for m o r e than 4,500 years, but serious doubts h a v e been raised w h e t h e r it w i l l remain intact e v e n for another decade unless drastic measures are taken to rescue it. W h a t the h u g e vessel w a s , w h a t function or functions it w a s built to serve, are questions that h a v e puzzled archaeologists and historians since its d i s c o v e r y . S o m e E g y p t o l o g i s t s h a v e called the ship a S o l a r B a r q u e , a boat to carry the dead k i n g o f E g y p t , resurrected and floating w i t h the S u n - g o d on his eternal r o u n d across the s k y ; others say it w a s a funerary b a r g e , to carry the k i n g ' s e m b a l m e d b o d y d o w n - r i v e r f r o m M e m p h i s , the O l d K i n g d o m capital, to Giza for burial in the p y r a m i d he had spent his life b u i l d i n g ; still others call it a p i l g r i m a g e boat, used in the k i n g ' s o w n lifetime to visit the h o l y places o f E g y p t , or for his o t h e r - w o r l d l y p i l g r i m a g e s in the hereafter. I prefer to f o l l o w B j o r n L a n d s t r o m , the S w e d i s h e x p e r t on ancient boats, and call it the ' R o y a l S h i p ' o f C h e o p s , for r o y a l it most certainly w a s , and as for its other uses and functions, these are not yet k n o w n for certain. A p a r t f r o m official e x c a v a t i o n reports and a f e w scholarly articles o f interest o n l y to E g y p t o l o g i s t s , n o t h i n g has been published p r e v i o u s l y about the R o y a l S h i p o f C h e o p s . L a n d s t r o m , in his exhaustive catalogue

14

INTRODUCTION

5 - 7 Purity and restraint together with a superb technical finish were the hallmarks of Fourth Dynasty craftsmanship, as is evident from these few details from the Royal Ship- a palmiform column supporting the cabin roofbeam, a door latch perhaps carved deliberately to evoke the scarab beetle sacred to the Egyptians, and a sliding lock that is both elegant and economic. Note the copper brads, one on the column and several on the lock, that are among the few instances of the use of metal in the Royal Ship.

of ancient Egyptian boats, Ships of the Pharaohs (1970), discussed the R o y a l Ship, but his scope was too vast to include more than a brief mention, and although his insights into the ship's construction are invaluable, it seems important to understand the ship as something more than the pro­ duct of the ancient shipwright's craft. For it was also the product of a civilization, one of the highest civilizations in man's long history, as well as one of the most ancient. That rapid flowering of culture that was the Pyramid A g e not only set the pattern for the millennia of Egyptian civil­ ization that were to follow; it also created, in art, in literature, in architec­ ture, and, as w e now see, in ship-building, works, monuments and objects that would stun future generations with their technological proficiency

15

INTRODUCTION

as m u c h as their artistic perfection. A c h i e v e m e n t o f this order did not spring forth fully b l o w n in the F o u r t h D y n a s t y . Centuries o f d e v e l o p m e n t must lie behind the grace, the strength, the assurance o f the craft. N o less than the p y r a m i d s , the R o y a l S h i p is a testimony to the a d v a n c e d civiliza­ tion that built it. T h e sun had set w h e n w e left the m u s e u m that day, and the h o l i d a y makers had l o n g since departed. T h e w i n d had d r o p p e d ; already a n i g h t ­ time chill had b e g u n to creep into the air. In the b r i e f desert t w i l i g h t the p y r a m i d s stood out in all their ruined majesty, dark hulks that l o o m e d against the last apricot-coloured g l o w in the western sky. A t night the Giza plateau is a l o n e l y place, cold and forbidding, inhabited o n l y b y a few guards, w r a p p e d like m u m m i e s against the night w i n d , and the y a p ­ ping, threatening p i - d o g s o f E g y p t . F r o m a time l o n g before K i n g C h e o p s this plateau had been a sacred b u r y i n g g r o u n d , and even today there is about it a sense o f holiness and m y s t e r y , especially in the e m p t y silences o f the night. T h e ancient people w h o built these m o n u m e n t s , and apparently buried their kings w i t h i n , are in a w a y as mysterious to us as the p y r a m i d s themselves. W h o built them, w h o e q u i p p e d them w i t h great boats on the magnificent scale o f C h e o p s ' R o y a l S h i p , and h o w and w h y this happened, are questions that w e must find answers to, h o w e v e r tentative. B u t w e cannot b e g i n to understand the R o y a l S h i p , its design, its function and the reasons w h y it w a s buried so carefully in its pit n e x t to the G r e a t P y r a m i d , until w e understand m o r e about the civilization that built it and w h a t that civiliza­ tion thought o f itself and its w o r l d .

16

8 Ahmed Youssef Moustafa,

who restored and reconstructed the Royal Ship of Cheops.

9 This little ivory statuette, just five centimetres high, is the only known portrait of King Cheops. It was found in the Temple of Khentiamentiu, Lord of the Westerners as the dead were called, at the holy city of Abydos.

CHAPTER T W O

The pyramid-builders

T h e E g y p t i a n s w e r e a m o n g the first people in the w o r l d to d e v e l o p a written l a n g u a g e . B y the y e a r 3000 B C , s o m e five h u n d r e d years before the ascent o f K i n g C h e o p s to the throne, the h i e r o g l y p h i c script and the l a n g u a g e it expressed had e v o l v e d the basic forms they w o u l d preserve - t h o u g h subject to great changes in v o c a b u l a r y , g r a m m a r and o r t h o ­ g r a p h y - for m o r e than three thousand years. ( T h e latest h i e r o g l y p h s so far discovered, f r o m the island o f Philae at A s w a n , are dated to the y e a r A D 394, w e l l into the Christian era.) T h u s the E g y p t i a n s w e r e also a m o n g the first people to preserve a record o f historical events. T h e farther back in history o n e goes, o f course, the m o r e s h a d o w y b e c o m e s that r e c o r d ; yet w e p r o b a b l y k n o w m o r e about the early E g y p t i a n s than w e d o about a n y other ancient people.

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T h e Sumerians o f L o w e r M e s o p o t a m i a had also d e v e l o p e d an early w r i t i n g system at about the same time as the E g y p t i a n s , but they lacked the other factor that contributes so m u c h to o u r k n o w l e d g e o f E g y p t the factor o f climate. T h e hot, d r y sands o f the desert preserve w h a t e v e r is buried in t h e m and, p r o b a b l y for this v e r y reason, they w e r e selected b y the E g y p t i a n s as the location o f their b u r y i n g g r o u n d s . Nonetheless, for all the historical records and the preserved artefacts, w e still k n o w little about ancient E g y p t i a n history and civilization. Part o f this has to d o w i t h the reticence o f the ancient chroniclers on the v e r y subjects that w e find fascinating. T h e i r ideas o f w h a t constituted an event w o r t h y o f historical mention are seldom the same as o u r o w n . M u c h o f the ancient record is g i v e n o v e r to prayers and offering formulas that v a r y little f r o m one generation to another. F r o m the period o f the O l d K i n g d o m , w h i c h lasted five h u n d r e d years, o u r k n o w l e d g e is further limited b y the fact that w e h a v e n o t h i n g but burials to g o on. T h e r e are n o remains o f cities, n o domestic architecture, n o settlement patterns, until a m u c h later period. T h i s gives us a curiously one-sided perception o f the ancient E g y p t i a n s as a peculiarly m o r b i d people, obsessed b y death. W h i l e it is true, as w e shall see, that the fact o f death w a s a focus o f their

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io The slate palette of Narmer is the most important of a series of these ritual objects used for the preparation of cosmetics and body paint, and dating from late predynastic and early dynastic times. Crowned by heads of the cow-goddess Hathor, the palette shows on the reverse King Narmer wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt in the characteristic pharaonic pose, subduing his enemies. On the obverse the king, in the topmost register, wears the Red Crown of Lower Egypt while his decapitated enemies lie before him. farmer has been identified with the legendary King Menes, who unified the Two Lands. Note on the obverse the little papyriform boat in the upper right-hand corner.

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civilization, there is also solid evidence that they were a gay and lifeloving people, not so very different from their present-day descendants in the Nile Valley. The date 3000 BC is significant. The art of writing cannot have sprung forth fully developed in that year; it had a long evolution that can only be traced in part, and it continued to evolve long after that date. Nonethe­ less, something very important happened in Egypt around the beginning of the third millennium. Precisely what the events were and in what sequence they took place is not at all clear. Writing developed as a tool of communication for the small but powerful educated class at the same time as a political event of the first order occurred: the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt with a new capital at Memphis, the walls of which were traced, according to a well-established tradition, by Menes, first king of the First Dynasty. The unification of the Nile Valley under one ruler, the establishment of the First Dynasty, and the 'invention' of writing are all related and interdependent events. An important factor

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in the strength and stability o f the n e w political order must h a v e been the ability to c o m m u n i c a t e , b y means o f the w r i t t e n w o r d and often o v e r long distances, so that an edict, transcribed in M e m p h i s and m a r k e d w i t h the k i n g ' s authenticating seal, could be transported b y boat to U p p e r E g y p t o r the Delta o r on foot to the eastern desert outposts and m i n i n g camps, and there carried out. B y the time o f the F o u r t h D y n a s t y , w h i c h seems to h a v e been estab­ lished s o m e time shortly before 2600 B C , the O l d K i n g d o m E g y p t i a n s had e v o l v e d a h i g h l y a d v a n c e d society w i t h a t e c h n o l o g y that w a s sophis­ ticated in the sense that they w e r e able to achieve astounding feats o f engineering w i t h e x t r e m e l y p r i m i t i v e equipment. A strong centralized g o v e r n m e n t w a s focused on the k i n g , w h o w a s responsible in a v e r y direct and i m m e d i a t e w a y for the fertility o f the soil, w h i c h depended on the regular seasonal inundation w h e n the N i l e burst its banks and flooded the valley, depositing a l a y e r o f rich m u d f r o m the African highlands w h e r e the r i v e r has its source. O n the fertility o f the soil, o f course, depended the s u r v i v a l o f all E g y p t , so that the k i n g w a s in a real sense the guarantor o f that s u r v i v a l , the m e d i a t o r b e t w e e n the E g y p t i a n s and their gods (it appears that all offerings to the gods w e r e m a d e in the king's n a m e alone), indeed p r o b a b l y a g o d himself. It w a s to house this g o d ' s i m m o r t a l spirit and to nourish it t h r o u g h prayers and offerings that the p y r a m i d s w e r e built.

The pyramids As architectural achievements, the p y r a m i d s are a w e s o m e constructions; w h e n one considers the limitations under w h i c h the F o u r t h D y n a s t y E g y p t i a n s operated, they are quite unbelievable. It w o u l d be another thousand years before E g y p t i a n s w o u l d k n o w and use the w h e e l ; they w o u l d not discover the b l o c k - a n d - t a c k l e , o r a n y lifting device m o r e sophisticated than the simple lever, until the R o m a n p e r i o d ; their arith­ metical computations w e r e e x t r e m e l y a w k w a r d , based on a complicated system o f d o u b l i n g pairs o f numbers and adding or subtracting the results, and they hardly k n e w c o m p o u n d fractions at all. Y e t in just o v e r a hundred years they built at least seven p y r a m i d s and perhaps c o m p l e t e d an eighth. M o r e than t w o million stones w e r e used in the Great P y r a m i d a l o n e ; their a v e r a g e w e i g h t w a s t w o - a n d - a - h a l f tons, and s o m e blocks w e i g h e d fifteen tons. M u c h o f the stone w a s quarried locally, but s o m e o f it w a s transported from as far a w a y as distant A s w a n , at the N i l e ' s first cataract in U p p e r E g y p t . A n d it w a s not just p y r a m i d s alone, for each o f the main p y r a m i d s w a s the focus o f a vast c o m p l e x c o v e r i n g m a n y acres o f g r o u n d . O n the e d g e

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o f cultivation, at the h i g h point reached b y the N i l e during its annual spate, stood the V a l l e y T e m p l e , w i t h a landing stage for funerary and other boats, and a canal connecting it to the r i v e r to facilitate boat travel even at times o f a l o w N i l e . A h i g h , w a l l e d C a u s e w a y led f r o m the V a l l e y T e m p l e up to the p y r a m i d on the L i b y a n plateau, an escarpment that runs a l o n g the west bank o f the N i l e for hundreds o f miles. A g a i n s t the east side o f the p y r a m i d the M o r t u a r y T e m p l e w a s built to face the rising sun. Inside the M o r t u a r y T e m p l e a 'false d o o r ' , a recessed stone stela that was a characteristic part o f all burial equipment, r o y a l or otherwise, p e r ­ mitted the dead k i n g to enter the temple f r o m his t o m b in the p y r a m i d and partake o f the daily offerings that w e r e made to h i m here. A high temenos or b o u n d a r y w a l l surrounded the p y r a m i d area and restricted access to all but the ritually clean priests and officials w h o p e r f o r m e d the daily services. W i t h i n the p y r a m i d c o m p l e x , but usually outside the temenos w a l l , w e r e subsidiary p y r a m i d s ; the evidence is slender, but m a n y archaeologists believe these to h a v e been the intended burial places o f the k i n g ' s principal w i v e s , o r o f his daughters. It is also possible that they w e r e meant for the ceremonial interment o f various r o y a l paraphernalia, c r o w n s , staves, maces and so forth. M o s t o f the Fourth D y n a s t y p y r a m i d s also had b o a t pits carved into the limestone b e d r o c k o f the plateau - it m a y indeed be discovered that all Fourth D y n a s t y p y r a m i d s had boat-pits, but w h e t h e r they all originally contained boats, and w h e t h e r those boats w e r e o f the magnificent size and scale o f the R o y a l S h i p , is not n o w k n o w n . A s w e l l as engineering geniuses, the E g y p t i a n s had also to be superior organizers in order to erect and furnish these m o n u m e n t s . D o w s D u n h a m

11 In the traditional arrangement of an Old Kingdom pyramid complex, the pyramid itself (l) was surrounded by a boundary or temenos wall (2) to seal off the sacred precinct. On the east side of the pyramid, the mortuary temple (•}) served as the repository of daily offerings to maintain the dead king's spirit. A causeway (4) led to the valley temple (5) at the edge of cultivation and the height of the Nile in flood.

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o f the B o s t o n M u s e u m o f Fine Arts has estimated that n o m o r e than 2,500 people c o u l d h a v e w o r k e d on the p y r a m i d ' s face at a n y one time. B u t there w o u l d also h a v e been thousands m o r e labourers in the q u a r r y and transport c r e w s , as w e l l as the artists, sculptors, painters and skilled stone carvers w h o w e r e responsible for the sumptuous decorations (coloured stones, painted reliefs, inscriptions, statues o f the k i n g and gods) that adorned these buildings - not to mention the supply c r e w s (butchers, bakers, b r e w e r s , cooks) needed to k e e p the armies o f w o r k e r s p r o v i d e d w i t h their daily rations. T h e earliest E g y p t i a n burials that w e k n o w o f w e r e shallow excavations in the desert sand w h e r e the b o d y , w r a p p e d in linen and a c c o m p a n i e d b y the simplest o f g r a v e - g o o d s ( j e w e l r y , w e a p o n s , tools, offering j a r s ) , w a s laid. G r a d u a l l y these simple pit-graves b e c a m e m o r e elaborate, lined w i t h m u d - b r i c k and roofed w i t h w o o d , and enlarged to contain several chambers. B y the First D y n a s t y this simple t y p e o f p i t - g r a v e had e v o l v e d into the mastaba t o m b , so-called because the l o w , rectangular super­ structure o v e r the burial is said to resemble the mastaba benches outside m o d e r n U p p e r E g y p t i a n homes. T h e mastaba t o m b o f K i n g A h a at S a q qara, according to W a l t e r E m e r y w h o e x c a v a t e d a n u m b e r o f First and S e c o n d D y n a s t y r o y a l t o m b s there in the late 1930s and after, had t w e n t y seven small chambers in the m u d - b r i c k superstructure, each containing various kinds o f offerings for the k i n g ' s use in the other w o r l d . T h e s e offerings m i g h t be real, such as j e w e l r y or j a r s o f grain and oil, or they m i g h t be substitutes, m o d e l s in a m o r e durable, often m o r e precious material to take the place o f perishable items. O r they m i g h t be miniatures o f offering objects that w e r e too large o r otherwise unsuitable for placing in the g r a v e . N o r t h o f K i n g A h a ' s i m p o s i n g t o m b , and situated in such a w a y that it seemed clearly to be part o f the burial e q u i p m e n t , E m e r y found a b o a t pit m o r e than nineteen metres l o n g w i t h a brick superstructure 'crude e n o u g h to suggest that it w a s constructed after the boat had been put into position'. F r a g m e n t s o f w o o d and r o p e fibre found in this and other early boat-pits at Saqqara indicated to E m e r y that they had once actually c o n ­ tained real boats. W i t h each succeeding generation, these r o y a l t o m b s b e c a m e larger and m o r e i m p o s i n g , public declarations o f the p o w e r o f the g o d - k i n g , u n ­ diminished even in death, and surrounded b y the g r a v e s o f his nobles and courtiers. T h e first great architectural a d v a n c e c a m e in the T h i r d D y n a s t y w i t h the m o n u m e n t a l use o f stone as a building material. S t o n e had o c c a ­ sionally been used in the past for architectonic elements, such as lintels and d o o r frames, but in the S t e p P y r a m i d built for K i n g Z o s e r at Saqqara, quarried stone blocks instead o f m u d - b r i c k w e r e used structurally for the

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first time in the massive complex, a six-stepped pyramid with courts and chapels surrounding it. The architectural advance indicates a change in the way of expressing the king's power, and possibly, although we have no way of knowing for sure, a change in the very nature of that power. N o longer was the king's grave simply the largest among many similar graves; now the structure, and perhaps the purpose, of the grave was en­ tirely different. The Step Pyramid dominated the necropolis; it was clearly visible from miles away, and especially from Memphis, the whitewalled capital that lay in the green valley below the pyramid plateau. Moreover, with its great courts and temples and subsidiary buildings, the Step Pyramid represented an entirely different concept from King Aha's mastaba with its twenty-seven offering chambers; the Step Pyramid was both a residence for the divine spirit of the dead king, as grand as anything he had had in real life, and a sanctuary for continued worship and propitia­ tion of the god, where offerings and rituals would be continued on a daily basis. 12 The Third Dynasty King Zoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara, shown here in a model reconstruction, represents the first known example of the monumental use of stone in building. With its many temples and courtyards (including the hebsed-court inside the eastern wall for rituals at the king's jubilee), it is much more complicated than the pyramid complexes of the Fourth Dynasty.

13 The name of King Cheops (or Khufu, to give him his proper designation), enclosed in the royal cartouche, has been found on limestone building blocks used in the now ruined pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht, indicating that the Twelfth Dynasty king had despoiled his predecessor's mortuary temple in order to erect his own funerary monument-and indicating too in how little regard the great Old Kingdom ruler was held by much later generations.

The second great architectural advance came later in the Third Dynasty or early in the Fourth Dynasty, with the transition from a step pyramid to a true pyramid at Meidum. The now ruined Meidum pyramid is the southernmost of the Old Kingdom pyramids that comprise the royal necropolis of Memphis. Nearly thirty miles up-river from the ancient capital, the pyramid stands alone, a gaunt and isolated tower rising starkly in two massive courses from the surrounding hill of rubble, left over from the collapse of the pyramid's surface layer. It may be, as one writer has suggested, that the Meidum pyramid collapsed only shortly after it was built. Nonetheless, the attempt in itself was a gesture of assurance and daring in the technology of stone construction that was in keeping with the Fourth Dynasty's characteristic spirit of confidence and vitality. The culmination of that spirit would come in the following generation with the building of the magnificent Great Pyramid at Giza. Merely to list the dimensions of King Cheops' Great Pyramid, as is so often done, can convey little of the awesome nature of the structure. Yet it seems worthwhile remembering that this massive man-made mountain of stone occupies a land area large enough to contain St Paul's in London and St Peter's in R o m e - at the same time. It was built of locally quarried limestone from the Giza plateau, and then faced with fine 1

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14 The Giza necropolis, showing the boat-pits in relation to the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The secondary burial of Cheops' mother, Queen Hetep-heres, is indicated just behind the boat-pit adjacent to the causeway. Nearby are the three so-called 'queens' pyramids' (K1-3) and beyond them the mastaba graves of members of the royal family.

white Tura limestone from the Muqattam hills behind modern Cairo. These facing stones were so precisely joined, the archaeologist Flinders Petrie pointed out, that not even a postcard could be inserted between them. The Mortuary Temple was dressed with pillars of red granite from Aswan in Upper Egypt; the black basalt paving stones of the temple courtyard can still be seen in place on the east side of the pyramid. When Herodotus described the roofed Causeway in the fifth century B C , it was still covered with relief carvings. Though these have long since disappeared, we can guess at their superb quality from the blocks and

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PYRAMID-BUILDERS

fragments of the Mortuary Temple that were re-used by a Twelfth Dynasty king in his pyramid at Lisht. Cheops' Valley Temple, at the foot of the Causeway, has not yet been excavated, its ruins lying beneath the village of Kfar es-Samman below the pyramid plateau. Long before the discovery of the two sealed boat-pits on the south side of the pyramid, archaeologists had known of other open and empty pits that had been excavated in the plateau close by the pyramid and situated in such a w a y that they were obviously part of the funerary complex. T w o of these lie along the east face of the pyramid, just north and south of the Mortuary Temple. A third is aligned with the Causeway that leads from the pyramid down to the valley. There is also apparently a boatpit related to each of the three so-called 'queens' pyramids'. Unlike the more recently discovered sealed pits along the south face, which are both rectangular, these earlier known pits are all boat-shaped, narrowing and coming to a point at either end of the excavation in the rock. In addition to the pairs of boat-pits along the southern and eastern faces of the pyra­ mid, there may well be similar pairs on the western and northern sides,

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1$ A view from the top of the Great Pyramid, looking down on the east-face boat-pits and mastaba tombs. The ruins of two of the three 'queens' pyramids' can be seen on either side of the smallest boat-pit. The dark ribbon of the modern road passes right over the foundations of the mortuary temple.

THE

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a w a i t i n g d i s c o v e r y b y future archaeologists. S u c h a s y m m e t r i c a l a r r a n g e ­ ment w o u l d be in k e e p i n g w i t h the p y r a m i d ' s architecture. S o far, h o w ­ ever, n o t h i n g has been found. W h e t h e r the boat-pits o n the east face once contained real boats is not k n o w n for certain, t h o u g h the A m e r i c a n archaeologist G e o r g e R e i s n e r , w h o cleaned out one o f these pits in the 1920s, certainly t h o u g h t so. A t the b o t t o m o f the pit he found bits o f gilded w o o d and rope fibre, similar to w h a t E m e r y subsequently found in the Saqqara boat-pits. L i k e E m e r y , R e i s n e r b e l i e v e d this w a s solid e v i d e n c e for a boat h a v i n g once been buried in the pit.

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O n e o f the puzzles about the F o u r t h D y n a s t y is that there are m o r e p y r a m i d s than there are kings to b u r y in them. T h e seven k n o w n p y r a m i d s are: the collapsed p y r a m i d at M e i d u m ; the B e n t P y r a m i d and the R e d or N o r t h e r n P y r a m i d , b o t h at D a h s h u r ; the three Giza p y r a m i d s ; and the ruined, possibly unfinished, p y r a m i d at A b u R o a s h ( A b u R a w w a s h ) . T h e six kings a r e : S n e f e r u ; his son C h e o p s ( G i z a ) ; C h e o p s ' sons Djedefre ( A b u R o a s h ) and C h e p h r e n ( G i z a ) ; M y c e r i n u s ( G i z a ) ; and Shepseskaf, apparently the last k i n g o f the Fourth D y n a s t y , w h o chose not to build a p y r a m i d at all but w e n t b a c k to the simpler mastaba t o m b . It was once t h o u g h t that the M e i d u m p y r a m i d had quite clearly been built b y K i n g Sneferu, C h e o p s ' father and the first k i n g o f the dynasty, a m o n a r c h m u c h venerated in later generations for his l e g e n d a r y g o o d ­ ness. S o m e thousand years o r m o r e after the M e i d u m c o m p l e x w a s built, an Eighteenth D y n a s t y scribe w r o t e on the walls o f a temple there that he had c o m e on a p i l g r i m a g e 'to see the beautiful temple o f K i n g Sneferu. H e found it as t h o u g h heaven w e r e in it and the sun rising in it. T h e n he said: " M a y heaven rain w i t h fresh m y r r h , m a y it drip w i t h incense u p o n the r o o f o f the temple o f K i n g S n e f e r u . ' " B u t the late A h m e d F a k h r y ' s investigations here at M e i d u m as w e l l as a r o u n d the D a h s h u r p y r a m i d s h a v e p r o d u c e d evidence that Sneferu m a y not actually h a v e built his o w n p y r a m i d at M e i d u m , but completed one w h i c h his father-in-law and predecessor K i n g H u n i had b e g u n . Later tradition mistakenly associated it w i t h Sneferu alone. K u r t Mendelssohn has suggested in his b o o k The Riddle of the Pyramids (1974) that, w h i l e Sneferu w a s in the process o f erecting his B e n t P y r a m i d at D a h s h u r , the M e i d u m p y r a m i d suddenly and dramatically collapsed. S u c h a disaster m i g h t w e l l account for the change in the angle o f incline that gives the B e n t P y r a m i d its characteristic and rather elegant r h o m b o i d profile. Sneferu w o u l d h a v e w a n t e d to a v o i d , at all costs, the risk o f his o w n p y r a ­ m i d collapsing as w e l l . 2

28

¡6 The most important Old Kingdom pyramids shown in section with their entrances and burial chambers, A , the Step Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara; B, the now-ruined pyramid of Meidum; c, the western, and D , the northern entrances to Sneferu's Bent Pyramid at Dahshur; E , the Red or Northern Pyramid of Sneferu at Dahshur; F, the Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza; c, Chephren's pyramid at Giza; H, the pyramid of Mycerinus at Giza.

17 King Sneferu is shown clad in garments for the hebsed-ceremony and wearing the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt on this five-metre-high stela. Set up outside the eastern face of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, the stela is taken to con­ firm that Sneferu did in fact build this pyramid himself.

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Egyptologists are certain that Sneferu had at least two pyramids. A legal document, dated some 350 years after Sneferu's reign, exempting 'the two pyramids of Sneferu' from taxes and the forced labour corvée, was found carved on a stone tablet near the R e d Pyramid at Dahshur, evidence that this pyramid at least must have belonged to Sneferu. Fakhry's investiga­ tions at the Bent Pyramid, just south of the R e d Pyramid, have shown that this monument too is without question Sneferu's. Among other evi­ dence, a large stela found near the pyramid depicts King Sneferu clad in his robes for the hebsed rite, a magical rejuvenation ceremony that was celebrated periodically to re-invigorate the king's powers. Sneferu is shown wearing the two crowns, the bulbous white crown of Upper Egypt superimposed over the red crown of Lower Egypt. It is not at all clear w h y Sneferu built two or more pyramids. Earlier kings seem often to have had at least two tombs, one at Abydos, the southem city that was sacred to Osiris, chthonic god of the underworld, and the other at Saqqara, within sight of the white-walled capital. Emery felt that the Saqqara tombs were the actual graves of the early kings, while the tombs at Abydos were cenotaphs, empty memorials for the King of

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U p p e r E g y p t . T h e r e w o u l d then h a v e been another cenotaph for the K i n g o f L o w e r E g y p t at B u t o , another sacred city, in the Delta. Since most ancient structures in the D e l t a h a v e l o n g since disappeared in the silt o f the annual N i l e inundations, it is impossible to test E m e r y ' s hypothesis. O t h e r kings besides Sneferu m a y h a v e had t w o o r m o r e p y r a m i d s as w e l l , o r perhaps a p y r a m i d and another, different sort o f funerary m o n u m e n t , but i f so w e h a v e yet to d i s c o v e r these other m o n u m e n t s - o r to recognize t h e m for w h a t they are. If the collapsed p y r a m i d at M e i d u m is in fact attributable to Sneferu alone, together w i t h the t w o D a h s h u r p y r a m i d s , then w e are left w i t h w h a t one E g y p t o l o g i s t called 'the unpalatable conclusion' that Sneferu built three p y r a m i d s in the t w e n t y - f o u r years o f his reign, an incredible expenditure o f l a b o u r in so short a time. H e r o d o t u s w a s told that the C a u s e w a y alone o f C h e o p s ' G r e a t P y r a m i d at G i z a t o o k ten years to c o m ­ plete, and the p y r a m i d itself m o r e like t w e n t y . H o w then c o u l d Sneferu h a v e m a n a g e d so m u c h in the relatively brief span o f t w e n t y - f o u r years ? H e r o d o t u s , w h o w a s after all w r i t i n g m o r e than t w o thousand years after the event, m a y h a v e been mistaken. M o r e recently E g y p t o l o g i s t s such as I. E . S. E d w a r d s h a v e suggested, on the basis o f blocks discovered at the R e d P y r a m i d bearing q u a r r y dates, that it m a y h a v e taken consider­ ably less than t w e n t y years to construct these m o n u m e n t s . Nonetheless, a n y o n e w h o has seen the vast structures, e v e n in their present state, and can i m a g i n e the w a y they must once h a v e l o o k e d , w i l l w o n d e r at the e n o r m o u s expenditure o f t i m e and e n e r g y and l a b o u r and, a b o v e all, organization, they entailed. T h e purpose and function o f the p y r a m i d s has been a subject o f debate, one imagines, almost f r o m the t i m e they w e r e first erected. S o m e h o w a m e r e g r a v e , e v e n for a personage as magnificent as the g o d - k i n g o f E g y p t , seems an u n i m a g i n a t i v e use for such i m p o s i n g structures. In the end, h o w e v e r , the evidence f r o m nearly e i g h t y p y r a m i d s (not all o f them, b y a n y means, f r o m the t i m e o f the O l d K i n g d o m ) is o v e r w h e l m i n g . T h e p y r a m i d served t w o functions: as the repository o f the dead king's remains it w a s a lofty m o n u m e n t to his m e m o r y ; and, as the centre o f the cult that w a s focused on the dead k i n g , it w a s intended to secure his w e l l - b e i n g in the afterlife for eternity - and thereby the eternal w e l l b e i n g o f E g y p t as w e l l .

Funerary ritual In his admirable b o o k , The Pyramids of Egypt, I. E . S. E d w a r d s has d e ­ scribed the elaborate funerary ritual that t o o k place w h e n a k i n g died. E d w a r d s ' description o f this ritual is based on the P y r a m i d T e x t s , a c o m -

3i

¡8 A masterpiece of Old Kingdom sculpture, this diorite seated statue of Cheops' son Chephren probablyformed part of a group of twenty-three similar statues in the Valley Temple to Chephren's pyramid. It was found in a deep pit in an antechamber to the temple where it had evidently been placed in ancient times in order to preserve it from destruction. Cf. ill. 122.

(Opposite) J The Great Pyramid at Giza seen in the evening light. The modern museum which houses the Royal Ship lies to the right in the photograph. II The Giza pyramids at sunrise. The Great Pyramid is on the right, with the boat museum on its southern side. Cf. ill. 14.

plicated series of spells, charms and prayers found inscribed in hieroglyphs on the internal walls of the pyramids of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty rulers, but dating originally from a much earlier period.* The king's body would be brought to the Valley Temple from Memphis by boat, most likely in a papyriform funerary boat looking very much like the R o y a l Ship of King Cheops. The dead king's body was ritually bathed at the Valley Temple in an act of purification and regeneration of his spirit that recalled the Sun-god emerging regenerated each morning from the waters of the Lily Lake. It was the first step in a complicated yet precise ritual that guaranteed the revivification of the king and his survival in the hereafter. The most important ceremony was the 'Opening of the Mouth', a rite that was performed not on the king's body but on life-size statues * T h e earliest were found in the pyramid of King Unas, or Wenis, who was most probably the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, but in the main they are a Sixth Dynasty phenomenon. Internal epigraphic evidence, however, style, the use of language, the spelling of words, etc., suggest that they are often much older, and in some cases go far back into the predynastic period. Perhaps in earlier times they were written on more perishable material; certainly nothing has so far been found that predates King Unas.

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o f h i m that lined the niches o f the V a l l e y T e m p l e ' s central hall. (There w e r e t w e n t y - t h r e e statues, o f diorite, schist and alabaster, in the central hall o f C h e p h r e n ' s V a l l e y T e m p l e , the o n l y F o u r t h D y n a s t y building o f this type that remains relatively intact.) T h e k i n g ' s son and successor w o u l d sprinkle w a t e r o v e r each statue, cense it w i t h aromatic fragrances, offer sacrifices before it, touch various sacred objects, including an adze and a chisel, to its m o u t h , then rub its m o u t h w i t h m i l k and deck the statue in r o y a l regalia. B y this process each statue in the V a l l e y T e m p l e b e c a m e animated w i t h the k i n g ' s d i v i n e ka, that part o f his spirit for w h i c h 'soul' is a less than adequate translation. O n c e these ceremonies in the V a l l e y T e m p l e w e r e c o m p l e t e d , the e m b a l m e d b o d y , together w i t h various c r o w n s and the internal organs (which had been r e m o v e d f r o m the b o d y to be e m b a l m e d and buried in a separate container) w o u l d be b o r n e in a solemn procession in w h i c h o n l y the ritually pure m i g h t participate, up the C a u s e w a y , the walls o f w h i c h w e r e sufficiently h i g h to screen the sacred cortege f r o m profane observation, to the M o r t u a r y T e m p l e w h e r e further ' O p e n i n g o f the M o u t h ' rites w e r e p e r f o r m e d on statues o f the dead k i n g before his b o d y was r e m o v e d for its final interment w i t h i n the p y r a m i d . W h e t h e r the k i n g ' s passing o v e r to the eternal life w a s a j o y o u s occasion o r a time o f deep m o u r n i n g , w e d o not k n o w , but it must h a v e been a solemn event, charged w i t h e m o t i o n and crackling w i t h the p o t e n c y o f the m a g i c that was being p e r f o r m e d . N o mistakes must be m a d e , n o t h i n g o m i t t e d f r o m the elaborate c e r e m o n y , for on the k i n g ' s survival and w e l l - b e i n g in the afterlife depended the s u r v i v a l and w e l l - b e i n g o f E g y p t . D u r i n g the Fourth D y n a s t y , the k i n g alone w a s entitled to this elaborate ritual, just as kings alone w e r e buried in these great p y r a m i d c o m p l e x e s . E v e n the k i n g ' s first-born son, if he predeceased his father, w a s buried in a simple mastaba, as w a s the C r o w n Prince K a w a b w h o died before his father K i n g C h e o p s and w a s buried in a large mastaba j u s t to the east o f the G r e a t P y r a m i d c o m p l e x . W e must assume that Prince K a w a b ' s burial ceremonies, like those o f other m e m b e r s o f the noble classes, w e r e equally simple. S o m e E g y p t o l o g i s t s h a v e a r g u e d that the k i n g w a s t h o u g h t o f as the mediator w i t h the gods but not as a g o d himself. B u t during the F o u r t h D y n a s t y at least, the k i n g does seem to h a v e been considered divine. It w a s because he w a s t h o u g h t o f as the ' G r e a t G o d ' that the k i n g alone p a r t o o k o f these funerary rituals and privileges. W e shall g o into the c o m ­ plicated subject o f E g y p t i a n religious beliefs later on, but it is w o r t h stress­ ing here h o w central this belief in the k i n g ' s d i v i n e role w a s to the entire E g y p t i a n system, w h e t h e r theological, political o r administrative, at least during the O l d K i n g d o m .

18

(Opposite) /// One of the empty boatpits on the eastern side of the Great Pyramid, looking southwest, with the py­ ramids of Chephren and Mycerinus in the distance. IV The Royal Ship is today housed in a modern museum on the southern side of the Great Pyramid, built over the pitfrom which the ship was excavated. The limestone blocks cover­ ing the second - and as yet unexcavated - south-face boat-pit are just visible in the foreground.

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14

A r o u n d the r o y a l burials w e r e organized the graves o f officials, nobles, princes and princesses, to assist the k i n g in death as they had d o n e in his earthly existence. Outside the Great P y r a m i d c o m p l e x , C h e o p s had erected a g r o u p o f stone mastabas for his court. S i x t y - f o u r o f these w e r e laid out in a regular pattern to f o r m a little funerary v i l l a g e to the w e s t o f the p y r a m i d . T o the east w e r e eight e n o r m o u s t w i n mastabas for the k i n g ' s favourite children, including that o f the C r o w n Prince m e n t i o n e d a b o v e . T h e y w e r e there both to serve the k i n g in the afterlife and because their o w n s u r v i v a l in the afterlife depended on their p r o x i m i t y to the r o y a l burial and the o p p o r t u n i t y to share in its i m m o r t a l i t y . N o m o r e c o n v i n c i n g i m a g e can be g i v e n o f the centralized absolutism o f the F o u r t h D y n a s t y religious state than this association o f the k i n g and his servants for eternity. T h e state had been d e v e l o p e d entirely to serve the g o d - k i n g ; he w a s the focus o f all e c o n o m i c life as w e l l as o f all religion. Y e t it makes little sense to speak o f a personal authoritarianism, either o f the k i n g o r o f the priesthood, for the k i n g himself, as m u c h as a n y o n e else, w a s prisoner and v i c t i m o f the religious state.

Life in the Pyramid A g e T h e walls o f the offering chapels in the mastaba tombs o f the r o y a l n e c r o ­ polis w e r e decorated w i t h c a r v e d and painted scenes f r o m e v e r y d a y life as w e l l as inscriptions recounting the titles and achievements o f the t o m b o w n e r . T h e s e offering chapels are one o f o u r main sources o f information about daily life in the O l d K i n g d o m . U n f o r t u n a t e l y little has s u r v i v e d f r o m the F o u r t h D y n a s t y itself, but life during that century w a s p r o b a b l y not so v e r y different f r o m w h a t w e n t before or c a m e after.

19

36

F o r the n o b l e classes, it w a s a pleasurable existence. A g r i c u l t u r e w a s the main e c o n o m i c pursuit, t h o u g h w e hear o f expeditions to the mines o f Sinai and the eastern desert for c o p p e r and turquoise, to the mysterious land o f P u n t ( S o m a l i a ? Y e m e n ? ) for e x o t i c perfumes and spices, to L e b a n o n and Cilicia for cedar and other kinds o f b i g timber that did not g r o w in E g y p t . B u t it is the teeming life o f the N i l e V a l l e y that is d w e l t on most l o v i n g l y and in precise detail - p l o u g h i n g and harvest, hunting scenes in the desert and fishing in the great reed marshes that still lined the N i l e banks, boating on the river in a v a r i e t y o f craft f r o m simple reed rafts to great vessels oared and r i g g e d for an ocean v o y a g e , boat-building (here the detail has been invaluable, as w e shall see, in understanding the construction o f the R o y a l S h i p ) , domestic pursuits such as w e a v i n g , m a k ­ ing bread and beer. T h e flowering plants and the animals that populated marshland and desert, as w e l l as the river fish, are noted w i t h a closely

lg The hunting scene in the marshes, for thousands of years a favourite wall decoration in Egyptian tombs, is here represented by a relief carving from the mastaba of the Sixth Dynasty nobleman Mereruka, who was buried at Saqqara near the pyramid of his father-in-law, King Teti. Kingfishers, herons, flamingoes, ibis, ducks and other marsh fowl flutter in the reeds and perch on flower stalks. Four men punt a papyrus raft through the marshes while a fifth grasps the tail of a mongoose. In the water crocodiles and hippopotami battle with each other as fish swim calmly by.

observed naturalism and precision, and we can identify antelopes and hip­ popotamuses, papyrus, lotuses, ducks and other waterfowl. These scenes of the rich life of the Nile Valley were favourites of artist and patron alike, for the patron had the security of knowing he would be surrounded, in the hereafter as in the present, by the same things that made life on the Nile banks such a deep source of pleasure, while the artist's talent rose to the challenge of depicting this life in all its variety. The charm and vigour of the chapel scenes is a tribute both to the artists' skill and to the deep love the ancient Egyptians felt for their cherished land. Alto­ gether one has the impression, even if inevitably idealized, of a people leading active, energetic and productive lives, a self-confident people who lived in close harmony with their environment. O f biographical detail there is very little from this period. Some cen­ turies later, with the break-up of highly centralized royal authority, the nobles began to take sufficient pride in individual accomplishment to wish to record it for posterity, but from the Fourth Dynasty we have only

37

20 (Above) This seated stone sculputure, almost certainly from the early Third Dynasty, is identified only as Bezmes, the ship-builder. He holds his boatbuilder's adze in much the same way that the king holds the flail in royal sculpture. 21 (Right) Cheops' vizier Hemiunu or Hemon held, among other titles, that of Overseer of the King's Works and was therefore almost certainly responsible for the building of the Great Pyramid complex, as well as the construction, dis­ mantling and burial of the Royal Ship. His unpainted limestone statue reveals a strong forthright personality, in keeping with his important responsibilities.

20

21

38

titles. Sometimes these titles are tantalizingly descriptive, like that of Bezmes, whose small statue is in the British Museum and of whom we know nothing more than that he was a boat-builder. Usually the titles are unenlightening honorifics, such as 'Great King's Companion' or 'Keeper of the Seal of Upper and Lower Egypt', that tell us nothing about the person or the office. Sometimes we can glean bits of information about relationships among members of the royal family. We know, for instance, that the Vizier Hemiunu, the 'Overseer of All the King's Works', was most likely the supervisor of the construction of Cheops' Great Pyramid, and probably of his boats as well. We can guess that he was a royal prince, a younger brother or half-brother of Cheops himself, because viziers, like other important ministers in the Old Kingdom, were usually close rela­ tives of the king they served; and we gain an impression, from the lifesize seated statue of Hemiunu in the Pelizaeus Museum in Hildeshcim, of a responsible leader and forceful administrator. There is something direct and honest about this man's large, handsome features, and it is pleasant to think that he may have been responsible for the intricate con­ struction details of the R o y a l Ship.

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If we know little of the biographical background or the personalities of the time, we know virtually nothing of the larger political and military events. One of the most important historical documents from the earlier dynasties is the Palermo Stone, a large diorite stela, so-called because the biggest fragment lies in a museum in the Sicilian capital city (there are other fragments in the Cairo Museum). Precisely engraved in long, regu­ lar columns on the black stone are lists of all the kings of Egypt, beginning with the near-mythical predynastic leaders about whom almost nothing is known, and continuing up to the kings of the Fifth Dynasty. Each year the height of the Nile flood was recorded, as well as any significant events that had occurred. Most of these events are records of temples built and offerings made, religious ceremonies and mining expeditions, but occa­ sionally more dramatic episodes were noted down. Thus we learn that

22 The Palermo Stone lists the kings of Egypt from the mythical predynastic period up to the Fifth Dynasty. For each year the height of the annual Nile flood was recorded, as well as significant events, such as the building of a temple or the arrival of a shipment of precious wood jrom the Lebanon.

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K i n g Sneferu led a c a m p a i g n against the N u b i a n s in the south that netted 7,000 prisoners and 200,000 head o f cattle, and another against the L i b y a n s w i t h almost equally significant results. B u t w h e t h e r these w e r e raids to protect trading parties, or expeditions for the express purpose o f gathering slaves and cattle, o r military campaigns o f conquest, is not clear. M o r e directly relevant to the story o f the R o y a l Ship is the information that Sneferu had sent an expedition most p r o b a b l y to B y b l o s , the i m p o r ­ tant trading centre on the Lebanese coast north o f B e i r u t . F o r t y ships returned to E g y p t filled w i t h cedar and other coniferous logs, and in the f o l l o w i n g years, it w a s noted, three ships, each s o m e fifty metres l o n g , as w e l l as a n u m b e r o f barges, w e r e built o f w o o d f r o m this shipment. C e d a r w a s also used to m a k e the doors o f the r o y a l palace, and it m a y have been part o f this same shipment that w a s used for the beams in the burial c h a m b e r o f Sneferu's B e n t P y r a m i d at D a h s h u r - beams that can still be seen in situ b y a n y o n e agile e n o u g h to c r a w l t h r o u g h the n a r r o w entrance passage.

Hetep-heres, Sneferu and Cheops

23, 24

14

40

B y fortuitous accident, and the meticulous attention o f a skilled archaeo­ logist, w e k n o w m o r e about Q u e e n Hetep-heres, Sneferu's w i f e and the m o t h e r o f C h e o p s , than w e d o about a n y other Fourth D y n a s t y figure. In 1 9 2 5 , a p h o t o g r a p h e r w o r k i n g in the Giza necropolis for the H a r v a r d B o s t o n E x p e d i t i o n , literally stumbled o v e r the secret secondary burial o f this great queen. T h e e x c a v a t i o n o f the t o m b , supervised b y G e o r g e R e i s n e r , director o f the E x p e d i t i o n , remains to this d a y a l a n d m a r k , set­ ting n e w standards for a r c h a e o l o g y - careful, t h o r o u g h - g o i n g , painstak­ ing, a b o v e all patient - for, although the burial c h a m b e r measured o n l y fifteen metres square, it t o o k t w o years to sift its contents, so meticulous was Reisner's method. T h e contents o f the g r a v e w e r e e x t r a o r d i n a r y - gilded furniture, chairs, a bed and c a n o p y , a curtain b o x and coffers that contained the queen's delicate necklaces and bracelets. Elegant g o l d h i e r o g l y p h s p r o c l a i m e d the o w n e r o f this fabulous e q u i p m e n t : ' M o t h e r o f the K i n g o f U p p e r and L o w e r E g y p t , F o l l o w e r o f H o r u s , G u i d e o f the R u l e r , F a v o u r i t e O n e , she w h o s e e v e r y w o r d is d o n e for her, the D a u g h t e r o f the G o d ' s B o d y , Hetep-heres.' T h e g r a v e w a s situated j u s t south o f the C a u s e w a y leading f r o m the G r e a t P y r a m i d to C h e o p s ' V a l l e y T e m p l e , and j u s t north o f the three 'queens' p y r a m i d s ' . It w a s the earliest intact r o y a l burial yet found, but it w a s not complete. W h e n the e x c a v a t o r s lifted the lid o f the alabaster sarcophagus, it w a s e m p t y . T h e subsequent d i s c o v e r y in a w a l l niche o f

2jj, 24 The burial hoard of Queen Hetep-heres, the mother of Cheops, included this magnificent group of wooden furniture (above), sheathed in gold and decorated with the names and titles of the queen's husband, King Sneferu (right). The finials of the columns supporting the canopy have the same papyrus-bud shape as the columns of the cabin canopy on the Royal Ship (cf. ills. 34, 35), while the papyrus symbol is continued on the wonderfully simple openwork designs of the chair sides.

a smaller alabaster coffer, a canopic chest with the royal viscera still in their embalming fluid, could not compensate for the disappointment at the lack of a royal body as well. In the normal course of things, Queen Hetep-heres should have been buried somewhere close by one of Sneferu's pyramids at Dahshur. Ahmed Fakhry believed that the Bent Pyramid, the southernmost of the two, was most probably Sneferu's actual burial place. It would seem that Hetep-heres' grave should be found nearby, perhaps in a small pyramid of her own. What then was the empty sarcophagus, accompanied by rich funerary equipment, doing in a secret burial at Giza? Because she was called 'Mother of the King', we know that Hetepheres must have died after her son Cheops came to the throne. Reisner's theory was that she had indeed been buried at Dahshur, but that thieves had broken into her tomb only shortly after she had been interred there, had prised open the sarcophagus and grabbed as many of the royal jewels as they could get away with, dragging her body out into the moonlit desert where, in their haste, they left it for jackals to consume. This rather

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lurid speculation perhaps says something m o r e about R e i s n e r the n o v e l ­ ist than it does about R e i s n e r the archaeologist, but if true it w o u l d h a v e been considered an appalling crime. T h e desecration o f a g r a v e w a s a ter­ rible sacrilege, and especially the desecration o f a r o y a l g r a v e . Indeed, the disappearance o f the queen's m u m m y , R e i s n e r theorized, w o u l d h a v e been so h o r r i f y i n g that n o one, not e v e n the V i z i e r H e m i u n u , w o u l d h a v e had the c o u r a g e to i n f o r m the k i n g o f the c r i m e . Instead K i n g C h e o p s w o u l d h a v e been presented w i t h the o p p o r t u n i t y for a pious act, r e - b u r y ­ ing his mother's b o d y n e x t to his o w n final resting-place, still under c o n ­ struction on the Giza plateau, w h e r e she c o u l d share in all the prayers and offerings that w o u l d be m a d e to h i m . H e w o u l d n e v e r h a v e been told that w h a t he w a s r e - b u r y i n g w a s in fact an e m p t y sarcophagus. Hetep-heres w a s p r o b a b l y the d a u g h t e r o f H u n i (or H u ) , the obscure last k i n g o f the T h i r d D y n a s t y , about w h o m almost n o t h i n g is k n o w n b e y o n d his n a m e . T h e title ' D a u g h t e r o f the G o d ' s B o d y ' w a s conferred on the eldest daughters o f reigning k i n g s , and signified the important role these w o m e n p l a y e d in the succession. A s far as the r o y a l succession w a s concerned, ancient E g y p t i a n society w a s to a great degree matrilineal. W o m e n m a y n o t h a v e been v e r y important in society as a w h o l e (although one w r i t e r , M a r g a r e t M u r r a y , has suggested that all p r o p e r t y descended in the female line f r o m m o t h e r to daughter), but queens most certainly w e r e . T h e succession w a s guaranteed b y the D a u g h t e r o f the G o d , the k i n g ' s eldest s u r v i v i n g d a u g h t e r and, p r o p e r l y , the daughter h e r ­ self o f a G o d ' s D a u g h t e r . T h i s w a s the reason for the brother-sister m a r ­ riages o f E g y p t i a n r o y a l t y that are so t r o u b l e s o m e to o u r m i n d s : the o n l y w a y for a r o y a l prince to secure his inheritance w a s to m a r r y his full sister, the D a u g h t e r o f the G o d ' s B o d y . W e can see the matrilineal roots o f k i n g ­ ship also in the P a l e r m o S t o n e , w h e r e each k i n g ' s n a m e is a c c o m p a n i e d b y that o f his m o t h e r , as a stamp o f l e g i t i m a c y and an accreditation o f his right to rule. A n archaic h o l d - o v e r f r o m a m o r e p r i m i t i v e era w h e n the father's role in conception w a s not clearly understood, r o y a l matrilineality continued to be important t h r o u g h o u t E g y p t i a n history. Because o f the dynastic change b e t w e e n K i n g H u n i , last k i n g o f the T h i r d D y n a s t y , and K i n g Sneferu, first k i n g o f the F o u r t h D y n a s t y , it seems p r o b a b l e that Sneferu w a s not H u n i ' s son, o r at least not his legiti­ mate son b y his principal w i f e . Sneferu must h a v e gained the throne not b y inheritance but b y m a r r i a g e w i t h the R o y a l Princess Hetep-heres, the D a u g h t e r o f the G o d ' s B o d y . T h e y m a y h a v e had m a n y children. W e k n o w o f o n l y o n e - C h e o p s - and h i m n o t v e r y w e l l . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , that part o f the P a l e r m o S t o n e dealing w i t h C h e o p s ' t w e n t y - t h r e e - y e a r reign is c o m p l e t e l y missing, and there are n o other c o n ­ t e m p o r a r y d o c u m e n t s that can contribute to o u r k n o w l e d g e o f his time.

42

THE

PYRAMID-BUILDERS

T h e most ancient source w e h a v e is H e r o d o t u s , w h o visited the G i z a p y r a ­ mids s o m e t w o thousands years later and claimed that the E g y p t i a n s o f his d a y r e m e m b e r e d C h e o p s , together w i t h his son C h e p h r e n , as an i m p i o u s and oppressive tyrant. C h e o p s , the priests at Heliopolis told H e r o d o t u s , closed all the temples in the country. ' T h e n , not content w i t h e x c l u d i n g his subjects f r o m the practice o f their religion, he c o m p e l l e d them w i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n to l a b o u r as slaves for his o w n a d v a n t a g e No c r i m e w a s too great for C h e o p s . ' In fact, there is n o historical justification for H e r o d o t u s ' v i e w s ; n o r is there a n y evidence to support an opposite opinion. A l l that remains o f the great k i n g is the majestic p y r a m i d c o m p l e x at G i z a and the m a g n i f i ­ cent R o y a l S h i p that, together w i t h an e m p t y sarcophagus in the burial c h a m b e r o f the Great P y r a m i d , is the o n l y funerary e q u i p m e n t o f his that w e k n o w . A little seated i v o r y figure, five centimetres tall, in the C a i r o M u s e u m is the sole portrait w e h a v e o f the k i n g . F o u n d at A b y d o s in the temple o f K h e n t i a m e n t i u , the j a c k a l - h e a d e d L o r d o f the Westerners, the figure is too small to g i v e m o r e than the most a p p r o x i m a t e impression o f w h a t the k i n g really l o o k e d like. T h e expression on his face is o f a rather wilful determination, but this m a y stem less f r o m the portrait o f the m a n than f r o m H e r o d o t u s ' description o f h i m . T h e p y r a m i d - b u i l d e r s o f the F o u r t h D y n a s t y represent the a p o g e e o f E g y p t i a n civilization, the culmination o f an e x t r a o r d i n a r y burst o f crea­ tive e n e r g y that had taken place s o m e five hundred years earlier w h e n M e n e s united the T w o Lands and traced the w h i t e walls o f M e m p h i s w i t h his p l o u g h . F r o m the m a r s h y riverine b e g i n n i n g s in the reed shrines and simple pit-graves, f r o m the first important stone structure, the Step P y r a ­ m i d at Saqqara, f r o m M e i d u m and D a h s h u r w i t h their hesitant and tenta­ tive experimentation, to the Giza p y r a m i d s , and especially the Great P y r a ­ m i d o f C h e o p s , a sense o f confidence g r o w s , confidence in the material and the f o r m , and in the p o w e r o f the civilization to put t h e m to use. T h e y w e r e a people o f e n o r m o u s artistic skill and e n e r g y , intelligent and practical, o r g a n i z e d a r o u n d the principle that the state b e l o n g e d to the d i v i n e k i n g , that it existed to serve h i m and preserve h i m . B e c a u s e o f this assurance, they c o u l d tackle the p r o b l e m s o f b u i l d i n g a p y r a m i d for a g o d ' s t o m b in the same efficient spirit w i t h w h i c h they a p p r o a c h e d the organization o f irrigation and the securing o f f o o d supplies. Safe f r o m invasion, either m i l i t a r y o r cultural, behind the natural boundaries o f the Sinai and L i b y a n deserts, t h e y w e r e free to e x p e r i m e n t w i t h f o r m s ; y e t d e e p l y c o n s e r v a t i v e and suspicious o f a n y t h i n g that deviated f r o m the fixed canons, they q u i c k l y settled o n the pattern that w a s to i n f o r m E g y p ­ tian civilization for thousands o f years to c o m e .

43

25 The Great Pyramid of King Cheops photographed from the southwest corner in the early 1930s, some twenty years before the discovery of the two boat-pits on the south face.

CHAPTER THREE

Discovery

Exploratory work S h o r t l y after the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , the E g y p t i a n Antiquities S e r v i c e , the official g o v e r n m e n t b o d y that oversees e v e r y t h i n g pertaining to the c o u n t r y ' s past, had d r a w n up a plan to clear a w a y a century and m o r e o f rubble that had accumulated in the area a r o u n d the G r e a t P y r a m i d . It w a s a routine operation and there w a s n o reason to e x p e c t any major d i s c o v e r y o r even any n e w information, for the p y r a m i d s o f G i z a h a v e been g a p e d at in curiosity and a m a z e m e n t since w e l l before H e r o d o t u s w r o t e the first tourist g u i d e s o m e t w e n t y - f i v e centuries a g o . K i n g C h e o p s ' p y r a m i d particularly, w i t h its i m m e n s e scale and f o r m a l perfec­ tion, has a l w a y s been a source o f w o n d e r and speculation. A n d since the N a p o l e o n i c invasion o f E g y p t in 1 7 9 8 , w h e n eighteenth-century rationalism and systematic science w e r e applied to the ancient civilization o f the N i l e , the Great P y r a m i d has been studied, measured, e x c a v a t e d , d r a w n , p h o t o g r a p h e d and generally e x p l o i t e d , inside and out, b y treasureseekers, savants, archaeologists, astrologists, historians, mountainclimbers and hordes o f the just plain curious. E v e r y t h i n g that could be k n o w n about the Great P y r a m i d w a s k n o w n , it seemed, except for the still-puzzling question o f h o w a society w h o s e t e c h n o l o g y had not yet arrived at the w h e e l , w a s able to erect such a massive structure in the first place. T h r o u g h o u t this century archaeologists e x c a v a t i n g in the t o m b s o f the Giza necropolis had used the p y r a m i d area as a convenient d u m p i n g g r o u n d for their debris. W i n d - b l o w n sand f r o m the desert had drifted o v e r these d u m p s and f o r m e d great dunes piled so h i g h against the sides o f the G r e a t P y r a m i d that f r o m close up it w a s impossible to see the structure itself. A l l o f this w a s to be cleared a w a y , according to the plans o f the Antiquities Service, but it could not be d o n e carelessly or w i t h b u l l ­ dozers, as one w o u l d clear a building site, for the piles o f sand and rubble m i g h t w e l l conceal artefacts o r other information w h o s e importance w o u l d not h a v e been apparent to earlier e x c a v a t o r s . In a sense, clearing

25 26

45

DISCOVERY

the debris w a s like clearing an archaeological site, for it w a s necessary painstakingly to scrape a w a y the earth, level b y level, in o r d e r not to miss anything. E v e n so, n o t h i n g o f any special interest had turned up w h e n , in the early spring o f 1 9 5 4 , the w o r k m e n b e g a n to finish the j o b . U n d e r the direction o f a y o u n g architect-archaeologist n a m e d K a m a l e l - M a l lakh, they w e r e clearing the southern and final face o f the p y r a m i d w h e r e sand and debris had accumulated in a great pile s o m e t w e n t y metres h i g h . L i k e all the other F o u r t h D y n a s t y p y r a m i d s , the G r e a t P y r a m i d had been erected on the limestone b e d r o c k o f the L i b y a n escarpment, the l o n g , l o w desert mountains that b o r d e r the N i l e V a l l e y to the w e s t , at a spot w h e r e the ancient engineers had d e e m e d the subsurface sufficiently strong to support the e n o r m o u s , concentrated mass o f the structure. In s o m e areas a r o u n d the G r e a t P y r a m i d there w a s evidence o f a p a v e d c o u r t y a r d that had been laid out on top o f the b e d r o c k and perhaps had surrounded the p y r a m i d entirely. T h e m o d e r n w o r k m e n ' s instructions w e r e to clear a w a y the rubble right d o w n to the b e d r o c k , o r to the paving-stones i f they found them, w h i c h indeed they did - w i d e , well-dressed slabs o f limestone m o r e than half a metre thick, e x a c t l y like those that had been found in other places a r o u n d the p y r a m i d . T h e d i s c o v e r y d u r i n g this routine clearance o f w h a t appeared to be part o f the southern section o f the temenos o r b o u n d a r y w a l l that had once 26 Section through the Great Pyramid, showing the mound of debris that covered the two south-face boatpits before their discovery in 1954, and, in the inset, the pit that contained the Royal Ship, sealed by great limestone blocks with shutters.

2j Plan of the southern side of the Great Pyramid, indicating how the boundary wall overlay the fortyone stones that covered the eastern pit (with the Royal Ship) and the forty stones of the western pit.

surrounded the p y r a m i d c o m p l e x w a s an u n e x p e c t e d bonus, but hardly surprising. Parts o f the northern and western b o u n d a r y walls w e r e already k n o w n , and Herbert J u n k e r , w h o had e x c a v a t e d the S i x t h D y n a s t y tombs south o f the G r e a t P y r a m i d before the First W o r l d W a r , had mentioned the existence o f a southern w a l l in his e x c a v a t i o n reports - in fact, part o f the debris that c o v e r e d the w a l l w a s rubble f r o m J u n k e r ' s excavations. M a l l a k h , w h o had studied the Swiss archaeologist's reports, had been h o p ­ ing all a l o n g that J u n k e r ' s w a l l , undestroyed, m i g h t turn up again beneath the m o u n d . In its original state this w a l l seems to h a v e been nearly t w o metres h i g h and to h a v e extended from one end o f the M o r t u a r y T e m p l e right a r o u n d the p y r a m i d on all four sides, connecting up w i t h the temple again at its opposite end, and effectively sealing off the sacred precinct from c o n ­ tamination b y a n y o n e w h o w a s not ritually clean. T h e fairly solid base o f the w a l l w a s constructed o f limestone, granite and basalt chips, packed together in a sort o f cement. These stone chips w e r e p r o b a b l y the debris left o v e r from the construction o f the p y r a m i d , the c a u s e w a y w h i c h in its original state had had black basalt paving-stones, m a n y o f t h e m still in place, and the M o r t u a r y T e m p l e w i t h its columns o f red A s w a n granite. T h e b o u n d a r y w a l l had then been s m o o t h e d o v e r w i t h m u d plaster and coated w i t h a w h i t e g y p s u m finish, so as to l o o k like the fine

27

28 Kamal el-Mallakh, now a Cairo newspaper editor, was in 1954 a young archaeologist, whose stubborn persistence led to the discovery of the Royal Ship.

w h i t e limestone that had sheathed the p y r a m i d itself. In its rubble and plaster construction, the southern w a l l w a s e x a c t l y like the northern and western w a l l sections that w e r e already k n o w n , and like t h e m the outside surface o f the w a l l had a slight batter or slope to it. W h a t w a s different, and surprising, and a little disturbing to a n y o n e sensitive to the ancient E g y p t i a n ' s hankering for precision, w a s the fact that, although the n o r t h ­ ern and western walls w e r e each precisely 2 3 . 6 metres f r o m the base o f the p y r a m i d , the southern w a l l w a s a g o o d 5 metres closer. K a m a l elM a l l a k h thought he k n e w the reason w h y .

29 The forty-one limestone blocks that sealed the pit with the Royal Ship. The dotted line represents the metre-wide shelf on which the blocks rested.

DISCOVERY

M a l l a k h is n o w D e p u t y E d i t o r o f al-Ahram, the respected, semi-official C a i r o daily n e w s p a p e r . H e is a large m a n w i t h a sparse fringe o f i r o n g r e y hair and a curiously quiet, soft-spoken m a n n e r that belies his i m p o r ­ tance in the cultural and intellectual life o f the city - indeed o f the w h o l e c o u n t r y . M a l l a k h ' s first university degree w a s in architecture, and as an architect he had been assigned to the Antiquities Service in order to m a i n ­ tain the ratio b e t w e e n E g y p t i a n and foreign e m p l o y e e s in the department. U n d e r the influence o f the A b b e D r i o t o n , the French priest w h o w a s then head o f the Service, he had taken a second degree in E g y p t o l o g y and b e c o m e an impassioned student o f his c o u n t r y ' s ancient history. A s soon as he realized that the southern section o f the b o u n d a r y w a l l w a s a g o o d deal closer to the Great P y r a m i d than w e r e either the northern o r western sections, M a l l a k h b e c a m e c o n v i n c e d that the w a l l had been built to conceal something. H e had l o n g been fascinated b y the existence o f boat-pits in connection w i t h the Fourth D y n a s t y p y r a m i d s . T h e r e w e r e five pits for boats (and possibly a sixth, unfinished one), c a r v e d in the b e d r o c k outside the M o r t u a r y T e m p l e o f the p y r a m i d o f C h e p h r e n just south o f the G r e a t P y r a m i d . T w o o f these pits are still partially c o v e r e d w i t h stone blocks, t h o u g h n o trace o f a boat has e v e r been found. T h e r e is also an e m p t y boat-pit j u s t south o f Djedefre's p y r a m i d at A b u R o a s h , and another on the southeast corner o f the curious Giza t o m b o f Q u e e n K h e n t k a w e s , perhaps the last ruler o f the F o u r t h D y n a s t y and almost cer­ tainly the m o t h e r o f the first t w o kings o f the Fifth. A n d o f course there w e r e the three e m p t y boat-pits l o n g k n o w n at the Great P y r a m i d , t w o outside the M o r t u a r y T e m p l e , and one aligned w i t h the C a u s e w a y . W h e t h e r it is the operation o f hindsight, o r w a s an inspired guess at the time, M a l l a k h says n o w that he w a s c o n v i n c e d the south temenos w a l l had been built closer to the p y r a m i d ' s base than w e r e the northern and western walls precisely in order to conceal one or m o r e additional b o a t pits - solar boat-pits, as he continues to call them against the opposition o f almost e v e r y other E g y p t o l o g i s t w h o has ventured an opinion on the subject.

28

DISCOVERY

30 The name of Cheops' son Djedefre, enclosed in the cartouche that signified he was a king, was scrawled on many of the blocks that covered the pit-proof that Djedefre succeeded his father directly and not, as was previously thought, much later in the dynasty.

29

30

(Opposite) V View aft along the port side of the reconstructed ship inside the museum.

50

After e x p o s i n g the southern w a l l b y cleaning it o f its surrounding debris, M a l l a k h ' s w o r k m e n found beneath it a l a y e r o f beaten o r c o m ­ pressed earth, a m i x t u r e o f rubble and o r d i n a r y m u d , sun-dried to a hard plaster-like surface. T h i s dakkah, as it is called in A r a b i c , stretched for s o m e distance b e y o n d the w a l l in b o t h directions, n o r t h t o w a r d s the base o f the p y r a m i d and south extending beneath the S i x t h D y n a s t y mastabas that had been erected on that side o f the p y r a m i d , a p r o o f that the beatenearth l a y e r had been laid d o w n s o m e time before the S i x t h D y n a s t y tombs had been built. M a l l a k h had already ordered the w o r k m e n to clear a w a y the dakkah in order to find out w h a t l a y beneath it, w h e n , p r o b i n g t h r o u g h the mud-plaster w i t h a sharp stick, he found traces o f the rosy pink m o r t a r c o m p o s e d o f calcium sulphate and iron o x i d e that w a s the characteristic hard cement used in the O l d K i n g d o m . C o m p l e t e l y b y chance, M a l l a k h ' s d i g g i n g - s t i c k had struck the m o r t a r b e t w e e n t w o o f the monolithic l i m e ­ stone blocks that c o v e r e d the boat-pit. T h e b o u n d a r y w a l l w a s parallel to the southern face o f the p y r a m i d , but the thin line o f mortar, M a l l a k h q u i c k l y determined, w a s n o t : it e x t e n d e d right beneath the w a l l and came out on the other side. In his excitement, he u r g e d the w o r k m e n on until that v e r y same d a y they had cleared t w o o f the massive limestone blocks, revealing, M a l l a k h recalled recently in his C a i r o office, 'the h u g e and confident w o r k o f the Fourth D y n a s t y ' . ' T h e ancient E g y p t i a n s ' , he explained, 'had been w o r k i n g in stone since the Step P y r a m i d o f K i n g Z o s e r in the T h i r d D y n a s t y . N o w , w i t h the F o u r t h D y n a s t y , they w e r e a hundred, m a y b e even a hundred and fifty, years later. T h e y w e r e quite, quite sure o f themselves b y then and it s h o w s in the magnificent w a y they handled stone.' O n e after the other, as the w o r k m e n cleared a w a y the beaten-earth l a y e r of dakkah, the i m m e n s e blocks o f limestone appeared, j u t t i n g out o f the plateau like a set o f c r o o k e d teeth o r the b r o k e n keys o f a v e r y old piano. T h e r e w e r e t w o sets o f stones, forty to the west, f o r t y - o n e to the east, apparently c o v e r i n g t w o separate pits, w i t h a partition b e t w e e n the t w o pits that fell precisely along the axis o f the south face o f the p y r a ­ m i d . O n one o f the blocks, protruding slightly a b o v e the others that c o v e r e d the eastern pit, M a l l a k h c o u l d read upside d o w n part o f the car­ touche, the r o y a l n a m e enclosed in a sacred o v a l ring, o f K i n g Djedefre, third in the line o f Fourth D y n a s t y kings, the son and heir o f C h e o p s . It w a s difficult, M a l l a k h recalls, to get a n y o n e in the Antiquities S e r v i c e to take his find seriously. E g y p t w a s then in the throes o f nationalist r e v o ­ lutionary change. K i n g F a r o u k , w h o for all his faults had been a dedi­ cated patron o f E g y p t o l o g y , had left and an obscure g r o u p o f colonels, led b y G a m a l A b d u l - N a s s e r , w a s in charge. A b b e D r i o t o n had departed w i t h the k i n g and n e w m e n , E g y p t i a n s , w e r e running the Antiquities S e r -

DISCOVERY

vice. In this climate o f political f e r v o u r , n o b o d y had m u c h time for ancient history. M a l l a k h w a s told that w h a t he had u n c o v e r e d w a s u n i m ­ portant, part o f the foundation o f the p y r a m i d , o r perhaps m o r e o f the paving-stones o f the c o u r t y a r d . H e himself w a s certain n o w , if he had not been before, that the blocks c o v e r e d t w o boat-pits. B u t w h e t h e r the pits w e r e e m p t y o r actually contained boats, and, if they did contain boats, w h a t condition the vessels w o u l d be in s o m e f o r t y - s i x centuries after their burial, w e r e questions that c o u l d o n l y be answered b y o p e n i n g the pits. A n d if they w e r e in fact boats, even supposing they w e r e in g o o d c o n d i ­ tion, they m i g h t still c r u m b l e on e x p o s u r e to the air, something that had actually occurred in a p o s t - w a r Italian e x c a v a t i o n w h e n , in a matter o f minutes after e x p o s u r e , wall-paintings in Etruscan t o m b s had quite liter­ ally disappeared f r o m the horrified e x c a v a t o r ' s v i e w . S o m e w h a t g r u d g ­ ingly, as M a l l a k h tells it, he w a s g i v e n permission b y the S e r v i c e to open a hole in the t w e n t y - s e c o n d b l o c k o f the eastern g r o u p o f stones.

Opening the pit It w a s t o w a r d s n o o n on 26 M a y 1 9 5 4 , near the end o f the archaeological season, at a time o f the y e a r w h e n the w h i t e desert light glares on the Giza plateau and the dense v o l u m e s o f the p y r a m i d s seem to s h i m m e r in the nearly intolerable heat. F o r days M a l l a k h ' s w o r k m e n had been chinking a w a y at the great stone, s l o w l y and w i t h infinite caution, for there w a s n o w a y o f k n o w i n g precisely h o w deep the stone lay or w h a t d a m a g e m i g h t be inflicted b y a falling fragment on w h a t e v e r w a s c o n ­ cealed beneath. W h e n they had g o n e d o w n t w o metres f r o m the surface they arrived at a shelf o r l e d g e , c a r v e d , as w o u l d later be discovered, into the t w o l o n g sides o f the boat-pit. O n this l e d g e the limestone megaliths rested. It seemed clear that the e x c a v a t o r s w e r e o n l y centimetres a w a y from their g o a l and at this point M a l l a k h t o o k o v e r the h a m m e r and chisel himself. W h e n the last fragment had fallen a w a y there w a s n o t h i n g to be seen but a dark hole in the stone, the darkness m a d e e v e n m o r e impenetrable b y contrast w i t h the w h i t e glare o f the sun outside. ' L i k e a cat', M a l l a k h recalls T closed m y eyes. A n d then w i t h m y eyes closed, I smelt incense, a v e r y h o l y , h o l y , h o l y smell. I smelt time . . . I smelt c e n t u r i e s . . . I smelt history. A n d then I w a s sure that the boat w a s there.' Still unable to see a n y t h i n g inside the hole, he t o o k his shaving m i r r o r and reflected a b e a m of sunlight ('the b e a m o f R e , the S u n - g o d , ' he says) into the darkness o f the boat-pit. W i t h great g o o d fortune, since here w a s p r o o f that there w a s indeed a boat, the light fell precisely on the tip o f a blade - one o f a pair o f rudders o r steering oars that w e r e m o r e than six-and-a-half metres l o n g and c a r v e d , shaft and blade alike, f r o m a single

(Opposite)

j j the ship on the port side.

V l

T h e

j

o r w a r

s e c U o n

S3

0

DISCOVERY

piece o f Lebanese cedar - l y i n g w h e r e it had been placed four thousand and six hundred years earlier b y the w o r k m e n o f the G i z a necropolis w h o had buried the ship. T h e boat's d i s c o v e r y w a s an event o f national significance. M a l l a k h w a s understandably elated. F o r w e e k s he had been, i f not totally scoffed at, at least put d o w n w i t h the gently patronizing tones that seniors use for their p r o m i s i n g but o v e r l y enthusiastic j u n i o r s . His first sight o f the majes­ tic steering oar had c o n f i r m e d his hunch, and i f further confirmation w e r e needed, it c a m e s o m e days later w h e n D a v i d D u n c a n , a p h o t o g r a p h e r w o r k i n g for Life magazine, inserted a camera in the h o l e in the t w e n t y second block. T h e p h o t o g r a p h , published in a lead story in the magazine, revealed at the far end o f the pit the unmistakable shape o f an ancient p r o w , c a r v e d in h i g h relief to resemble a b u n d l e o f p a p y r u s stalks b o u n d w i t h five strands o f rope a r o u n d the b o w s p r i t . T h e b o w s p r i t ' s f o r m was familiar. It c o u l d be seen in hundreds o f t o m b reliefs and paintings as w e l l as m o d e l boats, dating f r o m the earliest predynastic times right up to the N e w K i n g d o m . It w a s a p a p y r i f o r m boat, a w o o d e n boat built to l o o k like the p a p y r u s raft that w a s p r o b a b l y the most ancient N i l e boat o f all. P a p y r u s rafts w e r e used t h r o u g h o u t E g y p t i a n history, for the most m u n ­ dane purposes and for as l o n g as p a p y r u s reeds g r e w along the N i l e , but even as early as the First D y n a s t y the reed raft seems to h a v e assumed a special, possibly a sacred, significance, and its elegant shape w a s trans­ f o r m e d and copied in the m o r e permanent material, w o o d . J u s t as w e can trace in the decorative and architectonic elements o f E g y p t i a n temples their origin in reed huts, so the ancestry o f the w o o d e n p a p y r i f o r m boat goes b a c k to the i m p e r m a n e n t and fragile p a p y r u s raft.

(Opposite) 31 An early photograph taken before the pit was completely uncovered, looking east towards the stern, reveals the remark­ able state of preservation of the ancient ship's timbers.

54

1 9 5 4 w a s an especially fruitful y e a r for E g y p t i a n a r c h a e o l o g y . In that same m o n t h o f M a y , Z a k a r i a G h o n e i m had announced his d i s c o v e r y o f a hitherto u n k n o w n T h i r d D y n a s t y Step P y r a m i d at Saqqara, buried in the sand dunes w e s t o f Z o s e r ' s p y r a m i d . A n d L a b i b H a b a c h i had found in the K a r n a k temple the historically i m p o r t a n t Stela o f K i n g K a m o s e f r o m the early N e w K i n g d o m . L a t e r that y e a r G h o n e i m and M a l l a k h w e r e sent on a lecture tour o f the U n i t e d States, addressing learned acad­ e m i c audiences as w e l l as m a k i n g television and radio appearances. T h e trip w a s planned to i n f o r m A m e r i c a n s , scholars as w e l l as the general public, o f recent d e v e l o p m e n t s in E g y p t i a n a r c h a e o l o g y . It w a s also, M a l ­ lakh felt, a w a y o f getting rid o f K a m a l e l - M a l l a k h w h i l e plans w e r e m a d e for the boat's disposition. U n f o r t u n a t e l y an altogether u n s e e m l y quarrel had b r o k e n out almost i m m e d i a t e l y after the boat's d i s c o v e r y , a quarrel that still to this d a y has not been resolved e v e n t h o u g h m a n y o f the litigants died l o n g a g o . T w e n t y - f i v e years later, the issues are as unclear as they w e r e initially,

DISCOVERY

but the substance o f the a r g u m e n t seems to be the question o f w h o should get credit for the boat's d i s c o v e r y . A s a general rule, archaeologists are publicity-shy, particularly at the m o m e n t o f d i s c o v e r y . L o n g years o f the most patient sifting o f all the evidence, c o m p a r i s o n w i t h similar discoveries, w e i g h i n g arguments and hypotheses, thinking, w r i t i n g , reading, studying, conferring w i t h other archaeologists and w i t h historians, are required before a n y conclusions can be stated. T i m e and again, unwise archaeologists h a v e been rushed b y their o w n enthusiasm and that o f the public into a sensational attribu­ tion that is later p r o v e n , if not totally mistaken, at least over-confident. B u t discoveries o f the order o f T u t a n k h a m u n ' s t o m b o r C h e o p s ' R o y a l Ship are g e n u i n e l y sensational and they generate their o w n publicity, in­ evitably distracting f r o m the sober, scholarly atmosphere in w h i c h they should perhaps ideally be presented.

39 8

A n u n w a r r a n t e d a m o u n t o f publicity seemed to surround the d i s c o v e r y o f the R o y a l Ship. T h e D u n c a n p h o t o g r a p h s appeared in magazines t h r o u g h o u t E u r o p e . Journalists c l a m o u r e d for stories and i n t e r v i e w s , and for several w e e k s n e w s o f the boat o c c u p i e d the front p a g e o f the New York Times. Interest w a s h i g h , b o t h in E g y p t , w h e r e Nasser himself set aside time to visit the e x t r a o r d i n a r y find, as w e l l as in the w o r l d outside. Nonetheless, it w a s felt then, and is still felt b y m a n y today, that M a l l a k h had taken entirely too m u c h o f the credit for himself. Interestingly, the official Antiquities D e p a r t m e n t publication, The Cheops Boats, although it gives credit to others w h o w o r k e d on the boat at various stages, does not once mention M a l l a k h ' s n a m e , and the w h o l e tale o f the d i s c o v e r y is told w i t h an air o f accidental serendipity that M a l l a k h himself categoric­ ally denies. Despite the c o n t r o v e r s y , h o w e v e r , action w a s taken. T h e Antiquities Service h a d at last realized that the pit sheltered a unique and precious s u r v i v a l f r o m the ancient w o r l d , and that in all likelihood the second pit contained a sister ship. A c o m m i t t e e to oversee the e x c a v a t i o n and restora­ tion o f b o t h boats w a s q u i c k l y f o r m e d , d r a w i n g on all the expertise the Service c o u l d c o m m a n d . ( A t that stage o f planning, it w a s assumed c o n ­ fidently that once the first boat h a d been rescued, the second c o u l d also be e x c a v a t e d ; the western pit, h o w e v e r , remains u n o p e n e d to this day.) Included on the c o m m i t t e e as a matter o f course w e r e D r Z a k i Iskander, head o f the chemical laboratories o f the Antiquities Service, and H a g A h m e d Y o u s s e f Moustafa, c h i e f o f the restoration section. B o t h m e n w o u l d p l a y vital roles in the eventual conservation and reconstruction o f the ship. T h e e x c a v a t i o n o f the R o y a l S h i p w a s to be an entirely E g y p t i a n under­ taking, perhaps not the v e r y first in the history o f E g y p t i a n a r c h a e o l o g y ,

56

DISCOVERY

but o n e o f the most delicate and certainly the most important. N o c o n ­ scious decision w a s e v e r taken to k e e p the project in E g y p t i a n hands, but things being as they w e r e in 1 9 5 4 , it seemed natural and n o r m a l that it should be so. T h e officers' r e v o l t led b y G a m a l A b d u l - N a s s e r w a s o n l y t w o years old. In understanding the nationalistic f e r v o u r that s w e p t E g y p t then and that still to a l a r g e extent pervades E g y p t i a n life t o d a y , one must r e m e m b e r that N a s s e r w a s the first E g y p t i a n leader the c o u n t r y had had since the pharaohs o f the Thirtieth D y n a s t y . L i b y a n s , N u b i a n s , G r e e k s , R o m a n s , A r a b s , T u r k s , and latterly the French and the British - for m o r e than t w o thousand years the political life o f E g y p t had been d o m i n a t e d b y foreigners, sometimes acting t h r o u g h native figureheads and puppets, but a l w a y s in firm control. E g y p t o l o g y w a s b o r n w i t h colonialism w h e n N a p o l e o n i n v a d e d E g y p t in 1 7 9 8 , and until w e l l into this century, the study o f ancient E g y p t remained an e x c l u s i v e preserve o f foreigners, especially E u r o p e a n s and A m e r i c a n s . O n e has o n l y to read the roster o f great E g y p t o l o g i s t s Lepsius, M a s p e r o , Breasted, R e i s n e r , J u n k e r , G a r d i n e r , E m e r y - to realize h o w t h o r o u g h l y the field w a s d o m i n a t e d b y westerners. T o d a y , h o w e v e r , times h a v e c h a n g e d : the Antiquities D e p a r t m e n t is firmly in E g y p t i a n hands, and a w h o l e generation o f E g y p t i a n E g y p t o l o g i s t s , m e n like L a b i b H a b a c h i , and the late S e l i m Hassan and A h m e d F a k h r y , to n a m e j u s t a f e w , has taken o v e r . S u c h changes b e g a n it is true w e l l before 1 9 5 4 , but the political events o f the early 1950s in E g y p t added an urgent impulse to the feeling that the study o f ancient E g y p t w a s p r o p e r l y a concern o f m o d e r n E g y p t i a n s . It seemed right then that the e x c a v a t i o n o f the R o y a l Ship should be undertaken w i t h o u t recourse to foreign assistance, w h e t h e r technological o r financial. In a sense it w o u l d be a tribute to the n e w E g y p ­ tian patriotism.

57

C H A P T E R FOUR

Excavation

Ahmed Youssef Moustafa W h e n he heard the n e w s o f the great d i s c o v e r y at the p y r a m i d s , A h m e d Y o u s s e f Moustafa w a s hard at w o r k in the Eighteenth D y n a s t y t o m b s o f the nobles at T h e b e s in U p p e r E g y p t . T h e T h e b a n necropolis stretches along the dusty, desert foothills o f the L i b y a n escarpment on the west bank o f the N i l e , across the river's b r o a d reach f r o m the temple o f K a r n a k and the s o m n o l e n t m o d e r n tourist t o w n o f L u x o r , once the site o f H u n d r e d - G a t e d T h e b e s , p r o u d and glittering capital o f the E g y p t i a n E m p i r e . F o r generations the west bank w a s the m a i n b u r y i n g g r o u n d o f T h e b e s , a city o f the dead to c o m p l e m e n t the city o f the l i v i n g on the opposite shore, and the foothills o f the escarpment are h o n e y c o m b e d w i t h graves. H a g A h m e d had w o r k e d for t w e n t y years in the T h e b a n necropolis, recording and restoring the brilliant series o f paintings that decorate the walls o f these t o m b s . His colleagues in C a i r o assure m e that he k n o w s e v e r y one o f hundreds o f graves there, b y n a m e as w e l l as n u m b e r . Often during the course o f his w o r k he b e c a m e so i n v o l v e d that he w o u l d pass the night in the t o m b , sleeping on the g r o u n d and d r e a m i n g that he w a s the t o m b ' s o w n e r - d r e a m i n g , he says, the dreams o f the person w h o had been buried there. A s soon as he heard o f the R o y a l S h i p , H a g A h m e d d o w n e d his tools, a curious assortment o f face creams and brushes that looks m o r e like the contents o f an actress's m a k e - u p b o x than the i m p l e m e n t s o f a master re­ storer, crossed the r i v e r to L u x o r , and t o o k the o v e r n i g h t train to C a i r o . It is difficult to i m a g i n e this patient and dignified old man in a h u r r y , but h u r r y is w h a t he says he did, out to the Giza p y r a m i d s to e x a m i n e the j o b he k n e w he w o u l d be called u p o n to d o . H a d he any doubts or m i s g i v i n g s w h e n he peered t h r o u g h the hole in the t w e n t y - s e c o n d b l o c k and s a w in the d i m light the giant timbers, the stem and stern posts, o f the R o y a l S h i p ? D i d he realize the m a g n i t u d e o f the j o b that lay before h i m ? ' A t first,' he says, 'I w a s anxious and afraid. I k n e w nothing at all

(Opposite) 32 The topmost layer of the dismantled ship, from the eastern end of the pit, after the enormous limestone blocks had been removed. The oars can be clearly seen, and in the centre and background parts of what was later found to be the cabin assembly.

59

EXCAVATION

about boat-building, and it seemed that this j o b perhaps needed a ship­ w r i g h t m o r e than it did a restorer.' B u t then he realized that n o one else k n e w a n y t h i n g about b o a t - b u i l d i n g either. It had been m o r e than h a l f a century since the last d i s c o v e r y o f this nature, the five or six small boats 100, 101 that had been found near a T w e l f t h D y n a s t y p y r a m i d at D a h s h u r (see chapter six). T h e r e w a s n o one left in the Antiquities S e r v i c e w h o k n e w a n y t h i n g about the D a h s h u r boats, and the e x c a v a t i o n reports w e r e u n ­ fortunately silent on e x a c t l y h o w they had been pieced together. W i t h his characteristic self-assurance H a g A h m e d realized that i f the j o b c o u l d be done, then he alone w o u l d be the one to d o it. A n d it had to be d o n e . A s he recounts the story t w e n t y years later, there is a r e m a r k ­ able attitude o f certainty about the w h o l e thing, and it is difficult to re­ m e m b e r that it w o u l d be several years before he o r a n y o n e else k n e w precisely w h a t w a s and w a s not in the pit. In the late 1920s, w h e n A h m e d Y o u s s e f Moustafa, still a teenager but w i t h a first-class degree f r o m C a i r o ' s Institute for A p p l i e d A r t s , had a p p r o a c h e d the Antiquities S e r v i c e for a j o b , the art o f restoration, at least as far as E g y p t o l o g y w a s concerned, consisted l a r g e l y in g l u i n g back pieces o f arms, legs and noses that had b r o k e n off stone sculptures. A n y t h i n g m a d e o f less durable material than stone w a s o f necessity i g n o r e d . N o t o n l y w a s the restoration technique p r i m i t i v e , but, like so m u c h else in those days, it w a s entirely in the hands o f Europeans. E g y p t i a n s , it w a s felt, especially y o u n g E g y p t i a n s like A h m e d Youssef, lacked the skills to w o r k w i t h such unique, often fragile, usually precious objects. F o r nearly four years, the y o u n g m a n w o r k e d in u n h a p p y frustration, casting m o u l d s and p r o d u c i n g replicas o f C a i r o M u s e u m pieces for other institutions a r o u n d the w o r l d , and w a t c h i n g in anguish as the f e w attempts at restora­ tion too often ended in a b o t c h e d j o b that c o m p l e t e l y misinterpreted the piece. O v e r and o v e r again, he asked for permission to try his hand at restoration, but his requests w e r e i g n o r e d . A s i n g l e - m i n d e d obsession had g o v e r n e d his life since he w a s a small child, a belief in his unique gift, w h i c h is at heart a faith in his ability to understand and to c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h the ancient E g y p t i a n craftsmen and artists w h o first created these objects. T h e story is told o f h i m that once, w h i l e w o r k i n g on a w o m a n ' s head in a t o m b in the T h e b a n n e c r o p ­ olis, he felt her flinch beneath the harsh scraper he w a s using. H e switched to a w o o d e n tool, but still the lines in her face spoke her protest. O n l y w h e n he b e g a n to use a soft camel's hair brush, did she relax and a l o o k o f gratitude c o m e o v e r her features. T h i s story is told in E n g l i s h w h i l e the old m a n , w h o speaks o n l y A r a b i c , sits b y w i t h his hands folded placidly o v e r his paunch and a b e n i g n smile lighting his face. O n e w o n d e r s if he believes the story. It is impossible to tell and is, in a n y case, not v e r y i m p o r -

60

EXCAVATION

tant. W h a t is important here is w h a t the story illuminates about the nearly mystical sense this puritanical, o r t h o d o x and deeply religious M u s l i m has o f being in touch w i t h the p a g a n life o f the ancient past. T m a d e trouble at the d e p a r t m e n t , ' H a g A h m e d recalls in his deep, measured v o i c e . T w a s patriotic. I w a n t e d an E g y p t i a n to restore E g y p t i a n things, and I w a n t e d to serve E g y p t . ' His perseverance and his unshakeable self-assurance must h a v e impressed s o m e o n e in the Antiquities S e r v i c e in the end, for instead o f being fired outright, as had been threatened, he w a s finally g i v e n a task to p e r f o r m , an impossible task such as one reads about in fairy tales. H e w a s g i v e n a shapeless c h u n k o f m u d - c a k e d rubble w i t h barely descernible bits o f faience and plain and c o l o u r e d i v o r y chips e m b e d d e d in it. It w a s impossible to tell w h a t sort o f object, if any, m i g h t be concealed therein. T a k e as l o n g as y o u w a n t w i t h it, R . F . E n g e l b a c h , then the m u s e u m ' s curator, told h i m , but d o n ' t c o m e b a c k until y o u ' v e finished - i m p l y i n g , H a g A h m e d says n o w , that he e x p e c t e d n e v e r to see h i m again. F o r w e e k s the y o u n g m a n w o r k e d at it. H e m a d e p r e l i m i n a r y d r a w i n g s . H e cleaned the i v o r y chips and shifted t h e m about in patterns. H e m a d e further d r a w i n g s . E v e n in those early days his w o r k w a s m a r k e d b y a ruthless k i n d o f patience and the indefatigable c o n v i c t i o n that the a n s w e r e v e n t u a l l y w o u l d c o m e . Finally, w h e n the m o n t h that he had p r o m i s e d himself had passed, he returned to E n g e l b a c h w i t h w h a t is n o w displayed in the C a i r o M u s e u m as the A k h e n a t e n b o x , an elegant small e b o n y coffer, shaped like a miniature steamer trunk, inlaid w i t h faience and an elaborate g e o m e t r y o f i v o r y panels. In the desert rest-house w h e r e he lives, H a g A h m e d Y o u s s e f keeps a replica o f the A k h e n a t e n b o x w h i c h he w i l l i n g l y brings out for visitors w h o are curious about his w o r k . C e r t a i n elements that he points to in the design w e r e o b v i o u s to h i m , but others w e r e utterly incomprehensible at first. It w a s like a j i g s a w puzzle, he explains, using a m e t a p h o r that he w i l l use again in describing his w o r k on the R o y a l S h i p , but a j i g s a w puzzle w i t h o u t a picture on the b o x , indeed w i t h o u t a clue as to w h a t the result w a s supposed to be. T h e simple f o u r - r o o m e d b u n g a l o w w h e r e he entertains his visitors o v e r glasses o f l e m o n a d e and s w e e t m i n t tea is furnished w i t h plain w o o d e n divans and l o w tables, m a d e b y the H a g himself, and decorated w i t h replicas and m o d e l s , p h o t o g r a p h s and d r a w i n g s o f the precious pieces he has rescued, pieces for w h o s e v e r y existence he is often single-handedly responsible - a o n e - t o - t w e n t y scale m o d e l o f the R o y a l S h i p , p h o t o g r a p h s o f the great boat at all stages o f e x c a v a t i o n and restoration, pictures o f a R a m e s s i d e g o l d funerary mask, before and after reconstruction, a replica o f a s h o w y g o l d belt, studded w i t h faience, (fake lapis) and tur-

6l

EXCAVATION

33 The curtain box of Queen Hetep-heres, meticulously restored by Ahmed Youssef Moustafa, formed part of the queen's burial hoard excavated by George Reisner in 1923. Top and side views show the faience inlay and delicate gold hieroglyphs set into ebony panels. Like those on the canopy whose curtains the box once contained, these hieroglyphs proclaim that the ensemble was a gift of Hetep-heres' husband, and Cheops' father, King Sneferu.

23, 24

33

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quoise, that once encircled the imposing bulk of some pharaonic official. Objects such as these are precious not only in terms of the monetary value, which is often considerable, but perhaps more so as works of art and carriers of information, witnesses from the remote and antique past. Among the pictures on the walls of the rest-house are Hag Ahmed's drawings of the furniture from the burial hoard of Queen Hetep-heres that George Reisner had excavated in 1925 (see chapter two). Together with other members of Reisner's team, the Hag worked on the restoration of this extremely delicate and fragile material over a period of many years. Fragments of sheet gold, bits of faience inlay, and a fine ashy powder that had once been ebony and aromatic Lebanese cedarwood were all that remained of the queen's elegant furnishings. The reconstructions in the Cairo Museum, and the reproductions in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, are a tribute to the skill and perspicacity of both the ancient craftsmen and the modern restorers. Hag Ahmed's particular pride is the long, slender box with its intricate inlays of gold faience and precious woods that had contained the linen curtains of the queen's bed-canopy. The cur­ tain box, together with the canopy itself, had been presented to the queen by her husband King Sneferu, according to inscriptions on the pieces. Much of the constructional detail and many of the decorative refinements in these pieces would be repeated in aspects of the R o y a l Ship. The joints

EXCAVATION

of the bed-canopy were pegged and lashed together like those of the canopy that covered the ship's cabin, and the columns of both canopy and cabin had similar papyrus-bud and palmette finials, so that it is tempt­ 34. 35 ing to see them as products of the same skilled workshop connected with the royal necropolis. The severe grace of Hetep-heres' ensemble appealed to Ahmed Youssef's own pleasure in restraint and modesty. A man of simple taste, he has neither television, radio nor car and must rely on friends for transport between Cairo and Giza or anywhere else he might want to go. But what would be an agonizing frustration for a less patient person is yet another example of the Hag's unique composure. If a ride is not available immediately, ma'alesh, as the Egyptians say: never mind, there'll be a ride tomorrow, or the next day, God willing. The key to the man is in this sturdy conviction, perhaps grounded in his strictly orthodox religious belief, that the pattern of life is comprehensible. With this he combines the patience to wait for the pattern to reveal itself, and the intelligence to push the elements of the pattern in the direction in which they ought to go. 'He is a sheikh al-Azhar,' one of his Cairo acquaintances explained. 'It's difficult for non-Muslims to know what that means.' She was refer­ ring to the university that was founded in the tenth century in connection with the great Cairo mosque of al-Azhar. It provides the epitome of a Muslim religious education, something akin to the rigorous intellectual training of the Jesuits, which manages to expand the instrument of the mind at the same time as limiting the horizon of the mind's exploration.

34,35 The papyrus-bud motif is at its most elegant in the finials of the gold-sheathed columns support­ ing Hetep-heres' bed canopy; but the same shape finished the columns of the cabin canopy on the Royal Ship-and it is quite possible that both canopies were products of the same palace workshop. Cf. colour ill. IX.

63

The first stage T h e Antiquities Service c o m m i t t e e had taken the m o m e n t o u s decision to open the pit and to e x c a v a t e and reconstruct the ship, although, it must be r e m e m b e r e d , n o one really k n e w for sure then w h e t h e r the boat could be reconstructed, either w h o l l y o r in part. F r o m the photographs that D u n c a n had taken, the w o o d appeared to be in a g o o d state o f preserva­ tion, but there w a s n o w a y to be certain o f its condition w i t h o u t r e m o v i n g the limestone blocks that c o v e r e d the pit - and to r e m o v e the blocks w i t h ­ out the most stringent precautions w o u l d certainly hasten the deteriora­ tion o f the w o o d . It w a s a d i l e m m a that w a s resolved b y the C h i e f C h e m i s t , D r Iskander. Priority, Iskander k n e w , had to be g i v e n to the preservation o f the w o o d . B e f o r e a n y t h o u g h t could be g i v e n to r e m o v i n g the limestone blocks and o p e n i n g the pit, certainly before the boat's reconstruction, the actual c o n ­ dition o f the w o o d had to be determined, as w e l l as the question o f h o w best to preserve it and to prevent a n y further deterioration. S m a l l and w i r y , w i t h thick dark spectacles that m a g n i f y his large eyes, D r Iskander has a totally E g y p t i a n sense o f h u m o u r . H e keeps a m u m m i ­ fied d u c k in the d r a w e r o f his desk at C a i r o A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t y w h e r e , in his retirement, he teaches classes in the chemistry o f restoration. 'I did it m y s e l f in 1 9 4 1 , ' he explains p r o u d l y , exhibiting the dark y e l l o w carcass to visitors. ' Y o u see,' he says, w i t h an appreciative sniff, 'there's been a b s o ­ lutely n o disintegration w h a t s o e v e r . ' D r Iskander had been a student, and then a colleague, and finally a suc­ cessor o f the late A n t h o n y Lucas, w h o s e great w o r k Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries, first c o m p i l e d in the 1 9 3 0 s , is still the definitive study in the field. A n exhaustive exploration o f all the materials and methods o f ancient E g y p t i a n manufacturing, Lucas' b o o k has v e r y little in it about w o o d , particularly w o o d f r o m the O l d K i n g d o m . T h e reason is s i m p l e : w o o d is an o r g a n i c material, far m o r e fragile than ceramic or metal o r stone, and e v e n in the d r y air o f this desert climate, it is likely to deteriorate w i t h time. V e r y little w o o d has been preserved f r o m ancient times. T h e r e are a f e w w o o d e n statues, such as the standing statue o f the so-called ' S h e i k h e l - B e l e d ' , o r the w o o d e n panels f r o m the T h i r d D y n a s t y t o m b o f H e s y - R e at Saqqara, b o t h pieces n o w in the C a i r o M u s e u m . B u t most O l d K i n g d o m w o o d e n pieces, such as Hetep-heres' furniture, s i m p l y disintegrated w i t h time and w h a t w e see t o d a y in museums are m o d e r n reconstructions. D r Iskander had carefully r e m o v e d a scrap o f w o o d f r o m the top o f the pit and carried it h i m s e l f to the British M u s e u m ' s chemistry l a b o r a ­ tories, w h e r e it w a s identified as cedar and w a s found to contain 1 0 per

36 The delightfully rotund figure of Ka-Aper suggested to his Egyptian excavators their own village headman, hence his fami­ liar title of the 'Sheikh el-Beled'. The wooden sculpture is one of the few surviving examples of work in that medium from the Old Kingdom.

cent moisture, just a little under the average percentage ( 1 1 - 1 2 per cent) for ordinary seasoned timber in Egypt's exceptionally dry climate. A look at the hygrothermograph that Iskander had placed in the boat-pit showed the reason why. The pit had been sealed air-tight by a liquid gypsum plaster, imported from the Faiyum oasis and poured between and around the massive blocks of limestone, and it had remained that way for some four and a half millennia. Initially the wood, as well as the reed mats that had been laid on the surface, had given up a certain amount of moisture, but eventually an equilibrium had been reached. When the atmosphere within the pit had absorbed all the moisture that it could, it had become stabilized at a humidity level of 88 per cent. The temperature, at the same time, although susceptible to slight variations, hovered around a fairly constant 2 2 ° C * This accounts for the extraordinary state of preservation of the wood which, according to one witness, looked 'as fresh and new as if it had been placed there last year instead of almost five thousand years ago'. * These figures have been questioned b y other laboratories in recent years. In particular, there is felt to be a discrepancy between the 88 per cent humidity in the pit and the free-water content of the w o o d ( 1 0 - 1 2 per cent). T h e suggestion has been made that the sample piece of cedar had dried out before it arrived at the British M u s e u m laboratories. W h e n and if the second boat-pit is ever opened, the figures that are obtained will provide a useful comparison with those from the first pit.

65

EXCAVATION

37

3S

The balanced and stable environment in which the R o y a l Ship had been stored for all that time was about to be invaded. A shed had been erected over the entire boat-pit to house the big cranes that would be necessary to lift the limestone blocks. The largest of these enormous blocks was calculated by Salah Osman, the engineer in charge of removing them, to weigh just under sixteen tons. Dr Iskander counselled that each of the stones, as it was removed, should be replaced by a wooden block or beam, wrapped in fire- and water-proof cloth to protect the atmosphere in the pit. 'If we had left the pit completely open,' he explained, 'the water that had been sealed inside the wood for thousands and thousands of years would try to escape, and the wood would have been badly deformed or even destroyed. It was our job to keep that from happening.' Using mechanical cranes and 'pickers', giant tweezers of steel that fitted over the ends of the blocks, it took just two months to remove the great stones. A crowd of journalists and dignitaries, diplomats, politicians and archaeologists, had gathered for the ceremonial removal of the keystones and the first great block on 23 November 1954, just six months after Mallakh had peered through the hole in the twenty-second block. Once the first block was removed, however, there was not much to see, for Dr Iskander was insistent on his orders that each stone be immediately re­ placed with the wood block to preserve the atmosphere in the pit.

37 At the western end of the pit the keystones have been taken out and the great cranes manoeuvred into place ready for the removal of the first of the forty-one limestone blocks covering the pit.

j8 Removal of the first block on 23 November 1934, while a crowd ofjournalists, workmen and dignitaries looks on. Salah Osman, an engineer with the Department of Antiquities, supervised this phase of the operations.

Wooden wedges had been inserted between the first and second blocks to detach them from each other sufficiently for a lever to be manipulated between them. Since there was not enough room to use the 'pickers' on the first block, ropes were passed around it instead and the two cranes, balanced to operate simultaneously and keep the huge stone level, slowly lifted the first block clear. It was a tense moment. One slip, one mistake in calculations of stress, could have sent the massive rock crashing, but it rose slowly, ropes creaking from the great strain exerted on them, cleared the top of the pit, and was gently set down atop a series of wooden rollers. Workers then slid the great stone along the rollers to the outside of the shed. The cranes were the only modern touch. The wedges, ropes, levers and rollers were all devices that had been used by the ancient E g y p ­ tians, and had most probably been used by the workmen of Cheops and Djedefre when they moved these same stones into place forty-five cen­ turies earlier. At each end and along the bottom edge of every block were holes that seem to have been used to manoeuvre the blocks into place. Because the holes in the bottom were all along the western edges of the blocks, and because the keystones were at the westernmost edge of the pit, it was clear

67

39, 4° Dr Zaki Iskander, at the time Chief Chemist in the restoration section of the Antiquities Department, carefully applies a resinous solution to the fragments of ancient matting (seen in close-up opposite) that covered the topmost timbers in the pit. This solution conserved the fragile vegetable fibres and made it possible to lift them without further damage.

30

68

that the ancient labourers had worked from east to west placing the blocks. A rather large rectangular hole, cut into the bedrock of the plateau west of the boat-pit, probably had some function in positioning the blocks, but what similar circular holes some metres to the east of the pit had to do with the procedure is not clear to modern engineers. But even if we could understand precisely how the stones were placed, it would still be a wonderful piece of work. W e must remind ourselves yet again that these people in the third millennium B C had no wheels, no pulleys, no block-and-tackle mechanisms; yet they were able to quarry, cut and transport these monolithic sixteen-ton blocks, and to posi­ tion them confidently over the pit's fragile contents, which would have been smashed to fragments had the slightest miscalculation caused a stone to slip. Marks made by the ancient quarrymen are still visible on many of the stones, hieroglyphs scrawled in red and yellow ochre and in lampblack. They have the hasty and abbreviated look of foremen's instructions about how the stones were to be quarried. The marks apparently include references to measurements in cubits (the ancient Egyptian cubit was the equivalent of 52.3 cm), as well as the royal cartouche of Djedefre, the son of Cheops, the same cartouche that Mallakh had identified when he first uncovered the stones. With the exception of Djedefre's cartouche, which was already well known, the marks have not been identified. Further study may reveal more about ancient quarrying techniques. One thing the marks have established is the position of Djedefre in the Fourth Dynasty king-list: it seems certain that if he were the one to bury Cheops, he must logically have been Cheops' successor. When the blocks were removed from the pit-head, the quarry-marks were all sprayed with a 7 per cent polyvinyl-acetate solution to preserve

EXCAVATION

them. Even so, time has affected them, and twenty-five years later the marks are almost illegible. The inscriptions on the huge stones that sit outside the boat museum are protected from sun, wind and dust by noth­ ing more than that original thin spray and some boards laid casually against them to shade them from the worst of the sun. The limestone blocks rested on the metre-wide ledge some two metres down from the top of the pit. The blocks had been wedged into place with shutters, smaller pieces of limestone inserted at either end of each block to ensure a tight fit. It is impossible to think that the ancient builders were casual in their concern for the preservation of the boat, for every effort was made to seal the pit as tightly as possible. Were they aware of and concerned about the depredations of time, weather, insects ? Or was it the knowledge of how the tomb of Hetep-heres, Cheops' own mother, had been so recently and ruthlessly desecrated that led them to make such efforts to seal and conceal? On 28 January 1955, the final stone was taken out from the pit-head and it became possible, for the first time, to get an overall view of the pit with its contents. A composite photograph taken at the time showed the topmost layer, covered with plaster dust and small chunks of gypsum

29

1

69

EXCAVATION

41 The ship's prow, carved to represent the rope bind­ ings of a papyrus reed raft, was found leaning against the western end of the pit. Expansion and contraction of the timbers had caused only slight damage, although the capping disc was split in two.

3i

that had fallen into the pit in ancient times. Beneath the dust was a layer of material, most probably linen, although it was far too disintegrated to identify it more precisely. The remains of cushion-like objects, layers of cloth that had been impregnated with resin, were perhaps fenders to protect the boat while docking. There were also ropes and mats that, although often extremely friable, fragmenting at the slightest touch, could be consolidated with resin and preserved. These mats and ropes were made of exactly the same materials as are used in Egypt today - at least where traditional materials have not been replaced by cheap plastics from China and Japan. Laboratory analysis later confirmed the original identifications that these were the commonest sorts of reeds and rushes, native to the Nile marshes since man first appeared on the banks of the great river.* Dr Iskander has suggested that the word to describe certain types of these mats has remained almost unchanged from the ancient language of the hieroglyphs to the Arabic dialect that is spoken in Egypt today. At the far western end of the pit, the columnar stem post representing a bound bundle of papyrus stalks had been easily and quickly identified from Duncan's earlier photograph. N o w it could be seen more clearly, its two halves slightly askew and the disc that capped it split in two. The indentations were visible where rope lashings had once bound the sections of this prow together. Next to the prow piece two long curved and pointed timbers rose up from the bottom of the pit; they were matched by a counterpart pair of curved pieces at the opposite (eastern or stern) end of the pit next to the stern post, which itself again duplicated in wooden relief the tightly bound bundle of papyrus reeds that had been the first Egyptian means of water transport. It was already recognized that these curved and pointed pieces came together at b o w and stern, and that the stern and stem posts most probably fitted over them in some man­ ner. Towards the centre of the pit lay the long oar on which the sunlight reflected from Kamal el-Mallakh's shaving mirror had fallen. Disposed over the surface was what appeared to be a confusion of smaller parts, including a series of joined wooden doors or decking, whose function was not at first apparent. Even then, however, at the initial sight of the whole ensemble, it was obvious that part of the solution to the puzzle that Ahmed Youssef faced would be found in the rational w a y the ancients had laid out their king's boat, not in a helter-skelter pile of timbers, but in an orderly fashion, bow to the west, stern to the east, port beams on the left-hand side of the pit, starboard beams on the right. Throughout

* T h c mats w e r e made of the culms o f phragmites communis ( c o m m o n reed) and juncus arabicus (rush) and of the leaves o f typha australis; the ropes were of the twisted leaves and culms of desmostachya bipinnata (Haifa grass).

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EXCAVATION

the centuries and around the w o r l d boat people h a v e been k n o w n for their tidiness, a necessary function o f the c r a m p e d quarters in w h i c h most o f them live. ' S h i p s h a p e ' does not seem an inadequate description o f the state o f the pit's contents. H a g A h m e d Y o u s s e f w a s not able to begin the exacting task o f r e m o v i n g the w o o d e n parts o f the boat until D e c e m b e r 1 9 5 5 , a year and a h a l f after the d i s c o v e r y . M u c h had been accomplished in that time. N o t o n l y had the blocks been r e m o v e d and set aside, but a p r o p e r restoration shed had also been constructed n e x t to the shelter o v e r the pit. Earlier in the y e a r Iskander had supervised the consolidation and r e m o v a l o f the mats and c o r d a g e that w e r e placed on the topmost layer o f w o o d . Despite the fri­ able condition o f this material, Iskander w a s able to consolidate e n o u g h o f it to include it in the m u s e u m display.

39, 40

42, 43 (Left) For the first stages of removal from the pit Hag Ahmed devised a platform that could he suspended by pulleys over the working area, thus enabling him to conduct operations without putting pressure on the elements of the boat itself. Here Hag Ahmed, on the left, is preparing to lift the cabin door whose sliding lock was shown in ill. 7. (Right) Midway down in the removal operation were revealed these long, slender, regularly notched timbers. It was immediately suggested that they were some sort of keel and that the boat's ribs would be found to fit into the notches-a suggestion that gave rise to much frustration during the course of reconstruction (see ill. 75).

44, 45 One of the lowest layers at the western end of the pit. The broad flat timbers of the ship's bottom clearly show the seam holes through which were threaded the ropes (below) that bound the vessel together. The papyriform prow (cf. ill. 41) can be seen next to the two curved blades on to which the prow would be socketed (cf. ill. 78).

46 At the eastern end of the pit the stern section of the bottom of the hull was discovered bound to the garboard strake on either side. Again, as in the bow, the two curved blades were intended to support the papyriform stern piece that raked back across the after deck.

D u r i n g this time A h m e d Y o u s s e f had not been idle. A l t h o u g h he had been an important m e m b e r o f the boat c o m m i t t e e since it w a s first estab­ lished, his p r i m a r y responsibility w o u l d o n l y b e g i n w h e n the pit had been opened and the uppermost surface o f matting and c o r d a g e had been cleared, w h e n , that is, the w o o d e n parts o f the great ship lay fully exposed. H e had been w o r k i n g in restoration n o w for a quarter o f a century, but, as w e h a v e seen, he had had n o experience in restoring ancient boats, nor, in fact, a n y k n o w l e d g e o f the techniques o f b o a t - b u i l d i n g , w h e t h e r ancient o r m o d e r n . In this he w a s not alone. T w e n t y - f i v e years a g o , marine a r c h a e o l o g y w a s something practised almost e x c l u s i v e l y b y treasure-seekers hunting for the g o l d o f the A m e r i c a s in Spanish w r e c k s . O f boat-building in p r e - R o m a n times almost nothing w a s k n o w n . T o d a y m u c h o f that has changed, l a r g e l y through the w o r k o f marine

73

47, 4$ (Left) The notched timbers shown in place in ill. 43 were in a fragile condition and difficult to remove owing to their length. A series of rope slings suspended from an iron bar, together with felt padding, solved the problem - although in this case still further reinforcement was needed from wooden boards. (Right) The same technique was used in the removal of the heavy beams that made up the bottom of the hull. On the pit wall, to the right in the picture, is one of the triangular reference marks shown in full in ill. 54-

archaeologists such as G e o r g e Bass and Peter T h r o c k m o r t o n , w h o estab­ lished a successful m e t h o d o f u n d e r w a t e r e x c a v a t i o n w i t h the C a p e G e l i d o n y a w r e c k , o f historians such as Lionel Casson and B j ö r n L a n d ­ ström, w h o h a v e consolidated information f r o m m a n y different cultures and historical periods, and o f restorers such as A h m e d Y o u s s e f Moustafa himself, w h o , t h r o u g h a patient system o f trial and error, b e c a m e an expert on ancient E g y p t i a n boats and the shipwright's craft. In the b e g i n n i n g , h o w e v e r , H a g A h m e d k n e w nothing, and so, o v e r the eighteen months after he had first e x a m i n e d the contents o f the pit, he read and studied and prepared himself. T h e r e w a s not m u c h to read, especially not in A r a b i c , the one l a n g u a g e w i t h w h i c h he w a s familiar, but there w a s a great deal to observe, in reliefs and paintings on the walls o f tombs and in the hundreds o f little w o o d e n models o f boats that b e c a m e a requisite part o f E g y p t i a n t o m b paraphernalia in s o m e w h a t later times. T h e biggest p r o b l e m w i t h all this material w a s that, although it w a s r e m a r k a b l y accurate as to finished detail, there w a s almost nothing about the process o f construction. O n l y a f e w reliefs, such as T i ' s Fifth D y n a s t y

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EXCAVATION

t o m b relief at Saqqara (see chapter six), s h o w e d boat-building in a n y detail, and these details w e r e easily open to misinterpretation. It is o n l y n o w , w i t h the k n o w l e d g e gained f r o m H a g A h m e d ' s reconstruction o f the R o y a l S h i p , that w e are able to interpret accurately the constructional details in T i ' s boat-building relief.

102

H a g A h m e d p o n d e r e d all o f this material in his deliberate and m e t h o d i ­ cal fashion. B u t , despite his learning, the H a g is a craftsman rather than a scholar, and like most fine craftsmen he is an intensely practical m a n . M u c h o f his k n o w l e d g e seems to c o m e to h i m t h r o u g h his hands w h i c h , t h o u g h large and square, almost crude l o o k i n g , h a v e a grace and fluency o f expression, a gentle certainty o f touch, that c o m e s across in an act as simple as that o f p o u r i n g a glass o f mint tea for a visitor. In the end, he realized, the ancient boat timbers themselves w o u l d be his most valuable source material. T h e solution to the puzzle o f the boat c o u l d o n l y c o m e about w h e n he had confronted it himself, handled its parts in his o w n hands. O n l y then w o u l d he begin to understand their relationships. In the m e a n t i m e , he learned as m u c h as he could about the construction o f w o o d e n ships. In the N i l e s i d e boatyards at M a ' a d i , south o f C a i r o , and at A l e x a n d r i a , E g y p t ' s great port on the Mediterranean, he w a t c h e d b o a t m e n constructing e v e r y t h i n g f r o m simple r o w b o a t s to the sleek N i l e w o r k b o a t s that are such an elegant sight w h e n their lateen sails swell before the n o r t h w i n d - o r the b i g , b u l k y , square-ended dahabiyehs that carry travellers up and d o w n the river. H e w a t c h e d , and he occasionally turned his o w n hand to the task, and as he gained confidence and u n d e r ­ standing, he constructed b y h i m s e l f several b i g ten-to-one scale models, n o w in the m u s e u m , o f the typical N i l e boats. T h e r e w a s o n e e n o r m o u s difference b e t w e e n the boats he w a s learning about and the boat that lay in the pit, but it w o u l d be s o m e time before a n y o n e realized this.

4g Dozens of metres of rope lay in coiled confusion at the bottom of the pit. by this stage it was clear that all this cordage was not, as had been originally surmised, rigging, but in fact the rope that had been used to hold the ship's timbers together.

75

Removal from the pit

4-'

B y late J u n e 1 9 5 5 D r Iskander had finished his w o r k , consolidating and r e m o v i n g the u p p e r m o s t l a y e r o f reed matting, but it w a s then too late in the season to continue. T h e intense heat o f the E g y p t i a n s u m m e r seared the desert plateau. Inside the pit the h u m i d i t y w a s higher than that o f the d r y desert air outside and the temperature w a s m u c h l o w e r . It seemed w i s e therefore to keep the ship sealed in its pit t h r o u g h o u t the long hot season that lasts w e l l into w h a t is called a u t u m n in m i l d e r climates. Finally in D e c e m b e r the w o o d e n blocks w e r e once m o r e r e m o v e d and the scaffolding devised b y H a g A h m e d w a s set up to lift the pieces from the pit. This scaffolding w a s a simple affair, consisting o f a w o o d e n platform suspended just a b o v e the i m m e d i a t e w o r k area in rope slings that could be raised and l o w e r e d , permitting w o r k to proceed at close range w i t h o u t putting any w e i g h t on the timbers o f the boat. T h e responsibility faced b y the H a g w a s o v e r w h e l m i n g . Each piece had been laid in the pit w i t h great care b y the same people w h o had built

¡0-52 (Below) At the very bottom of the pit each neatly tied bundle represented a separate assemblage of parts. Although it was not apparent exactly how the parts went together, it was obvious that they did somehow relate. (Above right) The broken sleeve of the prow, which after restoration would slide over the curved blades (ill. 78), cradled the most seriously damaged piece in the boat-one of the oars, reduced to tubular fragments by the weight of the timbers above. (Below right) After the main hull timbers had been removed, four of the limestone blocks that had supported them were revealed (near the centre of the picture).

EXCAVATION

58-60 47, 48

61

32

78

the ship and w h o thus understood the relation o f its parts. N o w those parts w e r e to be r e m o v e d b y a m a n w h o had o n l y a v a g u e idea o f w h a t that relationship m i g h t be, and w h o m o r e o v e r understood that a mistake at this stage m i g h t mean crucial information irretrievably lost. A lesser person m i g h t w e l l h a v e been i m m o b i l i z e d b y the e n o r m o u s responsibility o f choosing the first piece for r e m o v a l f r o m the pit. T h e H a g ' s deliberate and practical approach seems to h a v e concealed a certain hesitation e v e n on his o w n part at the e n o r m i t y o f the task. Oars w e r e easily recognizable, but w h a t function the other parts m i g h t serve, w h a t relationships their arrangement itself m i g h t hide, w e r e at that stage i m p o n d e r a b l e . Indeed, the first piece to be r e m o v e d and recorded in the registry b o o k w o u l d g i v e h i m quite s o m e trouble later on. (That first piece, as it turned out, w a s part o f the little foredeck c a n o p y . ) B u t after this it w a s easier. P r o b l e m s presented themselves - h o w to lift w e a k or cracked pieces, or the l o n g beams that f o r m e d the great ship's side timbers, for instance - but they w e r e p r o b l e m s that could be solved b y that same deliberate practical approach. T h e r e w e r e thirteen layers in the pit. E a c h l a y e r w a s p h o t o g r a p h e d and the photos w e r e squared metre b y metre, so as to identify each segment w i t h its contents in relation to the others. T h e n the individual pieces w e r e p h o t o g r a p h e d , d r a w n and g i v e n identifying n u m b e r s before being re­ m o v e d f r o m the pit. In the restoration shed n e x t to the pit each piece w a s described and recorded in the most meticulous detail, in both English and A r a b i c , then cleaned g e n t l y w i t h an air-brush and treated w i t h the solution o f p o l y v i n y l acetate for preservation. U n d e r D r Iskander's super­ vision the pieces w e r e also treated w h e n necessary w i t h M a r k o n resin in an acetate solution for conservation and consolidation, and w i t h a 2 per cent D D T solution to lessen the danger o f insect attack. H a g A h m e d had already recognized that the sections o f the great ship w e r e arranged in a logical sequence that w o u l d be part o f the solution to the puzzle. T h a t sequence w a s maintained in the restoration shed. A s each piece w a s r e ­ m o v e d , described and treated, it w a s placed in the shed in an order that f o l l o w e d , as m u c h as possible, the order established in the pit. Pieces that seemed similar in construction, o r that appeared to h a v e an analogous function, w e r e d r a w n as they w e r e found in the pit and the d r a w i n g s w e r e collated. T h i s m e t h o d w a s to p r o v e especially useful w i t h the pieces o f j o i n e d planking in the t o p m o s t layer. In the end, s o m e o f this w a s found to be d e c k i n g , and s o m e f o r m e d the sides and bulkheads o f the deck cabin. W i t h o u t the sketch o f all these pieces together, m o n t h s c o u l d h a v e been w a s t e d t r y i n g to fit together parts that did not b e l o n g . It w a s w i t h o u t a n y doubt the most important e x c a v a t i o n to h a v e taken place in the Giza p y r a m i d area since R e i s n e r had u n c o v e r e d Hetep-heres'

EXCAVATION

secondary burial thirty years earlier, and in a sense it w a s R e i s n e r ' s stan­ dards that g o v e r n e d the w o r k . D o w s D u n h a m , a m e m b e r o f R e i s n e r ' s expedition and later C u r a t o r o f E g y p t i a n A r t at the M u s e u m o f Fine Arts in B o s t o n , described R e i s n e r ' s m e t h o d as essentially a process o f dis­ section, taking apart and separating into its c o m p o n e n t s a building or a g r o u p o f remains or an object. In the v e r y process o f d o i n g so, the evidence is o f course l a r g e l y destroyed. O n l y the most carefully detailed records, such, according to R e i s n e r himself, as w o u l d enable future archaeologists and scholars to reconstruct the evidence precisely as it w a s found, could justify this destruction. In the Hetep-heres find, as in other less spectacular excavations, R e i s n e r had set a m o d e l for future archaeologists to f o l l o w : square foot b y square foot, each separate artefact, w h e t h e r a r e c o g n i z ­ able object or an unidentifiable fragment, w a s p h o t o g r a p h e d , d r a w n , measured and described, and its position in relation to other items noted. T h e same standards prevailed in the e x c a v a t i o n o f the R o y a l S h i p : the precise recording in m i n u t e detail, both on site and later in the restoration shed, the care in handling and c o n s e r v i n g these fragile pieces, but a b o v e all the s l o w and thoughtful pace o f the w o r k that a l l o w e d time for

53 The empty boat-pit, looking west. The wide shelf on either side of the pit supported the limestone blocks that had covered it.

¡4 These ten symbols, painted on the south wall of the boat-pit, have never been deciphered, but because of the crudeness with which they were drawn-evidence of hasty execution-it is assumed that they were workmen's instructions, either to the quarrymen or to those who were responsible for the ship's interment.

53

5, 7

49 80

mistakes to be corrected before they w e r e irrevocable, w e r e all part o f R e i s n e r ' s m e t h o d o l o g y . A l t h o u g h H a g A h m e d Y o u s s e f had n e v e r w o r k e d w i t h R e i s n e r on an e x c a v a t i o n , he had, in a sense, absorbed R e i s n e r ' s meticulous approach t h r o u g h his o w n w o r k on the Hetep-heres furniture. H a g A h m e d w o r k e d alone in the pit. Iskander and Z a k i N o u r , then C u r a t o r o f the P y r a m i d s R e g i o n , supervised the i m m e d i a t e tasks o f identification, conservation and preservation in the restoration shed, but the j o b o f r e m o v i n g the great ship from her g r a v e w a s one that A h m e d Y o u s s e f chose to confront b y himself. A n o v e r r i d i n g sense o f his s o m e w h a t mystical connection w i t h the past, particularly w i t h the artisans and craftsmen o f the past, w h e t h e r stone-carvers, goldsmiths, potters or b o a t w r i g h t s , led h i m to his solitary occupation. A l o n e , w i t h o u t distractions, he felt closer to an understanding o f w h a t w a s contained in the pit. H o l d i n g each o f the pieces in his o w n hands, hefting its w e i g h t , running his blunt, sensitive fingers o v e r its contours, he felt he could find m a n y answers. In late J u n e 1 9 5 7 , after t w o l o n g seasons o f e x c a v a t i o n , the great l i m e stone pit on the south side o f the p y r a m i d finally stood e m p t y . T h i r t y t w o - a n d - a - h a l f metres l o n g and five metres w i d e , the pit had contained 6 5 1 elements o f the boat, such as cabin doors, walls, hatch covers and decking, w h i c h , w h e n b r o k e n d o w n into their c o m p o n e n t parts, a m o u n t e d to 1 , 2 2 4 individual pieces (including all the major timbers). T h e s e w e r e p r e d o m i n a n t l y o f cedar, although there w e r e small details o f acacia, sidder (ziziphus spina-christi), and other types o f w o o d that g r e w natively in E g y p t in ancient times as w e l l as m o d e r n . T h e cedar had been identified at the British M u s e u m as c o m i n g from that part o f Syria that w e k n o w t o d a y as L e b a n o n , w h e r e the l o n g and r u g g e d l y graceful m o u n tain ridges that separate the coastal strip from the interior w e r e once carpeted w i t h these massive e v e r g r e e n trees. W i t h the exception o f a f e w brads or staples o f almost pure copper, there w a s no metal a n y w h e r e in the pit. T h e stones that had served to support the c u r v i n g f o r m o f the hull pieces (and had perhaps been intended for ballast in the actual ship?) w e r e r e m o v e d during the course o f the e x c a v a t i o n , as w e l l as metres and metres o f rope, far m o r e than

w o u l d h a v e been t h o u g h t necessary, interspersed b e t w e e n the layers and littering the floor o f the pit. T h e r e w a s n o treasure in the ship's g r a v e besides the precious boat itself, not even a simple burial offering that m i g h t h a v e revealed something m o r e about w h o had buried it and w h y . T h e r e w e r e n o inscriptions except for the q u a r r y m e n ' s m a r k s scrawled on the blocks and some strange, r o u g h l y d r a w n s y m b o l s enclosed in triangles (or inverted p y r a m i d s ?) painted on the south w a l l o f the pit itself. A m o n g the last pieces to be r e m o v e d w e r e a chunk o f u n w o r k e d black basalt that m i g h t have been used as a h a m m e r i n g tool, and a n a r r o w flint i m p l e m e n t , s o m e fifteen centimetres l o n g , precisely flaked in the shape o f a d o u b l e - e d g e d knife or chisel. These tools, together w i t h a sherd from a cheap, p o o r l y baked, p o r o u s j u g o f the kind still used to keep w a t e r cool t h r o u g h evaporation, w e r e the o n l y extraneous or, in archaeological terms, foreign objects found on the site, carelessly d r o p p e d o r k n o c k e d into the pit b y the ancient w o r k m e n . O n e can i m a g i n e the curses o f the knife's o w n e r as he perhaps w a t c h e d his precious flint fall irretrievably d o w n t h r o u g h the layers to the b o t t o m o f the pit - silent curses, n o doubt, for he w a s in a sacred place and the g r a v e o f the g o d - k i n g w a s o n l y a f e w cubits a w a y .

54 55

53 Three 'foreign' objects were found in the pit —a flint blade, presumably a workman's knife; an un­ worked chunk of black basalt, perhaps a hammer­ ing tool; and a sherd of cheap, common pottery, possibly a fragment from a broken water jug.

8i

56 Ahmed Youssef Moustafa with a small model of the hull of the Royal Ship. The forward part of the hull is in the foreground and it becomes clear how the curved blades join together to form a prow over which the papyriform sleeve fitted (cf. ill. 78).

C H A P T E R FIVE

Construction and reconstruction

'It is the duty of the restorer, before touching his patient, to make himself absolutely sure of the success of his operation so that no further loss of material or damage may happen to the valuable treasure in his charge. After long study and painful trials I came to the conclusion that the only w a y to assure success was to retrace the steps of the ancient maker and do again what he did long ago in moulding his masterpiece ' Ahmed Youssef Moustafa, 1947

Piecing together the puzzle Inside the b r i c k - w a l l e d restoration shed n e x t to the e m p t y boat-pit, the w a r m and dusty air w a s fragrant w i t h the resinous perfume o f ancient cedar. Peace and tranquillity had returned to the desert g r a v e y a r d h i g h on the Giza plateau. T h e lifting cranes w e r e silent, the w o r k m e n had m o s t l y g o n e , tourists w e r e f e w and m o r e interested in the massive hulks o f the p y r a m i d s than in the w o r k g o i n g on in the shed, the journalists had l o n g since departed, their e x c i t e m e n t o v e r the initial d i s c o v e r y r e ­ placed w i t h the b o r e d o m that sets in w h e n a task is l o n g , tedious, c o m p l e x and uncertain o f result. H e had personally selected the f e w assistants w h o w o u l d help h i m w i t h t h e j o b , but H a g A h m e d w a s alone w i t h the responsibility. In the solitude and stillness, the e n o r m i t y o f the task revealed itself. A t last he could a p p r e ­ ciate the p r o d i g i o u s size o f the ship, as w e l l as the effort that w o u l d be required o f h i m s e l f to put it all back together. T h e 1 , 2 2 4 pieces o f the puzzle ranged in size f r o m pegs a f e w centimetres l o n g to the t w o h u g e t w e n t y - t h r e e - m e t r e timbers that w o u l d eventually f o r m the central sec­ tions o f the sheer o r top strakes on either side o f the ship. B u t his confidence, H a g A h m e d says n o w , n e v e r once faltered. R e m a r k ­ ably, his h i g h l y justified faith in himself w a s n e v e r shaken. H e w a s cer­ tain that the puzzle could be solved, and equally sure that its solution l a y there in the restoration shed, in the timbers o f the ship itself. T h i s w a s

83

CONSTRUCTION

AND

RECONSTRUCTION

not mysticism, he assured m e in talking o f this time later on, but a deeply p r a g m a t i c a p p r o a c h : there w o u l d be o n l y one w a y ultimately to put the ancient ship together, and eventually he w o u l d find that w a y , t h o u g h it m i g h t , in fact did, take h i m years to d o so. T h e visitor w h o is fortunate e n o u g h to see the boat in its m u s e u m t o d a y is struck b y the e x t r a o r d i n a r y Tightness o f the reconstruction. T h i s feeling o f inevitability, this i m p r e s ­ sion o f a rational and w e l l - p l a n n e d system in the boat's construction, is a tribute b o t h to the ancient shipwrights and to H a g A h m e d ' s perspicacity, but it conceals the effort, the m o n t h s and years o f trial-and-error before the H a g w a s certain that he had the reconstruction right.

100, 101

H a g A h m e d ' s w o r k on the R o y a l S h i p has revealed so m u c h about the construction o f ancient boats that one tends to forget that w h e n he began almost nothing w a s k n o w n for certain. Despite the hundreds o f different boats depicted in reliefs, paintings and models, v e r y little w a s understood about the all-important internal construction o f ancient ships. A l m o s t the o n l y evidence c a m e from the boats that had been found at D a h s h u r b y the French archaeologist J a c q u e s de M o r g a n in 1 8 9 3 , w h i c h w e r e believed b y their e x c a v a t o r to h a v e been part o f the burial e q u i p m e n t o f the T w e l f t h D y n a s t y k i n g Sesostris III, near w h o s e p y r a m i d they w e r e discovered. A l t h o u g h they w e r e ill c o n c e i v e d and appear to h a v e been hastily executed, nonetheless they g a v e s o m e valuable clues about boat construction. A n o t h e r clue c a m e f r o m H e r o d o t u s ' statement that 'the

57 A view from the south face of the pyramid in 1963, looking down on the restoration shed and, immediately beyond it, the empty boat-pit. To the right of the pit, the remains of the temenos wall can be seen with the blocks covering the second boatpit jutting out beneath it. Today the restoration shed has been dismantled and the glass-walled museum covers the empty pit. (Cf. colour ill. IV).

}8-6o The little baldachin on the foredeck of the Royal Ship was one of the first pieces to be reconstructed (below, left and right). A valuable clue came from the baldachin on the foredeck of Sahure's Ship of State depicted in a Fifth Dynasty relief fragment (right). The relief clearly shows the bow of a papyriform boat very similar to the Royal Ship. III. 39 shows the individual parts, the two curved struts that held the roof pieces in place and the columns with papyrus-bud finials like those on Queen Hetep-heres' bed canopy (ills. 34, 35).

[ E g y p t i a n ] boats h a v e n o ribs', although this w a s usually dismissed as yet another piece o f misinformation p r o v i d e d b y the 'father o f history', also k n o w n as the 'father o f lies'. H a g A h m e d ' s w o r k m e t h o d , t h o u g h it m i g h t appear aimless and h a p ­ hazard to a n y o n e unfamiliar w i t h the p r o b l e m , w a s in fact the o n l y w a y to proceed. T h e r e w e r e n e v e r f e w e r than four o r five projects g o i n g on in the reconstruction w o r k s h o p at a n y one time. S o m e o f these w e r e a b a n ­ doned w h e n they p r o v e d to lead n o w h e r e ; s o m e o b v i o u s l y b r o u g h t i m ­ mediate results; most w e r e projects that w o u l d be taken up and d r o p p e d , tinkered w i t h and then put aside for a w h i l e , set to s i m m e r as it w e r e on the back o f the stove. Painstaking notes and records, c o m p l e t e w i t h

85

CONSTRUCTION

58-60 23, 93

AND

RECONSTRUCTION

diagrams and photographs, had to be kept o f e v e r y aspect o f the r e c o n ­ struction, w h e t h e r it eventually p r o v e d successful or not. T h e r e w e r e parts o f the puzzle that suggested a p r o m p t solution, such as the little baldachin on the foredeck, so similar to the one pictured on the b o w o f Sahure's Ship o f State (p. 1 3 4 ) , or the c a n o p y o v e r the cabin, so like the c a n o p y o v e r Q u e e n Hetep-heres' bed furnishings that H a g A h m e d had helped to restore t w e n t y - f i v e years earlier. O t h e r pieces presented p r o b l e m s so c o m p l e x and unfamiliar that it is a w o n d e r the H a g did not g i v e in to feelings o f despair. T w o sets o f clues had revealed themselves early on. A s w e h a v e seen, it had been clear even w h i l e e x c a v a t i n g the pit that the ship's parts had not been arranged casually o r haphazardly. Precisely w h a t the meaning o f the arrangement m i g h t be w a s not something that could be i m m e ­ diately understood, but H a g A h m e d had wisely decided not just to record the arrangement o f the pieces in the pit, but to preserve it as m u c h as

61 In the restoration shed the parts of the Royal Ship were laid out as much as possible in the order followed by the ancient workmen when they buried the ship. Here, two sections of the floor beams have been temporarily pegged together, with the bow section in the foreground; the starboard timbers are stacked on the left and the port timbers on the right in the picture.

CONSTRUCTION

AND

RECONSTRUCTION

possible in the restoration shed. It w a s as t h o u g h the pit had e x p a n d e d in all directions w i t h o u t disturbing a n y o f its layers, m e r e l y spreading them out o v e r a greater surface. L o n g before the pit had been emptied c o m p l e t e l y , the l o g i c o f the a r r a n g e m e n t had b e c o m e o b v i o u s : as w e h a v e seen p r e v i o u s l y , the p r o w o f the ship w a s at the western end o f the pit and the stern to the east; starboard timbers w e r e along the n o r t h side, on the right as one faced the p r o w ; port timbers o n the south o r lefthand side. T h e various elements o f the superstructure w e r e in the t o p m o s t layers o f the pit, w h i l e the hull pieces l a y at the b o t t o m and around the others, cradling t h e m just as the hull had cradled the contents o f the fully constructed ship. O f course, the rigours o f time and decay had caused s o m e shifting and settling o f the contents, so that not all the parts w e r e w h e r e they had been placed b y the ancient w o r k m e n , but in general it w a s possible to f o l l o w this scheme t h r o u g h o u t .

61

32

62 Four general classifying signs were used to indicateforward, port and starboard, and aft, port and starboard, quarters of the ship. Most of the timbers were marked with one of these signs to indicate where they belonged.

A n o t h e r clue to the eventual reconstruction lay in the fact that m a n y o f the w o o d e n pieces o f the ship had been m a r k e d w i t h hieratic signs to denote to w h i c h section o f the ship they b e l o n g e d . (Hieratic w a s a m o r e rapid system o f w r i t i n g that had d e v e l o p e d v e r y early f r o m h i e r o g l y p h s . A s a kind o f shorthand, it bears m u c h the same relationship to h i e r o g l y p h s as m o d e r n cursive penmanship bears to the letters o f a mechanical printing press.) -+- stands for the f o r w a r d right-hand section, or quarter, o f the boat; X for the f o r w a r d left-hand side; 0-* for the starboard after section; and II11 for the left-hand side in the rear. T h e G e r m a n E g y p t o ­ logist W o l f g a n g H e l c k , w h o has studied the signs most recently, has s h o w n that they represent b r o a d general classifying w o r d s that refer not j u s t to ships but to almost anything constructed o r under construction. T h e parts o f a t o m b , for instance, are sometimes described w i t h these signs, and they can even be used at times directionally, w i t h the sense o f left and right, o r east and west.

62

87

63 In addition to thefour general classifying signs (ill. 62), many other carpenter's marks helped in position­ ing pieces. The marks shown here indicated where battens should be placed over seams between the hull timbers.

A s w e l l as these four general classifying signs, there w e r e dozens o f other marks left on the w o o d b y the ancient carpenters, some o f w h i c h are illus­ 363 trated here. These marks h a v e not yet been adequately studied or inter­ preted, but they are o b v i o u s l y also directions o f a sort, although m o r e specific than the four general classifiers. A l t h o u g h they could not be g i v e n a precise m e a n i n g , they w e r e nonetheless invaluable clues to the position­ ing o f certain pieces in relation to others.

Restoration and research B e f o r e reconstruction could begin, the restoration w o r k had to be c o m ­ pleted. T h e w o o d had been preserved in D r Iskander's solution o f p o l y ­ v i n y l acetate i m m e d i a t e l y upon r e m o v a l f r o m the pit, but that solution m e r e l y inhibited further d e c a y ; it did not rectify decay that had already set in. In s o m e cases the decay w a s considerable, particularly o f pieces that had been placed or had fallen near the b o t t o m o f the pit w i t h the w e i g h t o f tons o f cedar l y i n g on top o f them. If these w e r e to stand up under

88

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the stress o f reconstruction, they w o u l d h a v e to be strengthened. S o m e ­ times a patch o f w o o d o v e r a w e a k spot w a s all that w a s needed. A t other 70, 71 times n e w w o o d w a s built up a r o u n d a core o f old w o o d , o r alternatively, 64-67 if the core w a s w e a k , strengthening m e m b e r s w o u l d be inserted w h i l e 68, 69 preserving the external appearance o f the b e a m . S o m e parts had to be replaced entirely w i t h n e w w o o d , but there w e r e surprisingly f e w o f these, for the w o o d as it w a s r e m o v e d f r o m the pit w a s in astonishingly g o o d condition. T h r o u g h o u t the exercise, the idea w a s not to disguise the n e w w o o d so that it l o o k e d old, n o r c o n v e r s e l y to spruce up the old w o o d like n e w . R a t h e r it w a s to strengthen the old w o o d w h e r e v e r neces­ sary in a m a n n e r that w o u l d be b o t h true to the original and at the same time apparent to future archaeologists so that there could be n o possible confusion b e t w e e n w o r k o f the O l d K i n g d o m and its m o d e r n imitation. A l l the w h i l e there w a s the pressure o f time, not w e i g h i n g on H a g A h m e d Y o u s s e f and his w o r k e r s , but on the Antiquities D e p a r t m e n t w h i c h w a s understandably anxious to p r o d u c e results, dramatic results that w o u l d justify the l o n g w a i t . T h e boat had been discovered during the spring o f 1 9 5 4 d u n c o v e r e d w i t h all the attendant publicity. It w a s the late a u t u m n o f 1 9 5 7 before H a g A h m e d w a s able to b e g i n w o r k on its reconstruction and there w e r e important people w h o had g r o w n i m ­ patient in the m e a n t i m e . It is difficult for western E u r o p e a n s to understand the depth o f national­ istic sentiment in countries such as E g y p t , w h e r e a r e m o t e but glorious past and the m e m o r y o f a once m i g h t y e m p i r e are c o m b i n e d w i t h m o r e recent experiences o f the humiliation o f colonialism and the bitterness o f a nation's i m p o t e n c e to shape its o w n history. Pride and shame are m i x e d to a b e w i l d e r i n g degree, and there is the additional pressure o f the c o n ­ sciousness, rightly o r w r o n g l y , that foreigners, w i t h their m o n e y and the expertise and t e c h n o l o g y at their c o m m a n d , could perhaps d o a better j o b , and could most certainly d o it faster. It had b e c o m e a matter o f national pride that the reconstruction o f the R o y a l S h i p should be finished soon. a n

B u t in the end it w a s the patient, s l o w , sometimes apparently p l o d d i n g m e t h o d o f the traditional craftsman that w o u l d bring the most satisfactory results. H a g A h m e d refused to be hurried w i t h o u t g o o d reason. A l l that first y e a r he had his assistants e n g a g e d in m a k i n g one-to-ten scale d r a w i n g s and models o f e v e r y single piece that had been found. In this w a y he h o p e d to be able to e x p e r i m e n t freely w i t h o u t subjecting the old timbers to too m u c h stress. M e a n w h i l e , he himself w a s still studying m o d e r n b o a t - b u i l d ­ ing w h e n e v e r and w h e r e v e r he could. It w a s the basic structural principle that he w a s after. B o a t - b u i l d e r s , w e h a v e already noted, are extraordinarily conservative b y nature, and their basic principles h a v e remained m u c h

8

9

RESTORING

THE

ANCIENT TIMBERS

64-67 Before the ship could be reconstructed restoration work had to be carried out. This timber, part of a slteer strake, had been found in relatively good condition except for the scarfed end in the foreground which shows some deterioration. The pictures illustrate the process by which new wood was built up, encasing and strengthening the old, and enabling the strake to withstand the stress of incorporation in the recon­ structed ship.

68, 6g Some of the hull timbers were badly damaged, In this case a strengthening beam is in­ serted inside the old timber. The old wood is, as it were, peeled away from its decaying core. The new core is inserted within a framework of laths that provide for a tight join between new and old wood.

70, 71 ( B e l o w ) The central shelf or stringer that formed the spine of the ship was badly cracked (see ill. 47, showing removal of this piece from the pit), and it required a patch of new wood.

C O N S T R U C T I O N

A N D

R E C O N S T R U C T I O N

the same throughout the millennia that men and w o m e n have been put­ ting to sea. T h e r e remained a fundamental difference, h o w e v e r , between boats as they w e r e constructed in modern Egyptian boatyards and the boat H a g A h m e d was trying to reconstruct. It is a difference that w e have touched on before. Basically, there are t w o w a y s o f building a w o o d e n boat, inside-out or outside-in. M o s t modern European and N o r t h A m e r i c a n w o o d e n boats are built inside-out, beginning w i t h the skeleton, the keel and ribs, on to w h i c h the skin, or outside surface o f the boat, is attached. C o n t e m ­ porary Egyptian boat-builders operate within this tradition. A n older and m o r e universal tradition is to build outside-in, that is, to build a shell o f planks that arejoined edge to edge, into w h i c h a strengthening f r a m e w o r k is then inserted. In frame-built ships, the hull planking is j o i n e d to the ribs or frames; in shell-built ships the hull planks arejoined to each other and are structurally independent o f any f r a m e w o r k . A l l ancient M e d i t e r ­ ranean boats that w e k n o w of, right d o w n to the Byzantine period, w e r e edge-joined shell constructions, and it is a tradition that is still strong in

72 The bottom, or central, plank, was made up of eight timbers in three sections, forward, midships and aft. Laying out the timbers was fairly easy, but the difficulty came in determin­ ing how the three sections were related, parti­ cularly what their angles of abutment should be. On this depended the vital question of the bottom curvature, or fore-and-aft rocker, of the ship. Notice how much greater is the curvature at this stage than it was in ill. 61.

73 The same care was taken at all stages of the reconstruction. During a trial assembly, one of the garboard strakes on the starboard side is moved into place. At each point of contact the ancient wood is protected by blankets and rolls of heavy industrial felt. To avoid undue stress the whole timber is supported by a steel I-beam.

India and Asia. S o m e rime in the M i d d l e A g e s , h o w e v e r - and no one is at all certain w h e n - the Mediterranean tradition changed from shellbuilt to frame-built ships. It seems likely that Egyptian ship-building changed at the same time, or that the change possibly took place a little later, w h e n Portuguese merchantmen rounded the African continent and entered the Indian O c e a n , permanently affecting the construction o f large cargo vessels in that area. Nonetheless, the tradition that produced the R o y a l Ship, as well as the Dahshur boats and probably e v e r y other ancient Egyptian w o o d e n boat too, was the shell-built, edge-joined tradition. W i t h o u t question the most important element in a boat's construction is the shape or profile o f the hull, w h i c h is in turn determined b y the rocker, the curvature o f the keel or b o t t o m planking o f the ship, and the sheer, the curve o f the upper edge o f the hull. T h e profile is the first thing d r a w n b y the naval architect, whether he is building an admiral's flagship or a fishing punt for his o w n use, for on the profile depends everything else that has to do w i t h the eventual boat, her shape, her size, her strength, and the w a y she will stand up to the j o b for w h i c h she is built.

93

74 Looking aft, a trial assembly of the hull, curiously high and narrow compared with the shape of the final ship.

R i g h t from the start, then, there was a serious problem in rebuilding the R o y a l Ship, for because o f her peculiar construction, it was impossible to tell w h a t the curvature o f the keel planking had been originally. H a g A h m e d had quickly determined the shape the keel planking should take, an elongated ellipse m u c h broader amidships than at either end, as well as the w a y in w h i c h the eight separate timbers that made up the ship's flat b o t t o m should fit together. T h e peculiarity o f the R o y a l Ship, h o w ­ ever, is that this keel planking has been constructed in three separate sec­ tions - forward, midships, and stern or after section - as a glance at the strakes d r a w i n g will confirm. T h e midships section had been found l y i n g 81 on the floor o f the boat-pit, and the forward and after sections w e r e on top o f it, overlapping the midships section front and back, w h i c h is h o w a forty-three-metre-long ship could be fitted into a pit that was only thirty-two-and-a-half metres in length. It was not difficult to w o r k out that these forward and after sections should be j o i n e d to the midships sec­ tion, so that the w h o l e b o t t o m , laid out flat, l o o k e d as it does in the strakes

94

73 Another trial assembly that was to prove mistaken. Note that the long, slender, notched timber (see ill. 43) is lying in the bottom of the ship, since it was still felt at this point that it functioned rather like a keel into which the frames or ribs would fit. Only later did it transpire that this 'stringer' was in fact a central shelf which ran the length of the ship and supported the thwarts or deck beams, giving the structure its necessary rigidity (cf. ill. So).

d r a w i n g . B u t the biggest p r o b l e m remained; at w h a t angles should the butted ends o f these sections fit together, the after section to the midships, and the midships to the forward section, because on these t w o angles w o u l d depend the curvature and profile o f the ship ? A n d there was no indication o f h o w to solve this problem except through trial and error, putting the pieces together o v e r and o v e r again until they l o o k e d and felt right, and w o r k e d together w i t h the other parts o f the ship. (I realize that talking about the curvature o f a flat-bottomed ship m a y present some problems to those w h o are unfamiliar w i t h naval architecture. T h e cur­ vature refers to a line d r a w n from b o w to stern d o w n the middle o f the boat's b o t t o m , w h e r e the keel w o u l d be if she had a keel. A line d r a w n across the ship, from port to starboard, at any point on the boat's b o t t o m , w o u l d be straight, because her b o t t o m is flat.) B y the end o f the first year, H a g A h m e d and his dozen assistants had produced three hundred scale drawings and ninety m o d e l pieces - out o f the total o f more than t w e l v e hundred pieces o f the ship itself. ' C l e a r l y

61, 72

95

CONSTRUCTION

AND

RECONSTRUCTION

it w a s g o i n g to take us a g o o d ten years to d o the j o b . A n d I w a s quite prepared to take that,' H a g A h m e d recalls. B u t i f ten years w a s a mere drop in time's bucket for the H a g , impatience in the Antiquities D e p a r t ­ ment w a s g r o w i n g acute. A t the end o f 1 9 5 8 , a n e w department head suddenly and u n a c c o u n t a b l y announced to the press that the ' S o l a r B o a t ' w o u l d be finished in three m o n t h s ' time. R a t h e r than d e n o u n c e this rash and intemperate statement, H a g A h m e d set himself to meet the impossible g o a l . H e still w o u l d not be rushed - indeed, in the end, the task took l o n g e r than the ten years he had predicted - but n o w , he says, h a v i n g spent most o f the previous y e a r w i t h the N i l e boat-builders and under their direction m a d e the large models that are displayed in the m u s e u m , he felt confident o f his ability to w o r k directly on the original timbers o f the R o y a l Ship.

The reconstruction

76, 77

T h e r e w o u l d be a n u m b e r o f false starts and dead ends before the boat's profile w a s determined, but once that decision w a s finally reached, it w a s possible to m a k e template pattern forms, w h a t m o d e r n boat-builders call ' m o u l d s ' , to control the c u r v a t u r e o f the hull. It seems unlikely that the ancient E g y p t i a n shipwrights used m o u l d s - certainly there is n o s u g g e s ­ tion o f them in a n y o f the m a n y t o m b scenes that s h o w boat-building - but they w e r e e n o r m o u s l y useful in the reconstruction, especially because they helped to relieve the strain on the old timbers. O n c e they had served their function o f establishing the pattern o f the hull c u r v e , they w e r e r e m o v e d and they f o r m n o part o f the c o m p l e t e d boat.

O n e o f the most interesting p r o b l e m s presented b y the construction o f the R o y a l S h i p w a s the m a n n e r in w h i c h the carved p a p y r i f o r m stem and stern pieces w e r e attached to the boat. In V i k i n g and other N o r t h E u r o p e a n ships, the separate stem and stern pieces, often themselves o f great elegance and grace, are scarfed on to the ship's keel, but the R o y a l Ship had n o keel, and the p a p y r i f o r m stem and stern w e r e socketed on to the actual hull timbers. H a g A h m e d had postulated this f r o m the v e r y 44, 46 first w h e n he spied the t w i n pairs o f l o n g , blunt-ended blades, shaped like lance heads, at either end o f the pit, n e x t to w h a t w e r e instantly recognized as the stem and stern posts. T h e position o f the blades suggested to h i m that they w e r e in s o m e m a n n e r the connection b e t w e e n the decorative p a p y r i f o r m pieces and the main b o d y o f the boat. It w a s an inspired guess and a brilliant piece o f intuition, for in fact the t w o pieces slid on to the 78, 79 blades like gauntlets sliding o v e r a sleeve. T h e h i g h stem post rising f r o m the b o w , and the stern post raked back o v e r the afterdeck, are e n o r m o u s l y h e a v y , but the ingenious m a n n e r in w h i c h they h a v e been socketed on

96

76, 77 Once the silhouette and section profile of the boat were understood it was possible to make template moulds around which the skin of hull timbers was erected. When the hull structure was complete, the moulds, having served their function, were removed.

C O N S T R U C T I O N

102

80

A N D

R E C O N S T R U C T I O N

prevents them from breaking off at b o w and stern, and in fact contributes to the overall strength o f the structure. C u r i o u s l y , i f the carved papyriform pieces are r e m o v e d from the boat, one is left w i t h an ordinary river travelling boat w i t h truncated ends, such as the one being built in the l o w e r register o f T i ' s great boat-building scene (see chapter six). Is it poss­ ible that this is not an ordinary boat at all, but that Ti's w o r k m e n are engaged in preparing a papyriform funerary boat, perhaps for T i ' s o w n m u m m y ? A n alternative suggestion is that, at least b y the time o f T i in the Fifth D y n a s t y , special funerary boats w e r e no longer built; rather, papyriform fittings w e r e grafted on to ordinary river boats w h e n e v e r they w e r e needed. N o w the great ship was c o m i n g to life once more, the timbers o f her hull strakes bound edge to edge, sewn together w i t h a simple but effective over-and-under stitch that holds the strakes in place w h i l e a l l o w i n g a cer­ tain resiliency and mobility under pressure. There are an incalculable

78, 7g One of the most interesting aspects of the ship's construction is the way in which the papyriform bow and stern pieces fit like sleeves over the fore and aft sections of the hull. In the final assembly in the museum ( b e l o w ) , we can see how the bowsprit slides over the bow, to produce the magnificent papyriform shape of the completed ship ( o p p o s i t e ) .

80 The internal structure of the Royal Ship: the hull planks are held together partly by pegs (1), but more importantly by a system of ropes stitched through seam holes (2) that do not penetrate to the outside surface of the boat. Long, thin, hemispherical battens (3) are lashed over each seem, making caulking unnecessary. Frames (4) inserted into the hull to strengthen it support a series of stan­ chions (5), which in turn carry the weight of the central shelf or stringer (6) that runs the length of the ship. The thwarts or deck beams (7) are let into the notches of the stringer. Side shelves (8) similar to the central stringer rest on the thwarts and give further rigidity to the hull structure.

83 82

132

81

100

n u m b e r o f forces that a ship must be able to take at any g i v e n m o m e n t , from w i n d , w a v e s , currents, the strains o f the ship's o w n m o v e m e n t , the w e i g h t o f cargo. A properly built hull w i l l a c c o m m o d a t e all these forces, yielding and resisting in a harmonious balance. T h e R o y a l Ship, though she has never been floated in m o d e r n times, seems to have just such a hull, far stronger than w h a t w o u l d be required for a ceremonial funeral barge. V i e w e d from the outside, the ship's hull presents a smooth, streamlined skin. N o n e o f the lashing or stitching can be seen, for the V-shaped binding holes do not pierce t h r o u g h the cedar planks w h i c h are thirteen to fourteen centimetres thick. A s in the w o r k o f a first-class tailor, the stitching is hidden in the interior. O n l y w h e r e the stem and stern pieces actually lash on to the ship's ends was it necessary to bring the lashing outside, and at these points, c u r v e d rectangular pieces have been b o u n d o v e r the knots to conceal them. Because o f the inevitable w a r p i n g o f the h u g e timbers, it is possible today to see some o f the stitches in the gaps b e t w e e n strakes, but w h e n the ship was n e w , from the outside one w o u l d have had n o idea h o w she was held together. Inside, she is an initially confusing j u m b l e that assumes a rational order only on close inspection. T h e garboard or b o t t o m strakes, next to the keel planking, and the sheer or topmost strakes, are each made up o f three timbers; the binding strakes have t w o ; and b e t w e e n the garboard and binding strakes on either side o f the ship are three extra planks, stealers, inserted to fill out the swell o f the hull; there are thus eleven planks on each side o f the hull. O n e rope can be threaded t h r o u g h the w h o l e trans­ verse girth o f the ship, securing all the planks together. T h e planks are j o i n e d at their ends b y S-shaped h o o k scarves, and their edges are also h o o k e d to g i v e a close, firm fit. In shipwrights' t e r m i n o l o g y , the planks are set 'carvel', that is, e d g e to edge, rather than lapstrake, w i t h the edges

81-83 ( A b o v e ) A drawing of the strokes of the Royal Ship (bow to the right) shows the relationship of the hull timbers and the way they have been hooked and scarfed together. (Left) Curved rectangular battens con­ ceal the ropes lashing the papyriform stern piece to the stern section of the boat. Similar battens serve the same function in the bow. ( B e l o w ) The interior of the completed hull, showing the over-and-under stitching that binds the timbers together (cf. ill. 80). Modern steel braces help to support the deck hatches overhead. Some carpenter's marks can be seen in the left foreground.

C O N S T R U C T I O N

80

A N D

R E C O N S T R U C T I O N

overlapping. In addition to the lashing that binds them, the planks are pegged together with mortise-and-tenon joints at various points along their edges. On the inside of the hull, long, thin battens, hemispherical in section, are lashed over the seams between the planks to make caulking unnecessary. And at either end of the ship, the two pairs of lance-shaped blades mentioned above are bound and pegged to both the bottom and the side planking, and the papyriform stem and stern pieces slide over these. Sixteen frames or floor beams, big curved pieces shaped from a single piece of cedar, are inserted into the hull and lashed to the hull planks to strengthen it. On the frames rest a series of seven forked stanchions which support, in their turn, the long stringer or central shelf that runs down the middle of the ship. This stringer adds a longitudinal stiffening to complement the lateral strengthening that is provided by the thwarts or crossbeams, forty-six of which are let into the stringer at regular notched intervals. The ends of the thwarts are let into notches in the sheer strakes on either side of the ship. One of these thwarts, just forward of midships, is broader and thicker than the others, and Björn Landström has suggested that it is intended as a support for a two-legged mast, although no such mast, or any other evidence of sailing gear, was found in the pit. 84 Erecting

the cabin on the still incomplete ship in the restoration

shed.

#5 The inner structure of the deckhouse, showing the antechamber (l) and the main cabin (2) with thepalmiform columns that support the central roofbeam.

A long side-shelf or girder runs down each side of the ship, resting on the thwarts. Between these two girders the decking is laid over the thwarts in a series of removable hatches. On the foredeck, ten slender poles, their finials carved, like those of the main deck canopy, in the elegantly re­ strained form of a papyrus bud, support the small baldachin or canopy. It is not certain what this canopy is intended to shelter from the sun: an image of the god? a lookout? the captain or first mate or other important ship's personnel? perhaps a priest in charge of a ceremonial journey ? The main deck cabin, situated just aft of midships and extending between the side girders from one side of the boat to the other, is built up of twelve wooden screens or panels, five on each side and one at either end. A double door with a sliding bolt to lock it from the inside leads from the foredeck to a small antechamber, and another similar door con­ nects this antechamber with the main cabin space. Within the cabin three columns with palmette finials, like those on the carrying chair of Queen Hetep-heres, support the central roof beam. A single door leads from the cabin back to the afterdeck. The door from the foredeck and the door into the main cabin are positioned in such a w a y that the oarsmen, standing (or seated?) on the foredeck, would be unable to see into the main cabin. The interior of the cabin on a hot summer's day on the Nile must have been a dark, humid and airless space Apart from the doors, there are no openings, and no passage for a cool breath of air to pass through. H o w ­ ever, according to Hag Ahmed Youssef, there was a way, an imaginative way, to cool the cabin, for the whole structure is surrounded by thirtysix columns, again with papyrus-bud finials, that support slender beams arching some fifteen centimetres over the roof of the cabin. Hag Ahmed

84

59, 60, VII

85

7

90 89

93, IX

103

THE

86 Part of a cabin wall panel indicates by ancient craftsmen in carving patches knots in the cedar.

CABIN

the care exercised to fit holes left by

87 The cabin wall panels were found as complete pieces in the pit. They were taken apart and rejoined, both to check on the condition of the wood and to understand their con­ struction.

88 ( B e l o w ) Assembling Ahmed Youssef Moustafa

the cabin in the museum (lower right) looking on.

with

8g ( A b o v e ) Looking forward from the cabin antechamber to the foredeck with the sliding door lock (ill. 7) in the centre foreground.

go Interior of the main cabin looking the

antechamber.

towards

C O N S T R U C T I O N

A N D

R E C O N S T R U C T I O N

believes that this open framework was intended to support a layer of fabric, probably reed mats woven in brightly coloured geometric patterns like those that are often depicted on boats in later wall-paintings. If this matting were kept wet constantly with buckets of river water poured over it, it would provide a primitive but highly effective kind of air con­ ditioning, a space of water-cooled air acting as an insulator around the roof and sides of the cabin. The canopy extends several metres beyond the cabin on to the foredeck to provide a shelter for the oarsmen from the searing summer sun. There are five pairs of oars, varying in length from about six-and-a79, 92, 93 half to nearly eight-and-a-half metres, on the foredeck, and an additional 134 pair of steering oars, each a little over six-and-a-half metres long, off the afterdeck. Whether these actually provided the boat's propulsion is debat­ able. Lionel Casson, who has studied ancient Mediterranean boats exten­ sively, believes that a ship of this type may have been towed by another boat, and that the oars and steering oars served simply to keep her on course. It is entirely possible, as we shall see, that the oars were not manned

gi

View

plank

aft along the starboard side, with the little

leading

off the forward

gang­

deck.

i)2 ( R i g h t ) Two ofthe ten oars,five to a side, that provided at least part of the ship's forward momentum (the ship may have been towed as well as rowed). Note the arrow carved on the blade of the oar in the foreground.

93

108

by seamen at all, but by people who had a more ceremonial or ritual func­ tion. All in all, Hag Ahmed was to put this great ship together five times before she reached her final resting place in the museum next to the Great Pyramid. The first complete reconstruction was achieved by 1968, ten years after work had started on the actual timbers. Because of problems in locating the museum site, the boat was in fact taken apart and re­ assembled several more times. Hag Ahmed is confident now that the final, fifth reconstruction is the most satisfactory. In the end, he had reduced his reassembly time from nearly two years to about three months, so fami­ liar had he grown with the elements of his puzzle. The completed ship is 43.4 metres long and 5.9 metres in the beam. Her depth, measured vertically from the base line to the level of the upper deck planking at the position, just aft of midships, of maximum width, is 1.78 metres. Her maximum draught is 1.48 metres at this point of maxi­ mum beam and her displacement is about 45 tons. In the water, her hull timbers would expand and the rope lashings shrink to make a strong, flex­ ible, watertight vessel. A ship whose planks are stitched together seems strange at first, but in fact it was until recently the characteristic w a y of building sea-going vessels in the Arabian Gulf and in port towns and ship­ building centres all around the Indian Ocean. Today the tradition is dying

£5 A composite photograph shows the completed Royal Ship bow is to the left, facing west, as it was found in the pit.

as she stands in the museum

today.

The

out, though apparently a few examples can still be found in places like Dhofar, but at one time sewn boats were used in the extensive China trade when Arab ships sailed from the Gulf as far as Canton, Foochow and other South China ports. Lionel Casson points to evidence that Classical writers knew of sewn boats as an earlier, more primitive, tradition in the Mediter­ ranean. Virgil describes Aeneas crossing the Styx in a 'sewn skiff'. Sewn boats have not been known in Egypt in modern times. Whether the tradition was typical of all ancient Egyptian boat-building, or whether it was something reserved for vessels as spectacular and as special as the R o y a l Ship, whether it was a continuing tradition or whether it was alive only during the Old Kingdom, are questions that cannot presently be answered. As with many great discoveries, the R o y a l Ship asks as many questions as it answers, opening up new and often unsuspected areas of inquiry that must await further discoveries before they too can be resolved. At the same time, the R o y a l Ship, in its construction as well as its reconstruction, has told us much that we did not previously know about ships and ship-building in ancient Egypt.

109

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CHAPTER SIX

Ships and ship-building in the Old Kingdom

I went down to the sea in a boat one hundred and twenty cubits long and forty cubits wide. One hundred and twenty sailors from among the best of Egypt were in it. Whether they looked at the sky or whether they looked at the land, their hearts were fiercer than those of lions. They could tell a storm wind before it came and a downpour before it happened 1

From Byblos to the land of Punt T h u s begins the tale told b y the s h i p w r e c k e d sailor, an oriental fantasy w o r t h y o f S i n b a d himself, a fable o f s t o r m and w r e c k and miraculous rescue b y a gold-plated basilisk w i t h lapis-lazuli e y e b r o w s . B y the time the ' S t o r y o f the S h i p - W r e c k e d S a i l o r ' w a s first written d o w n , p r o b a b l y during the E l e v e n t h D y n a s t y , early in the second m i l l e n n i u m B C , the E g y p t i a n s had been a seafaring nation for at least a thousand years, t r a v e l ­ ling n o r t h across the Mediterranean to S y r i a and the Cilician coast and s o u t h w a r d d o w n the R e d Sea t o w a r d s the H o r n o f Africa and b e y o n d . F r o m the t o w n o f C o p t o s on the N i l e just north o f L u x o r , they w o u l d cross the eastern desert, taking the w e l l - t r a v e l l e d but nonetheless perilous route, eight d a y s ' m a r c h t h r o u g h the v a l l e y o f the W a d i H a m m a m a t w h e r e m a n y o f t h e m left their names o r other inscriptions on the cliff walls, to the port t o w n o f Q o s e i r on the R e d Sea coast. H e r e at Q o s e i r the actual sea v o y a g e began, s o m e 1 , 3 0 0 miles d o w n the R e d Sea to the land o f Punt, the semi-fabulous c o u n t r y that lay s o m e w h e r e b e y o n d the B a b e l - M a n d a b , in S o m a l i a o r the Y e m e n , and that p r o v i d e d the E g y p ­ tians t h r o u g h o u t their history w i t h g o l d and frankincense, leopard skins, i v o r y and e b o n y . It has l o n g been a matter o f scholarly dispute w h e t h e r the ancients trekked entire boats across the mountainous desert from the N i l e to the R e d Sea, or w h e t h e r they transported to Q o s e i r the actual timber f r o m w h i c h the boats w o u l d be built. C e r t a i n l y n o w h e r e on the inhospitable R e d Sea shores w a s there a supply o f t i m b e r sufficient to build sea-going trading vessels. T h e sophisticated construction o f the R o y a l

94 (Opposite) 94 Old Kingdom Egypt was a political and cultural unit from the Delta to Aswan. The Fourth Dynasty Egyptians traded with Byblos, on the coast of modern Lebanon, and, through the Wadi Hamma­ mat and down the Red Sea, with the land of Punt, prob­ ably located on the African and I or Arabian coasts just outside the Bab el-Mandab (see inset).

Ill

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KINGDOM

Ship, the skill w i t h w h i c h it w a s built w i t h a v i e w to its eventual dismant­ ling and reconstruction, has g i v e n strength to the a r g u m e n t that these ancient traders quite p r o b a b l y built their boats in the familiar confines o f the N i l e V a l l e y , then t o o k them apart and transported them piecemeal across the desert to Q o s e i r w h e r e they w e r e reassembled for the v o y a g e south. In any case, the R e d Sea trading vessels w o u l d h a v e been a g o o d deal smaller, simpler and, in the event, p r o b a b l y m o r e s e a w o r t h y than Cheops' R o y a l Ship.

95

B u t w h e t h e r they w e r e b o u n d for the land o f Punt o r along the eastern Mediterranean shores o r a n y w h e r e else, sea-going vessels w e r e a l w a y s k n o w n to the E g y p t i a n s as ' B y b l o s boats'. It seems o b v i o u s that the first o c e a n - g o i n g ships the E g y p t i a n s had experienced w e r e in the trade w i t h B y b l o s , the Lebanese port t o w n that w a s for thousands o f years the chief entrepot o f the eastern Mediterranean, w h e r e A e g e a n , African and W e s t ­ ern Asiatic merchants met r e g u l a r l y to trade r a w materials as w e l l as finished products. A r c h a e o l o g i c a l evidence f r o m both places has estab­ lished that trade existed b e t w e e n the N i l e V a l l e y and the S y r i a n coast e v e n before the b e g i n n i n g o f the dynastic period, but w h e t h e r this trade w a s initiated b y the Syrians o r b y the E g y p t i a n s is in dispute. W e r e the ' B y b l o s boats' actually E g y p t i a n ships, o r w e r e they g i v e n that n a m e because they had been built in B y b l o s b y S y r i a n shipwrights and sailed to E g y p t b y S y r i a n seamen, laden w i t h cedar and other resinous w o o d s that w e r e so precious to the E g y p t i a n s ? T h e evidence seems to m e to point m o r e to an E g y p t i a n origin for this e x ­ tensive trade than a S y r i a n one. T h e r e is not m u c h e v i d e n c e for sea trade in S y r i a n b o t t o m s before the Late B r o n z e A g e , a r o u n d the twelfth century B c , whereas w e k n o w that the E g y p t i a n s w e r e e x p e r t b o a t m e n m o r e than a thousand years earlier. A l t h o u g h the early B y b l i t e s w e r e skilled m e r c h ­ ants, unlike their Phoenician descendants they seem n e v e r to h a v e b e c o m e sailors. M o r e o v e r , w h a t W . A . W a r d calls 'the e m o t i o n a l need' for the B y b l o s trade w a s entirely on the E g y p t i a n s i d e . It w a s the E g y p t i a n s w h o w a n t e d the precious w o o d s and oils that w e r e so important in their funerary cult, and w h i l e it c o u l d be a r g u e d that the S y r i a n s ' need for E g y p ­ tian g o l d w a s j u s t as important, nonetheless the initial i m p e r a t i v e surely c a m e f r o m E g y p t not S y r i a . 2

T h e presence o f c e d a r w o o d in predynastic g r a v e s confirms trade w i t h the Lebanese coast as early as the latter part o f the fourth m i l l e n n i u m . T h i s trade must h a v e been sea-borne, for it is inconceivable that the E g y p ­ tians, lacking as they did b o t h w h e e l e d carts and h e a v y draft animals, could h a v e transported l a r g e quantities o f t i m b e r t h r o u g h territory a great part o f w h i c h w a s hostile desert populated b y often unfriendly tribes. E v e n i f the early trade w i t h B y b l o s w a s carried on o n l y sporadically o r i n -

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93 The cedars of Lebanon near the village of Beshara in the mountains that supplied the Egyptians and other ancient peoples with resinous

above Tripoli timbers.

are all that remain of the once-majestic

forests

frequently, it would still have required boats that were large, stable and swift - merchantmen of a sort. W e must assume that the Egyptians had such boats even as early as the last part of the fourth millennium. If further proof were needed of the ability of Egyptian shipwrights, it is certainly provided by the Royal Ship. The size, the grace and the sophisticated technology of this craft were not produced by a people who had heretofore built nothing but rafts and dugout canoes. The Royal Ship

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w a s built b y artisans w h o w e r e heirs to a l o n g , e v o l v e d tradition o f ship­ building and design, and although the R o y a l Ship itself m a y not h a v e been an o c e a n - g o i n g vessel, nonetheless a superior t e c h n o l o g y like this must h a v e been capable o f p r o d u c i n g s e a w o r t h y boats for long-distance j o u r n e y s as w e l l . It has been suggested that the R o y a l S h i p w a s built o f cedar precisely because o f the almost sacramental nature o f the w o o d , w h o s e use w a s restricted, together w i t h that o f the resins and oils extracted f r o m it, to r o y a l t y and the g o d s and, b y special dispensation f r o m the k i n g , to the nobility. B u t the cedars f r o m L e b a n o n had a m o r e practical attraction for the O l d K i n g d o m ship-builders in their great size. O n l y in the m o u n tains o f the L e b a n o n could be f o u n d the e n o r m o u s trees that w o u l d p r o ­ v i d e boards for a craft the size o f the R o y a l S h i p , s o m e o f w h o s e hull timbers, w e must r e m e m b e r , w e r e solid pieces measuring t w e n t y - t w o metres l o n g and fourteen centimetres thick. T h e ships built b y K i n g S n e feru and m e n t i o n e d on the P a l e r m o Stone w e r e each m o r e than 1 0 0 cubits, that is m o r e than fifty metres, l o n g - a little l o n g e r than C h e o p s ' ship. O n e o f these vessels w a s built o f cedar, the other t w o o f a w o o d called ' m e r u ' , apparently another t y p e o f conifer i m p o r t e d to E g y p t f r o m the S y r o - L e b a n e s e coast. W e must i m a g i n e that Sneferu's ships w e r e c o n ­ structed like C h e o p s ' o f h u g e pieces o f t i m b e r scarfed and p e g g e d and lashed together. B e c a u s e these great coniferous w o o d s and their b y - p r o d u c t s w e r e not available in E g y p t , the B y b l o s trade w o u l d remain significant t h r o u g h o u t E g y p t i a n history. T o w a r d s the end o f the O l d K i n g d o m , late in the third m i l l e n n i u m , w h e n centralized authority seems to h a v e b r o k e n d o w n c o m p l e t e l y and s o m e w h a t anarchic conditions prevailed t h r o u g h o u t E g y p t , the w i s e m a n I p u w e r lamented the decline in trade: ' N o n e indeed sail north to B y b l o s t o d a y . W h a t can w e d o concerning c e d a r w o o d for o u r n o b l e deceased; one used to b u r y the pure ones [priests ? o r nobles ?] w i t h its imports and o n e e m b a l m e d the appointees [ g o v e r n m e n t officials?] w i t h its pitch in o r d e r to last 3

4

B u t the B y b l o s trade r e s u m e d , and flourished. A l m o s t a thousand years later, in the eleventh century B C , at the end o f the N e w K i n g d o m w h e n E g y p t i a n p o w e r and influence, once d o m i n a n t t h r o u g h o u t the M i d d l e East, had declined, a g o v e r n m e n t official n a m e d W e n - A m o n reported to his superiors on a trade mission to B y b l o s to purchase t i m b e r for the c o n ­ struction o f 'the great and n o b l e riverine b a r g e o f A m o n - R e , K i n g o f the G o d s ' . P i r a c y , greed and hard bargaining on the part o f the ruler o f B y b l o s w e r e o n l y a f e w o f the sufferings W e n - A m o n detailed, but his report is interesting for o u r a r g u m e n t , indicating as it does that as l o n g as the old beliefs and customs prevailed, that is, p r o b a b l y until the advent

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o f Christianity, these coniferous w o o d s and their resins and oils remained crucial for the E g y p t i a n s .

Navigation and the Nile T h e extent o f E g y p t i a n m a r i t i m e activity, so far b a c k in ancient history, should not be surprising. ' E g y p t ' , said H e r o d o t u s , 'is the gift o f the N i l e , ' and i f he w a s thinking m o r e o f agriculture than o f n a v i g a t i o n , it is nonetheless true. A traveller in E g y p t t o d a y can o n l y be struck b y h o w valid the statement continues to be. Industry and agriculture are alike d e ­ pendent on the N i l e . Indeed, until v e r y recently, the o n l y safe, c o m f o r t ­ able, rapid means o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h i n the c o u n t r y w a s b y boat along the river's seven hundred and fifty unobstructed miles f r o m the First Cataract at A s w a n to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite m a n y contacts w i t h other civilizations, f r o m earliest times the people o f the N i l e V a l l e y seem to h a v e had a linguistic and cultural unity, strung out as they w e r e along the n a r r o w r i v e r b a n k s . A s c o m m u n i c a t i o n d e v e l o p e d , they attained political unity as w e l l . T h e early unification o f E g y p t under a strong centralized authority w a s m a d e possible b y this slender but nearly unbreakable riverine thread o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T h e S u m e r i a n civilization, w h i c h w a s d e v e l o p i n g in l o w e r M e s o p o t a m i a at about the same time, n e v e r d e v e l o p e d politically b e y o n d a g r o u p o f i n d e ­ pendent city states and part o f the reason for this is surely g e o g r a p h i c a l . N a v i g a t i o n and c o m m u n i c a t i o n along the N i l e w e r e further f a v o u r e d in that the prevailing w i n d w a s n o r t h e r l y : d o w n r i v e r traffic rode w i t h the current, w h i l e the s o u t h b o u n d traffic to U p p e r E g y p t , g o i n g against the current, sailed before the n o r t h w i n d . 5

S o m e palaeobotanists h a v e suggested that the climate o f the N i l e V a l ­ ley, at least f r o m a r o u n d 5000 B C to the end o f the O l d K i n g d o m , w a s rather m o r e h u m i d than it has been since, w i t h heavier, m o r e frequent, w i n t e r rains. ( T o d a y the a v e r a g e annual rainfall at C a i r o is t w o - a n d - a half centimetres; in U p p e r E g y p t it rains once e v e r y t w o or three years.) E x t e n s i v e marshes, like the thick stands o f p a p y r u s that are often depicted in the paintings and reliefs o f O l d K i n g d o m t o m b s , w o u l d h a v e spread along the N i l e banks, and farther back f r o m the river w a s perhaps open park-land w i t h scattered trees - acacias, sycamores and sidders. S u c h trees w e r e all useful, as w e h a v e seen f r o m the w a y their w o o d w a s used for pegs and in other small details in the R o y a l S h i p , t h o u g h none o f them g r e w to a n y i m p o r t a n t size. T h e s e lush marshes, rich in fish and g a m e , w e r e w h a t attracted the earliest settlers to the v a l l e y , and it w a s p r e s u m ­ ably one o f these earliest m e n o r w o m e n w h o first discovered that he could venture e v e n farther f r o m the w a t e r y marshes out into the r i v e r

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g6 Boats are a characteristic motif on pottery from the Naqada 11 period, immediately preceding the First Dynasty. The two reed huts pictured on this example may he religious shrines, or they may have a more prosaic function. The boat represented is probably wooden rather than a papyrus raft.

itself supported by a light floating bundle of papyrus reeds. When pre­ cisely this happened we cannot even guess, for of that first primitive papyrus craft not a trace has been found. The invention of the first 'boat' may have taken place as early as the Upper Palaeolithic period, when the Nile Valley was settled by groups of hunter-gatherers moving in from the deserts to exploit the fertile river banks; and it may have been centuries after that first breakthrough that another man or woman discovered how several bundles of reeds bound together could support more than one per­ son, could even be used to transport goods from one place to another. The earliest abundant boat evidence that we have in Egypt is from what archaeologists call the Gerzean or Naqada II culture, immediately preced­ ing the dynastic period. It used to be thought that the establishment of the First Dynasty represented a decisive break with the immediate predynastic past, brought on at least partly by a cultural or military invasion of the Nile Valley by outsiders who spoke a different language, wor­ shipped other gods and travelled in distinctively different boats. That view has fewer adherents today, and students of the prehistoric period such as Elise Baumgartel have shown that the Naqada II culture merges so im­ perceptibly into the early dynastic period that no hard and fast line can be drawn to separate them. Characteristic of Naqada II is a skilfully made red-painted pottery covered with designs that are both naive and at the same time often 6

(Opposite) VII The little foredeck baldachin or canopy, look­ ing towards the prow.

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e x t r e m e l y p o w e r f u l . B o a t s appear as an important m o t i f in this pottery, so m u c h so that they are interpreted b y m a n y archaeologists as serving s o m e kind o f ritual or religious function: the little reed huts that are their cabins are seen as shrines, and the figures that stand on o r around the boats are said to be participants in s o m e fertility dance o r d r a m a , a sacred couple or a triad, the couple w i t h child. T h e theory is tempting, but w e still k n o w v e r y little about early religious beliefs and practices. C e r t a i n l y it seems likely that even if all the boats s h o w n on these pots h a v e s o m e ritual func­ tion, they are the same kinds o f boats that w e r e used for m o r e prosaic purposes, fishing and transport. T h e evidence is o f an already h i g h l y d e ­ v e l o p e d t e c h n o l o g y - so h i g h l y d e v e l o p e d that a sea v o y a g e o f m o r e than three hundred miles f r o m the Delta to B y b l o s is quite w i t h i n the range o f possibility. L a n d s t r o m has offered plausible reconstructions o f the c o m m o n e s t types o f craft depicted on the pottery as w e l l as on r o c k d r a w i n g s in U p p e r E g y p t and N u b i a . O n e t y p e o f vessel is a flat-bottomed w o o d e n boat m a d e o f planks stitched together w i t h thwarts o r deck beams inserted to g i v e the craft stability in deep w a t e r , a direct ancestor o f the R o y a l S h i p , even if a scaled d o w n version. T h e other type o f boat s h o w n on the pottery is the papyrus raft, w i t h its ends b o u n d tightly together and d r a w n u p w a r d s and i n w a r d s , to g i v e the raft a stability and m o b i l i t y it w o u l d not otherwise h a v e . B o t h types o f boat are s h o w n at times under sail and at other times w i t h a w h o l e fringe o f oars o r paddles. It has been suggested that this fringe represents the m y t h o l o g i c a l 'Field o f R e e d s ' , mentioned in the P y r a m i d T e x t s , but in the piece o f painted fabric f r o m a predynastic g r a v e at Gebelein that is n o w displayed in the T u r i n M u s e u m , w e can see unmistakably leaf-shaped oars not unlike the oars o f the R o y a l Ship. S o m e o f the boats painted on pottery s h o w similar oars. T h e v e r y earliest evidence, then, indicates that there w e r e t w o parallel, if not necessarily simultaneous, developments in E g y p t i a n b o a t - b u i l d i n g : the raft built u p o f bundles o f papyrus reed, and the w o o d e n boat. T h e reed raft w a s used w i t h o n l y m i n o r variations t h r o u g h o u t E g y p t i a n his­ tory - as it is still used t o d a y in southern Iraq and other m a r s h y areas o f the w o r l d . T h e reasons for its persistence are o b v i o u s - cheap, light, b u o y a n t , easy to construct, easy to replace w h e n it falls apart, it is the ideal w o r k and transport vehicle in the marshes.

Reed rafts and w o o d e n boats In their tomb-paintings, E g y p t i a n nobles l o v e d to s h o w themselves p u n t ­ ing t h r o u g h the reed marshes on a light, c o m f o r t a b l e papyrus raft, the m e n hunting o r fishing w h i l e the w o m e n seem to h a v e been m o r e content

KINGDOM

6

9

XI

(Opposite) VIII A close-up view reveals how the oars are lashed to the hull. IX Papyrus-hud finials crown the slender columns that support the cabin canopy. Cf. ill. 35. X The cabin and central section of the ship seen from the forward port side.

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98

99

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simply to gaze at the lush scenery. It was a favourite form of relaxation. Queen Meresankh III, a granddaughter of Cheops and wife of his son Chephren, was painted on the walls of her Giza tomb together with her mother, another queen, the two royal ladies standing on a graceful little raft while they gather papyrus blossoms, a favourite decorative motif throughout the pharaonic period. More than a thousand years later, the young King Tutankhamun, in a gilt statuette from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, stands astride an elegant model raft, a harpoon in his raised right arm to symbolize the ritual of the hippopotamus hunt. Despite the ornate and rather decadent feeling of Amarna art, beneath the elaborate gilding one detects exactly the same form and function as the raft on which Meresankh and her mother floated a millennium earlier. One of the loveliest of all these marsh scenes is in the Fifth Dynasty mastaba of the nobleman Ti at Saqqara. The impassive official, clinging to his staff" of authority, is being punted through dense stalks of papyrus that stand in regular vertical ranks like an impenetrable wall. But around the static and conventionalized figure of the deceased, the artist was free to depict the teeming luxuriance of life in the marshes, the varieties of

97 Queen Meresankh III, grand­ daughter of Cheops and wife of his son Chephren, is portrayed on the wall of her tomb in the Giza necropolis, together with her mother, Hetep-heres II, in a papyrus raft, gathering flowers in the marshes-a traditional scene in tomb paintings throughout Egyptian history. g8 In this fine gilt statuette from the young King Tutankhamun astride a papyrus raft very like Meresankh''s of a thousand years except that the ends are flattened than upturned.

Thebes stands Queen earlier, rather

fish, crocodiles and hippopotami; high overhead the graceful papyrusblooms nod and sway, heavy with the abundance of small birds and ani­ mals that nutter and perch amongst them. The relief has long since lost its colours, but one has nonetheless an inescapable sense of the cool green­ ness of these marshy depths and their appeal to the Egyptians whose actual dwelling- and work-places were more apt to be in the hot sun. Landstrom says that bundles of papyrus were still being used to cross the Nile in the nineteenth century, but in Upper Egypt papyrus had died out by the Eighteenth Dynasty, though it continued to flourish in the Delta until the last century. N o w it has disappeared completely as a wild plant, and with it of course have disappeared the boatwrights with the knowledge of how to build these craft. When Thor Heyerdahl, the N o r ­ wegian archaeologist-explorer, prepared a papyrus raft to carry him across the Atlantic, although the boat was built in the western desert within sight of the Giza pyramids, Heyerdahl had to import his boatbuilders from Lake Chad, far away to the southeast below the Sahara Desert, and his papyrus reeds from the shores of Lake Tana in the Ethio­ pian highlands at the source of the Blue Nile.

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T h e raft m a d e o f p a p y r u s reeds continued for s o m e time to be the o n l y f o r m o f m a r i n e transportation available to the ancient E g y p t i a n s . O n e can be quite positive about this because o f the later use o f a t w o - l e g g e d mast on w o o d e n sailboats. T h i s k i n d o f w i d e s p r e a d mast, l o o k i n g s o m e ­ thing like a ladder, w i t h its v e r y special system o f r i g g i n g , w a s d e v e l o p e d for use on fragile reed rafts, w h e r e the i m m e n s e pressure f r o m the mast itself, and f r o m the b i g sail these boats carried, had to be distributed o v e r as great an area as possible i f the w e a k fibres o f the boat w e r e not to split apart. B u t the t w o - l e g g e d mast continued to be used on all types o f sailing vessels right t h r o u g h the O l d K i n g d o m , w h e n it n o l o n g e r served any useful function. M a r i n e archaeologists feel that this is excellent evidence for the d e v e l o p m e n t o f reed rafts large e n o u g h to carry h e a v y sails l o n g before w o o d e n boats c a m e into c o m m o n use. B u t h o w and w h y and w h e n did the d e v e l o p m e n t o f w o o d e n boats take place? A g a i n , w e can o n l y say that it too must h a v e been far back in antiquity, so far back in fact that its origins are lost. It must h a v e been an entirely separate d e v e l o p m e n t f r o m that o f the reed raft. B o a t historians such as Basil Greenhill, D i r e c t o r o f the N a t i o n a l M a r i t i m e M u s e u m at G r e e n w i c h , b e l i e v e that the d u g o u t , the h o l l o w e d - o u t l o g , often w i t h its sides extended b y planking, is the o r i g i n o f most types o f w o o d e n boats in the w o r l d . I d o not think that this is p r o b a b l y true in E g y p t for a n u m b e r o f reasons, the m a i n one being that, f r o m as m u c h as w e k n o w o f the E g y p t i a n w o o d e n b o a t - b u i l d i n g tradition, it did not rely e v e n in small craft on a keel and strakes f o r m e d o f large single boards, such as w o u l d be the usual d e v e l o p m e n t f r o m dugouts. R a t h e r , because the locally a v a i l ­ able s u p p l y o f h a r d w o o d w a s limited in length (acacia, w h i c h is a g o o d local h a r d w o o d and w a s quite c o m m o n l y used until v e r y recently in N i l e side boatyards, is o n l y available in short lengths) E g y p t i a n boats, even those as elegant in line as the R o y a l S h i p , w e r e built o f short lengths o f w o o d , j o i n e d end to end and then b o u n d along their edges. E v e n the central part o f the boat, corresponding to the keel, w a s built u p o f segments. In the R o y a l S h i p this 'keel plank', as L i o n e l C a s s o n calls it, w a s m a d e o f eight shorter pieces o f timber. H e r o d o t u s described E g y p t i a n b o a t - b u i l d i n g in the fifth century B C , and it had p r o b a b l y not c h a n g e d m u c h o v e r the previous t w o thousand years: ' F r o m the acacia tree they cut planks three feet l o n g , w h i c h they put together like courses o f brick, building up the hull as f o l l o w s : they j o i n these three-foot lengths together w i t h l o n g , close-set d o w e l s ; w h e n they h a v e built up a hull in this fashion [out o f the planks] they stretch cross-beams o v e r them. T h e y use n o ribs, and t h e y caulk seams f r o m the inside using papyrus fibres. T h e y fashion a single steering oar and this they pass t h r o u g h the keel. T h e y use masts o f acacia and sails o f p a p y r u s . ' 7

(Opposite) 99 As we have seen (ill. lg) the raft-in-the-marshes motif was by no means re­ stricted to royalty; nobles too enjoyed hunting and fishing from reed boats. Here the Fifth Dynasty nobleman Ti commands his followers in a relief from his Saqqara tomb.

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loo, ¡01 The boats discovered at Dahshur in 18gj were thought by their excavator to have been part of the burial equipment of the Twelfth Dynasty king, Sesostris III, but doubt has since been cast on this attribution. The strakes drawing of one of the two boats now in the Cairo Museum ( a b o v e ) shows its similarities with - and its differences from -the Royal Ship of Cheops. Note the narrow central plank in three sections joined by dovetail clamps. The Dahshur boats had no frames and relied on deck beams or thwarts to maintain their rigidity. The third surviving boat ( b e l o w ) is today in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. The metal bands to support the hull are a modern addition.

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This technique of boat-building is best exemplified in the Dahshur boats, which had been buried near the pyramid of Sesostris III, although it has never been entirely clear whether they were actually part of the king's burial equipment or that of some lesser dignitary from one of the many other burials in the neighbourhood. A sledge found near the boats was assumed to have been used to transport them, together with their contents, from the edge of the river or floodplain to the pyramid site south of Saqqara, where they were placed apparently within a large mud-brick vault outside the south temenos wall of the pyramid area. T w o of these boats are in the Cairo Museum, and one is at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. There were three (or perhaps more) other boats, but in such poor condition that they could not be preserved. Landstrom, who has studied the Cairo boats, says that they are made of wood that had been used earlier for other purposes. Is it really possible, he asks, that 'the most powerful King of the Middle Kingdom should have been borne to his grave in such a wretched craft?' But the question of the ownership of the Dahshur boats need not concern us here. What is of greater importance is the w a y in which they were constructed, which is precisely as Herodotus had described. Short lengths of wood (Ahmed Fakhry says it is cedar, but even that is uncertain) are joined along their edges with little butterfly or hourglass wooden clamps that are set into the wood from the inside. Apparently, unlike the R o y a l Ship, no lashing or sewing was used. It seems incredible that the planking could have held together in water by means of these rather simple clamps. As in the R o y a l Ship, the hull was built up around a central plank instead of a proper keel; this plank was made of three or four sections of wood

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j o i n e d at the ends w i t h dovetail clamps that w e r e s o m e w h a t larger than those used in the rest o f the ship. U n l i k e the R o y a l S h i p , there w e r e n o frames inserted into the hull, but thwarts or deck beams running across the ship at the level o f the g u n w a l e s g a v e it rigidity. T h e s e beams w e r e p e g g e d to the hull p l a n k i n g w i t h d o w e l s . T h e deck itself w a s p r o b a b l y laid in r e m o v a b l e hatches o v e r the deck beams, like the deck on the R o y a l Ship. T h e timbers used w e r e all o f u n e v e n lengths, and one does indeed get the impression that the builders g r a b b e d w h a t e v e r l a y to hand and fitted it in w h e r e v e r it w o u l d g o . In his report, the e x c a v a t o r , J a c q u e s de M o r g a n , said that one o f these boats w a s painted w h i t e , another red, and that both had m u l t i - c o l o u r e d ornaments, but not a trace o f this paint­ ing can be seen t o d a y . T h e C a i r o boats are in a fairly neglected condition in a n y case, w h i c h m a y account for L a n d s t r o m ' s description o f them as 'wretched'. L a n d s t r o m has also pointed out, in the M i d d l e K i n g d o m t o m b o f the official K h n u m - h o t e p at B e n i Hasan, an e x a m p l e o f such a boat under construction. F i v e m e n are w o r k i n g on the boat w h i l e a sixth, perhaps a foreman b y the cut o f his g a r m e n t , is l o o k i n g on. L a n d s t r o m believes that the boat's planking is being s e w n together b y the second w o r k m a n from the left w h o appears to be d r a w i n g bindings tight. In a n y case, it is definitely a question o f short pieces o f w o o d that are being j o i n e d together like bricks, as H e r o d o t u s said, and at least in this case they are a g o o d deal m o r e regular than the pieces used in the D a h s h u r boats. A b o v e this scene, t w o carpenters are w o r k i n g , one pulling his s a w t h r o u g h an upright plank, and the other using an adze o f a sort similar to the one in the boat-building scene b e l o w . T h i s tool seems to h a v e been an allpurpose i m p l e m e n t in ancient E g y p t , for it is s h o w n o v e r and o v e r again in d r a w i n g s and reliefs, and is often part o f burial equipment, even for so exalted a being as the k i n g . T h e ship-building scene w a s a favourite motif, like s o w i n g the grain or the birth o f calves, that occurred repeatedly in the reliefs and w a l l paintings o f later O l d K i n g d o m t o m b s , w h e r e officials and nobles set out w i t h pride not just their o w n public achievements but the rich ordinariness o f their e v e r y d a y lives. In the same Fifth D y n a s t y mastaba o f T i as the marsh scene described a b o v e , another relief s h o w s different types o f boats being constructed, each t y p e o b v i o u s l y to serve a different purpose. T h e boat on the right side o f the m i d d l e register has r o u n d e d ends, that on the left has one end (the stern ?) sharply pointed and the other abruptly c h o p p e d off. T h e boat in the l o w e s t register is the most interesting for us, for, as w e h a v e seen, this is the same shape as the hull o f the R o y a l Ship w i t h the p a p y r i f o r m stem and stern posts r e m o v e d . W e k n o w o f a n u m b e r o f these ships f r o m reliefs o f the Fifth D y n a s t y , most o f t h e m

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102 The Fifth Dynasty mastaba tomb of Ti (see ill. go) has also provided us with this scene - until the discovery and reconstruction of the Royal Ship one of our few clues to ancient methods of ship-building.

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s h o w n under sail t h o u g h there are a f e w w i t h the mast l o w e r e d and the oarsmen at w o r k . A s w a s noted a b o v e in the chapter on the reconstruction o f the boat, it has been p r o p o s e d that p a p y r i f o r m boats w e r e m o r e often than not o r d i n a r y river travelling boats on to w h i c h the p a p y r i f o r m pieces w e r e socketed, as they w e r e on the R o y a l S h i p , to transform it into a boat for a special occasion. In the T i reliefs, the adze in several sizes is, again, the all-purpose tool, used ubiquitously for shaping and s m o o t h i n g . A n o t h e r almost equally useful is a l o n g h a m m e r i n g tool, shaped like a bat. T h e saw on the right in the l o w e s t register, one w r i t e r has pointed out, is a p u l l - s a w , d e r i v i n g its thrust f r o m being pulled t o w a r d s the s a w y e r rather than, as w i t h m o d e r n saws, being pushed a w a y . In the b o t t o m register w o r k m e n are attaching the b u l w a r k to a nearly c o m p l e t e d hull and w e can see the tenons o f the mortise-and-tenon joints that w i l l secure the b u l w a r k to the sheerstrake. In the scene a b o v e , a w o r k m a n , perhaps a foreman, b e t w e e n the t w o boats is h o l d i n g a ferrule and lead w i t h w h i c h to check the accuracy o f the hull curves.

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U n f o r t u n a t e l y there is not m u c h evidence, in either pictures or text, o f the initial stages o f boat-building. B u t the m a k i n g o f boats is a c o n s e r v a ­ tive occupation, particularly in rural parts o f the w o r l d w h e r e boats are m o r e often than not m a d e b y the m e n w h o sail them and w h o hand the tradition on to each succeeding generation, f r o m father to son. B o a t s and b o a t - m a k i n g are v e r y s l o w to change. It seems safe to assume, then, that ancient E g y p t i a n boats w e r e m a d e m u c h as the edge-joined, shell-built, s e w n boats are constructed t o d a y in the f e w places, such as southern A r a b i a and B a n g l a d e s h , w h e r e they are still being built. T h e s e m o d e r n boats all seem to be built around a keel w h i l e the E g y p t i a n boats, as w e h a v e seen, had n o keel until p r o b a b l y s o m e time in the N e w K i n g d o m . B o t h the R o y a l S h i p and the D a h s h u r boats w e r e built up a r o u n d the central keel plank that w a s f o r m e d o f several smaller pieces o f w o o d . A glance at the strakes d r a w i n g s will s h o w that, in the D a h s h u r boats this keel plank w a s a l o n g n a r r o w d i v i d i n g piece, whereas in the R o y a l Ship it w a s a g o o d deal w i d e r and virtually f o r m e d the entire flat b o t t o m o f the craft. In the R o y a l S h i p , the eight timbers o f the keel plank w e r e p r o b a b l y laid first, j o i n e d at their ends and along the edges. T h e n the f o r ­ w a r d and after sections w e r e raised and shored up to g i v e the p r o p e r c u r ­ vature to the hull. A s the sides w e r e built up, they w e r e supported f r o m the outside b y m o u l d s o r buttresses o f s o m e sort. Greenhill describes the building o f a similar craft in B a n g l a d e s h , 'surrounded b y a forest o f struts and guylines h o l d i n g the planks in tension'. O n c e the side planks had been raised, frames w e r e sometimes, t h o u g h not a l w a y s , inserted to strengthen the hull, and then the deck beams w e r e laid across the central 'spine',

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the n a r r o w shelf o r stringer that ran f r o m b o w to stern d o w n the length o f the ship. In a series o f w a l l - p a i n t i n g s f r o m a t o m b at Z a w i y e t e l - M e i t i n , a c c o r d ­ ing to Andre S e r v i n , the French historian w h o studied ancient E g y p t i a n ships and their construction, w e can see w o r k m e n w i t h hatchet-like axes c a r v i n g out w h a t appears to be the central stringer ('le l o n g e r o n central du p o n t ' ) . S e r v i n w a s mistaken about a n u m b e r o f features, but a l t h o u g h he w a s w r i t i n g s o m e years before the d i s c o v e r y o f the R o y a l S h i p , his description o f the interior structure o f the boats in the Z a w i y e t e l - M e i t i n painting as w e l l as others f r o m the O l d K i n g d o m , is r e m a r k a b l y close to the actual structure that w a s revealed b y C h e o p s ' craft. In S e r v i n ' s d r a w i n g , the central stringer rests on stanchions spaced at intervals, and supports the deck beams, e x a c t l y as it does in the R o y a l Ship. O n e o f the paintings at Z a w i y e t e l - M e i t i n s h o w e d six w o r k e r s twisting levers in order to tighten a r o p e truss that arches o v e r the boat f r o m b o w to stern. S e r v i n t h o u g h t they w e r e d r a w i n g u p b o w and stern to achieve the p r o p e r sheer for the craft, but it has been pointed out that n o hull could withstand this k i n d o f strain w i t h o u t bursting the seams. L a n d s t r o m says such trusses represent a stage in construction, a support for the u n ­ finished hull, like Greenhill's 'forest o f struts and g u y l i n e s ' , that w i l l be r e m o v e d w h e n the boat is finished. W e k n o w these h o g g i n g trusses f r o m finished boats as w e l l , w h e r e they are used to g i v e greater flexibility to ships that must travel in h e a v y seas, often laden w i t h c a r g o . T h e d o u b l e r o p e runs f r o m b o w to stern, in fact loops o v e r both b o w and stern. A stick, inserted b e t w e e n the t w o strands o f the d o u b l e r o p e and twisted, w o u l d tighten the cable and thus help to maintain the sheer o f the boat and keep her f r o m b r e a k i n g up in h e a v y w e a t h e r . A n o t h e r t y p e , the girdle truss, w a s sometimes used instead of, o r in conjunction w i t h , the h o g g i n g truss. T h i s consisted o f t w o ropes that encircled the hull a b o v e the waterline. A third r o p e w a s w o v e n or laced b e t w e e n t h e m in such a m a n n e r that strain on the hull timbers could be counteracted b y tightening the girdle to h o l d t h e m together. A t A b u s i r , j u s t north o f S a q q a r a , in the m o r t u a r y t e m p l e o f K i n g Sahure, one o f the early rulers o f the Fifth D y n a s t y , w e r e once the remains o f a w o n d e r f u l series o f reliefs s h o w i n g the departure and subsequent arrival h o m e again o f a merchant fleet o f t w e l v e b i g ships, doubtless in the Syrian trade to j u d g e b y the n u m b e r o f Asiatics, recognizable b y their l o n g hair and beards, on b o a r d the returning vessels. T h e s e ships all h a v e h o g g i n g trusses and m a n y h a v e girdle trusses as w e l l , so they h a v e o b v i ously been used to transport h e a v y cargoes o v e r l o n g distances. T h e same h o g g i n g trusses can be seen in the painted reliefs o f Q u e e n Hatshepsut's temple at D e i r e l - B a h r i , w h e r e the Eighteenth D y n a s t y queen's merchant

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fleet is shown upon its return from a successful voyage to Punt; on another wall are the huge hog-trussed barges that transported a pair of giant obelisks, each weighing about 2,400 tons, for the queen from Aswan to Thebes.

The papyriform boat As we have seen, the R o y a l Ship is neither a papyrus raft nor an ordinary wooden boat, but a papyriform boat, a wooden boat that was deliberately built in the shape of a huge raft made of papyrus bundles. Landstrom distinguishes this type as early as the Badarian period, that is, about six thousand years ago, in a ceramic model boat. Already, then, if we accept his evidence, in the fourth millennium there were at least three distinctive kinds of boats: simple reed rafts, probably used primarily for hunting or sport within the marshes but rarely on the broad reaches of the river itself; wooden boats, faster and more stable than the lightweight rafts, most likely used for riverine travel and transport but that would later on in their sturdier versions be commandeered for long-distance ocean voyages; and papyriform boats that were built with the same technology as the wooden river-boats but for some reason in a deliberate, if more elaborate, imitation of the shape of papyrus rafts. The papyriform boats seem always to have been used in connection with some cult or religious purpose, as pilgrimage or funeral or burial boats or perhaps to transport the king or the image of a god or goddess. The point about all this is that the R o y a l Ship of King Cheops is not a development or evolution from papyrus rafts. Rafts, as both Landstrom and Greenhill have pointed

104 The Eighteenth Dynasty queen Hatshepsut shipped two enormous obelisks - each about 2,400 tons-from the quarry site at Aswan downriver to Thebes. A modern reconstruction of the barge, based on reliefs in Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahri, clearly shows how a hogging truss was passed beneath bow and stern to prevent them from collapsing under the tremendous weight.

out, are a dead-end development in maritime history; that is, they did not evolve into anything else. N o matter how big you make it, or to what extent you build up its sides, a raft is still a raft, deriving its buoyancy from the lightness of the material used, whether lightweight wood or reed, while a boat is buoyant because it encloses a volume that is as light as, or lighter than, the volume of water it displaces. Boats change and develop according to the uses to which they are put, the climate and waterways they must deal with. Despite its papyriform shape, then, the developments that led to the Cheops ship came from wooden boats rather than from papyrus rafts.

103 One ofthe ships depicted on the walls of King Sahure's mortuary temple at Abusir, the Fifth Dynasty complex just north of Saqqara. Note the girdle truss (1) around the hull, and the hogging truss (2) with a stickfor tightening the ropes so that the boat could be made more rigid in heavy seas and less likely to ship water.

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105 An early model of a papyriform boat, no longer a royal ship, but already, by the Sixth Dynasty, an example of how nobles were beginning to assume burial privileges formerly connected only with royalty. The four little seated figures facing aft are oarsmen and the figure facing them may be the helmsman or captain of the ship.

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106, 107 (Below and opposite above) The funeral andjor pilgrimage boat of Chancellor Meketre (Eleventh Dynasty), from his tomb at Thebes, is one of a pair (cf. colour ill. XII). The mast and rigging of this vessel indicate that it was intended to be propelled by sail on an upriver journey. The shape of bow and stern, and the papyrus-bud finials on the columns, are very reminiscent of Cheops' Royal Ship.

108 Queen Neith in the late Sixth Dynasty was buried with a number offine large boat models, including the papyriform model shown here in plan and section. De­ spite the exaggerated sheer, the profile is very like that of Cheops' Royal Ship.

log (Below) In a late relief, temple priests are shown bearing aloft a sacred papyriform funerary barque.

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106, 107 XII 58

(Opposite) X/ Two Nile boats painted on linen from a predynastic grave at Gebelein. The leaf-shaped oars are not unlike those of the Royal Ship. XII A funerary and/or pilgrimage boat from the Eleventh Dynasty tomb of Meketre at Thebes. Similar in shape to the Royal Ship, this model is the pair of the little funerary barque shown in ill. 106.

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T h e particular f o r m o f the R o y a l S h i p , w i t h its straight vertical p r o w and the stern post d r a w n back in a graceful c u r v e o v e r the after quarters o f the ship, can be traced back to the rock d r a w i n g s o f boats that h a v e been found in U p p e r E g y p t and N u b i a , t h o u g h it is not clear w h e t h e r these outline d r a w i n g s represent papyrus rafts o r p a p y r i f o r m boats. Land¬ strom believes that the p a p y r i f o r m shape w a s restricted to r o y a l t y , at least during the O l d K i n g d o m . C e r t a i n l y during that period, and even later, the models and relief carvings that are associated w i t h r o y a l burials s h o w the same elegant and graceful profile as K i n g C h e o p s ' ship. O t h e r d e p i c ­ tions s h o w w h a t are also clearly p a p y r i f o r m boats, but the fore and aft o v e r h a n g s are treated differently, especially during the O l d K i n g d o m , as w e can see in the S i x t h D y n a s t y m o d e l f r o m a t o m b at A s w a n . B u t even i f one concludes that the shape was restricted to r o y a l t y during the O l d K i n g d o m , b y the M i d d l e K i n g d o m , like so m u c h else o f the r o y a l burial ritual and funerary paraphernalia, the p a p y r i f o r m shape seems to h a v e been taken o v e r for use b y the nobility, as w e can see f r o m the fine E l e v e n t h D y n a s t y models o f p a p y r i f o r m boats that w e r e f o u n d in the t o m b o f M e k e t r e at D e i r e l - B a h r i . In the m o r t u a r y temple o f K i n g Sahure's p y r a m i d c o m p l e x at A b u s i r w e r e found the ruins o f a delicately c a r v e d relief o f a p a p y r i f o r m ship that, except for the fact that it is under sail, could be a d r a w i n g in stone o f the R o y a l Ship o f K i n g C h e o p s . A l l w e can see unfortunately is the p r o w o f the ship and the figures o f a f e w sailors, w i t h the great b i l l o w o f the h u g e sail, decorated like damascene w i t h a pattern o f framed rosettes in the fine relief w o r k that w a s typical o f the Fifth D y n a s t y . T h e p r o w has a m o r e finished appearance than the one on C h e o p s ' ship, topped as it is b y a half-open p a p y r u s b u d and the disc o f the S u n - g o d . ( B y the Fifth D y n a s t y , under the increasing influence o f the priests o f Heliopolis, the S u n - g o d seems to h a v e b e c o m e m u c h m o r e i m p o r t a n t than during the Fourth D y n a s t y . ) T h e p r o w o f Sahure's S h i p o f State, as it is called, has the same elegant lift as C h e o p s ' , and the little baldachin on the foredeck is matched b y the one on the R o y a l S h i p . T h e wedjat-eye, the allseeing e y e o f the h a w k - h e a d e d g o d H o r u s , w a s painted on the p r o w as a talisman against evil. L a r g e p a p y r i f o r m models w e r e buried together w i t h other m o d e l boats near the S a q q a r a p y r a m i d o f the S i x t h D y n a s t y queen N e i t h . N e i t h w a s the daughter o f Pepi I and w i f e o f the l o n g - l i v e d Pepi II, w h o reigned for about ninety years. Q u e e n N e i t h ' s p a p y r i f o r m boats also had the same profile as the R o y a l S h i p , a l t h o u g h they had such an e x a g g e r a t e d sheer that the midships section o f the craft w o u l d h a v e been a w a s h had they e v e r been floated.

SHIPS

AND SHIP-BUILDING

IN T H E O L D

T h e shape o f the p a p y r i f o r m craft s u r v i v e d virtually unchanged t h r o u g h o u t E g y p t i a n history. T u t a n k h a m u n ' s m o d e l boats are similar to the R o y a l S h i p o f C h e o p s , and Q u e e n Hatshepsut's stately ship, carved on the walls o f her temple at D e i r e l - B a h r i , is like it too, except for the fact that both b o w and stern posts are c u r v e d back o v e r the hull and an elegant baldachin arches o v e r the h i g h throne amidships. A similar type o f ship w a s used in late N e w K i n g d o m times as the b a r q u e o f the g o d , not j u s t o f the S u n - g o d alone but o f various other g o d s as w e l l . These barques rested on c a r r y i n g platforms, so that they could be b o r n e aloft b y the priesthood d u r i n g religious ceremonies such as the Feast o f the V a l l e y , w h e n the B a r q u e o f A m o n w a s taken f r o m the temple at K a r n a k and displayed in processions at the other temples o f Thebes. C o n t e m p o r a r y w i t h the r o y a l and religious ships, w e k n o w o f dozens, perhaps hundreds, o f m o d e l s f r o m private t o m b s o f p a p y r i f o r m funerary o r p i l g r i m a g e ships, and it is in these that w e see the greatest v a r i e t y o f shapes. Private artists, lacking the skill o f court artisans and at the same time not so strictly b o u n d b y conventions and traditions, w e r e free w i t h i n certain limits to p r o d u c e w h a t e v e r they w i s h e d , and the fancies o f private patrons must often h a v e influenced their ideas as w e l l . T h u s in the British M u s e u m , for e x a m p l e , w e find the eloquent simplicity o f a T w e l f t h D y n a s t y m o d e l together w i t h the crudeness o f a p a p y r i f o r m sailboat, w h e r e the w o o d w o r k e r has mistakenly reversed the stem and stern posts ! M o s t o f the oldest e x a m p l e s are s h o w n w i t h o n e o r m o r e rudders o r steer­ ing-oars and b y the M i d d l e K i n g d o m these are slung t h r o u g h rudder posts that are often decorated w i t h the h a w k - h e a d s o f the g o d H o r u s . W i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f Sahure's S h i p o f State, f e w o f the boats are sailboats ; m o r e often they are s h o w n w i t h oars or, i f oarless, they are perhaps in­ tended to be t o w e d , either b y other boats o r f r o m the shore. M a n y o f the little m o d e l boats s h o w the m u m m y o f the deceased seated in a chair or l y i n g on a bier beneath the central baldachin, often a c c o m p a n i e d b y priests and mourners. These boats m i g h t represent the j o u r n e y o f the m u m m i f i e d b o d y to its final resting-place ; o r the soul's v o y a g e into the afterlife ; or a p i l g r i m a g e to the h o l y places o f E g y p t that w o u l d be part o f the funeral rite. O r , in a synthesis that w o u l d not be uncharacteristic o f ancient E g y p t i a n belief, w i t h its r e m a r k a b l e interpénétration o f reality and m y t h , the literal and the s y m b o l i c , the boats could s y m b o l i z e all o f these things simultaneously. W h y these boats t o o k a p a p y r i f o r m shape, and w h y they should be part o f a k i n g ' s burial e q u i p m e n t , are questions that w e h a v e b a r e l y touched on. B u t before w e can consider the answers, w e must take a b r i e f l o o k at O l d K i n g d o m religious beliefs, i f o n l y to m a k e m o r e c o m p r e h e n ­ sible the terms o f reference w i t h i n w h i c h the p a p y r i f o r m boats must fit.

KINGDOM

X/// log

no m

(Opposite) XIII The magnificent late New Kingdom 'Papyrus of Anhai' depicts Nun, the god of the primeval waters, lifting up the boat of the rising sun.

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n o A model funerary barque from the Middle Kingdom shows the owner's mummy lying in state beneath a canopy supported by lotus-blossom columns. The Horus hawk-heads on the rudder columns are a rather crude approximation of what may have been intended for the Royal Ship.

in In another example of a modelfrom aprivate tomb the woodworker has mistakenly switched the papyriform bow and stern posts.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Death, religion and survival

The Nile: flood and fertility T h e great d r a m a o f the annual N i l e flood has been missing f r o m E g y p t i a n life since the construction near the First Cataract at A s w a n o f a series o f w a t e r controls culminating in the H i g h D a m w h i c h w a s inaugurated b y President N a s s e r in 1 9 7 0 . E v e n t o d a y , h o w e v e r , w i t h the d a m and L a k e Nasser behind it to steady the river's impressive surge, the n o r m a l l y rapid flow has s l o w e d noticeably b y the middle o f M a y , and the w a t e r in the irrigation canals, w h o s e interlacing n e t w o r k lends a tropical lushness to w h a t w o u l d otherwise be desert, is a m u r k y , stagnant and unhealthy b r e w . It is easy to i m a g i n e , then, w h a t it must h a v e been like each y e a r w h e n the great river w a s reduced to a sluggish creek, and all E g y p t w a i t e d an­ x i o u s l y for a sign that the w a t e r w o u l d soon b e g i n to rise again.

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B y m i d - J u n e the river begins to change. Far off in Africa, 1,500 miles a w a y in the highlands o f Ethiopia and in the formidable, fetid marshes o f the S u d d b e l o w the M o u n t a i n s o f the M o o n , the t w o sources o f the N i l e , the B l u e and the W h i t e , quicken w i t h the rich, silt-laden run-off f r o m spring rains in the mountains. In other times the rise w a s sudden and dramatic, f r o m one d a y to the next. L u c i e D u f f G o r d o n o b s e r v e d it in L u x o r in 1 8 6 4 . ' T h e N i l e is rising fast,' she w r o t e in a letter h o m e dated 1 2 J u n e , 'and a star o f most fortunate character has m a d e its appear­ ance - so Y o u s s e f tells m e - and portends a g o o d y e a r and an end to o u r afflictions.' T h a t star, o b s e r v e d b y L a d y D u f f G o r d o n ' s U p p e r E g y p t i a n peasant friend in the 1860s, w a s the same Sothis o r Sirius, the D o g Star, w h o s e annual re-appearance in the d a w n sky j u s t before sunrise heralded for the ancient E g y p t i a n s the b e g i n n i n g o f the N i l e flood and the start o f the solar N e w Y e a r . T h i s heliacal rising, as it is called, o f Sirius w a s awaited w i t h anxiety, for on the success o r failure o f the N i l e flood depended E g y p t ' s v e r y existence. T o o m u c h w a s as threatening as too little (the afflictions referred to b y L a d y D u f f G o r d o n had been caused b y an e x c e p t i o n a l l y h i g h flood the p r e v i o u s y e a r that had d r o w n e d crops and animals, as w e l l as h u m a n s ) . T h o s e years, e x t r e m e l y rare t h o u g h they

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w e r e , w h e n the flood failed altogether, w e r e greeted rightly e n o u g h as national, indeed c o s m i c , calamities. It is curious then that the ancient E g y p t i a n s seem n e v e r to h a v e w o r ­ shipped the N i l e directly as a g o d or p o w e r o r spirit. T h e N i l e w a s often personified as H a p i , the strange old m a n w i t h pendulous breasts, but this rather w e i r d figure seems to h a v e been a s y m b o l o n l y , perhaps a d e m i u r g e , w i t h o u t religious significance. It is true, as the A m e r i c a n E g y p t o l o g i s t J a m e s Breasted pointed out, that the g o d Osiris in his fertility aspect w a s identified w i t h the l i f e - g i v i n g waters o f the N i l e . B u t the N i l e , as w e shall see, w a s o n l y one a m o n g m a n y sources o f the fertility o f Osiris. V i t a l as the N i l e ' s flood w a s to E g y p t ' s s u r v i v a l , its role in religion seems to h a v e been restricted to an area o f sympathetic m a g i c v e r y close to the charms still practised b y the fellahin, w h o s e lives depend on the great river even today.

Religion and the rhythm of life If it is difficult for us to appreciate w h a t life w a s really like in ancient E g y p t , it is almost impossible for us to c o m p r e h e n d the religion o f these people w h o l i v e d in such intimate symbiosis w i t h the w o r l d around them. Nonetheless, before w e can understand w h y K i n g C h e o p s , like other E g y p t i a n s earlier and later, buried his great ship (and p r o b a b l y others like it) n e x t to his t o m b , w e must l o o k at w h a t w e can discern o f E g y p t i a n beliefs about life and death and s u r v i v a l in the hereafter. ' R e l i g i o n ' at first appears t o o dignified a w o r d for such a p r i m i t i v e mishmash o f c o m p e t i n g totems, animal-headed g o d s , and inconsistent, confusing, in fact conflicting m y t h o l o g i e s . T h e m o d e r n m i n d d r a w s back in d i s m a y , embarrassed b y the superficial aspects o f E g y p t i a n belief. Y e t w e are c o m p e l l e d to admit that these same beliefs persisted for at least four thousand years o f h u m a n culture, that they w e r e a source o f c o m f o r t in the face o f death and o f m o r a l assurance w h e n confronted w i t h life's p r o b l e m s . It w a s a system that endured and continued to sustain its adherents until the c o m i n g o f Christianity w h i c h , in its r e d e e m i n g aspects, had a legitimate E g y p t i a n precursor in the Osirian faith. A s w e h a v e seen in previous chapters, the earliest E g y p t i a n s w e r e an intelligent and energetic people, capable, w i t h i n their limited means, o f sophisticated feats o f t e c h n o l o g y , and gifted w i t h an artistic sensibility that is b o r n e out in p o e t r y as m u c h as it is in stone. T h a t they had a p r o ­ found understanding o f the relationship b e t w e e n earth and the heavens is o b v i o u s f r o m the alignment o f their m o n u m e n t s to the cardinal points, to the pole star, to the seasonal solstices. W e also h a v e incontrovertible evidence, f r o m as early as the b e g i n n i n g o f the dynastic period, o f their

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112 Osiris, god of the underworld, was one of the few Egyptian gods invariably portrayed as anthropo­ morphic and as a mummy - here shown in traditional pose wearing the Atef-crown and carrying the crook and flail in a late New Kingdom wall-painting from Thebes.

concern to find an underlying principle, a rightness and order at the heart of things that would guarantee justice not as a moral principle, but as an expression of divine will. If the philosophy is one that has so far eluded modern minds, the fault lies not with the ancients but rather with our­ selves. O f course, along with the sophisticated theology went a good deal of primitive magic. One of the most appealing aspects of ancient Egyptian 141

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religion is the w a y these t w o co-exist side b y side, a c h a r m to w a r d off snakes o r scorpions n e x t to a d e e p l y m o v i n g h y m n to the regenerative p o w e r s o f the sun. Perhaps part o f the failure o f m o d e r n religion, its i n ­ ability to a n s w e r to the needs o f m o d e r n life, lies in the w a y w e h a v e separated t h e o l o g y f r o m folk belief. F o r the E g y p t i a n s , there w a s n o such separation: m a g i c and superstition w e n t hand in hand w i t h the most sophisticated speculation. T o understand the b a c k g r o u n d o f E g y p t i a n religion w e must l o o k at E g y p t ' s peculiar g e o g r a p h y and climate. T h e g e o g r a p h i c a l isolation i m p o s e d b y the vast and hostile deserts that enclose the n a r r o w r i v e r v a l l e y meant n o t o n l y a cultural isolation, the o p p o r t u n i t y to d e v e l o p w h a t w a s an almost totally indigenous culture w i t h rare incursions f r o m outside, but also a f r e e d o m f r o m invasion that w a s most unusual in the ancient w o r l d . A brief glance at the destruction levels o f any other E a r l y B r o n z e A g e culture in the M i d d l e East w i l l confirm the w o e f u l tale. In M e s o p o ­ tamia, in Syria-Palestine, in A n a t o l i a , t o w n s and city states erected massive walls to protect themselves, o n l y to h a v e t h e m smashed and burned b y invaders o v e r and o v e r again. Life w a s precarious and often terrifying. T h e E g y p t i a n s a v o i d e d all this. O n l y in the u p p e r reaches o f the N i l e , on the borders w i t h N u b i a , did they build fortified t o w n s , and these w e r e not so m u c h t o w n s as garrisoned trading posts to protect traffic along the N i l e . T h e E g y p t i a n s w e r e free f r o m the o v e r r i d i n g fear that d o m i ­ nated other cultures. T h e i r g e o g r a p h y , m o r e o v e r , m a d e possible f r o m v e r y early on a s t r o n g l y centralized authority that contributed to their sense o f security, as w e h a v e seen. C o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h the outside w o r l d w a s difficult; c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h i n E g y p t , along the N i l e , w a s swift and easy, as easy as raising sail or setting to the oars. W i t h a g o o d f o l l o w i n g w i n d , a message despatched f r o m the court at M e m p h i s c o u l d reach i m ­ portant posts in U p p e r E g y p t w i t h i n a w e e k . T h e rainless desert climate, m o r e o v e r , added to the E g y p t i a n ' s sense o f ease w i t h his e n v i r o n m e n t . D a y after d a y , w i t h o u t fail, the sun rose, crossed the cloudless heavens, and set, to rise once again the f o l l o w i n g d a y . R a i n f a l l w a s n e g l i g i b l e , storms almost non-existent; yet the terrible life o f the true desert w a s u n k n o w n here in the r i v e r v a l l e y w h e r e , during the spring and s u m m e r seasons, abundant w a t e r c o m b i n e d w i t h heat and sunlight and the annual deposit o f silt, to create a rich, fertile land. In the cultures to the n o r t h and east o f E g y p t , nature w a s a terrible, u n ­ predictable force to be r e c k o n e d w i t h , a j e a l o u s g o d o f the desert o r steppe, to be placated w i t h p r a y e r and sacrifice, before w h o m h u m a n k i n d w a s w e a k and powerless. In the v a l l e y o f the N i l e , despite the occasional failure o f the flood, nature w a s seen as the E g y p t i a n ' s partner in an o r d e r e d and beneficent universe.

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113 Seen here supported by the king, the little seated figure of the goddess Ma'et, crowned with ostrich plumes, represented the essential and unchanging Tightness and order of the uni­ verse.

It has often been said that the ancient E g y p t i a n s lacked a sense o f history, and to a certain extent this is true, especially during the O l d K i n g d o m . T h e daily r h y t h m o f the sun, the regularity o f the river's flood o r the seasons, i m p o s e d this feeling: things had a l w a y s been so, w o u l d a l w a y s be so. H i s t o r y implies change, but life for the ancient E g y p t i a n w a s u n ­ c h a n g i n g and o r d e r l y . T h e role o f the k i n g as g o d , o r as g o d ' s representa­ tive, w a s to maintain that order. T h e r e is a curious little figure in the E g y p ­ tian pantheon, a kneeling female w i t h a characteristic feather o n her head, w h o m w e call the goddess M a ' e t , t h o u g h she seems less a goddess in fact than a s y m b o l for an important concept. O u r translation o f the concept o f ma'et is tentative at best, for there is n o o n e w o r d in E u r o p e a n languages to c o n v e y it: truth, justice, order, righteousness (but righteousness implies a strictly m o r a l j u d g m e n t that is missing f r o m this idea). R u n d l e C l a r k , in Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt, describes h o w , at the end o f the daily temple service, the officiating priest w o u l d raise the little figure o f M a ' e t before the g o d ' s i m a g e , as a re-assertion o f the u n c h a n g i n g Tightness and o r d e r o f the universe and o f the g o d ' s responsibility for maintaining it. Perhaps the best interpretation o f the concept is in this sense o f the u n c h a n g ­ ing persistence o f things-as-they-are. It is difficult for us to appreciate a v a l u e j u d g m e n t that has n o t h i n g to d o w i t h g o o d o r evil, but solely w i t h a sense o f universal order, not as something t o w a r d s w h i c h w e strive, but as something that is, and that is yesterday as it is t o m o r r o w , unhistorical, u n c h a n g i n g , w i t h o u t past o r future.

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T h i s changeless w o r l d w a s an ideal that w a s n o t a l w a y s achieved. E v e n in the early dynasties w e can detect evidence o f internal conflicts, and later, after the collapse o f the S i x t h D y n a s t y , there w a s a period b e t w e e n the O l d and M i d d l e K i n g d o m s , called b y historians the First Intermediate Period, that, t h o u g h brief in time, w a s characterized b y a feudalistic r e v e r ­ sion to local control. T h e lack o f centralized o r d e r w a s p e r c e i v e d b y later

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E g y p t i a n s as an intolerable state o f affairs and r e m e m b e r e d w i t h fear and loathing.

Death and discontinuity

17

T h e sphere in w h i c h the E g y p t i a n did most clearly experience change w a s the o n e c o m m o n to all h u m a n i t y : death. C o n c e r n e d as he w a s w i t h order and continuity, death c a m e as the great interruption, and the c o m ­ prehension o f death, the need s o m e h o w to incorporate the fact o f death in the u n c h a n g i n g order o f the universe, w a s central to his religious belief. T o us, the ancient E g y p t i a n appears obsessed w i t h death; yet, w e should rather think o f h i m as obsessed w i t h life's continuity. His deepest concern w a s survival, not j u s t o f the individual (and least o f all during the period w i t h w h i c h w e are dealing), but o f the w h o l e order and structure o f the perceived w o r l d - sun, m o o n and stars, the ebb and flow o f the N i l e , the passage o f the seasons, the fertility o f crops, animals and humans. Intimately related to the preservation o f the w o r l d ' s order w a s the insti­ tution o f kingship, notjust the political institution, in itself an u n c h a n g i n g and eternal p h e n o m e n o n , but the k i n g as an individual personality as w e l l . A v i g o r o u s debate has l o n g been w a g e d a m o n g E g y p t o l o g i s t s as to w h e t h e r the k i n g w a s actually t h o u g h t o f as a g o d , or as a representative o f the g o d s , or as an intercessor b e t w e e n h u m a n i t y and the divine, a sort o f glorified chief priest. M o s t E g y p t o l o g i s t s feel that the k i n g certainly b e c a m e a g o d after his death (though there are s o m e strong arguments against this v i e w ) and it seems that, d u r i n g the O l d K i n g d o m , he w a s seen as s o m e t h i n g v e r y like a g o d d u r i n g his lifetime, at least at certain crucial ceremonial m o m e n t s such as the hebsed j u b i l e e , a m a g i c ritual to restore the k i n g ' s flagging p o w e r s and vitality. B u t w h e t h e r he w a s actually w o r s h i p p e d as a g o d o r not, the k i n g w a s certainly the g u a r a n t o r o£ma'et, o f that order and stability and Tightness o f things-as-they-are. T h e t w o concepts, tna'et and the kingship, w e r e thus intimately connected. T h e crisis in this relationship c a m e w i t h the death o f the k i n g . Despite its inevitability, the k i n g ' s death w a s v i e w e d w i t h alarm as a threat to the established order - n o t j u s t to the political order o f g o v e r n m e n t , but to the w h o l e c o s m i c order o f the universe. It w a s a m o m e n t o f almost unbearable p s y c h o l o g i c a l tension. T h e earliest documents attest to the p r o f o u n d distress that w a s e v o k e d b y an event o f such cataclysmic i m p o r t . ' S k y rains, stars darken, T h e vaults q u i v e r , earth's bones tremble, T h e planets stand still,' U t t e r a n c e 2 7 3 o f the P y r a m i d T e x t s tells u s . B y the time K i n g Z o s e r had built his Step P y r a m i d at S a q q a r a in the T h i r d D y n a s t y , and p r o b a b l y m u c h earlier, an elaborate funerary ritual had already been d e v e l o p e d to protect against this threatened incoherence 1

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o f the universe. Part o f that ritual, as it w a s p e r f o r m e d for the actual burial rites o f the kings o f the P y r a m i d A g e , w a s described in chapter t w o . W e can i m a g i n e that the burial service itself w a s preceded b y days, if not w e e k s o r months, o f c e r e m o n y and ritual. (In the t o m b o f Q u e e n M e r e sankh III at G i z a , 2 7 2 days is m e n t i o n e d as the period o f time b e t w e e n death and interment, but this m a y be e x c e p t i o n a l l y long.) T h e ritual w o u l d h a v e been carried out in the greatest secrecy in order to protect the ruler in his w e a k and powerless condition. A faultless p e r f o r m a n c e o f the ceremonies w a s necessary to ensure the continuation o f the k i n g ­ ship, b o t h in the hereafter to w h i c h the dead k i n g proceeded, and in the h e r e - a n d - n o w w h e r e the kingship continued in the person o f the heir to the throne, maintaining and guaranteeing the order and stability oima'et. Interestingly, the heir seems not to h a v e assumed the throne directly on his predecessor's death but o n l y after the conclusion o f the l o n g burial ceremonies. T h e r e could not be t w o kings, and the first w a s not w e l l and truly g o n e until he had been c e r e m o n i a l l y despatched. A t this early stage in E g y p t i a n history, as far as w e can tell, m u m m i f i c a ­ tion w a s used o n l y on the bodies o f m e m b e r s o f the r o y a l f a m i l y . T h e oldest m u m m i f i e d b o d y k n o w n is said to h a v e been found in a Fifth D y n a s t y g r a v e at M e i d u m b y the British archaeologist Flinders Petrie. ( T h e m u m m y , w h i c h w a s sent to E n g l a n d , w a s destroyed in the b o m b i n g o f L o n d o n in 1944.) B u t even during earlier dynasties, efforts had been m a d e to preserve bodies b y w r a p p i n g them in linen soaked in resins from the fragrant w o o d s o f S y r i a and perhaps f r o m the land o f Punt as w e l l . N o king's m u m m y has yet been found from the O l d K i n g d o m , but the m u m m i f i e d viscera o f Q u e e n Hetep-heres w e r e found b y R e i s n e r buried in an alabaster container in a niche close b y the queen's e m p t y alabaster sarcophagus. S o m e o f the e m b a l m i n g fluid can still be seen in the b o t t o m o f the container. R e i s n e r ' s speculations about the reasons for Q u e e n Hetep-heres' secret secondary burial near her son's p y r a m i d at G i z a (see chapter t w o ) w e r e based on his k n o w l e d g e o f the tremendous i m p o r t a n c e E g y p t i a n s attached to the preservation o f the b o d y after death and the fear and loathing that w e r e e v o k e d b y its desecration. T h e b o d y w a s the repository o f the ani­ mating spirit o f the personality, w h i c h had t w o separate and quite dif­ ferent aspects. T h e ba, represented b y a little bird w i t h a bearded h u m a n head, is usually translated as 'soul'. R e l e a s e d f r o m the b o d y at death, the bird-soul c o u l d m o v e back and forth b e t w e e n the b o d y in its t o m b and the w o r l d outside (it is often depicted fluttering in the shaft o f the t o m b ) as w e l l as in the transcendent w o r l d o f the stars a b o v e . T h e stars w e r e sometimes t h o u g h t o f as the souls o f the deceased, so m a n y little fca-birds clutching lamps in their beaks.

114

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A more complicated concept is that of the ka, also confusingly often translated as 'soul', but in a more general sense as a vital animating spirit. The ka, which was created at birth, was shown hieroglyphically as two arms extending upward, symbolizing a protective embrace. In that sense it represents a beneficent power that can be transmitted from one being to another, from a god to a mortal (usually the king), from the king to his subjects, or, interestingly, from father to son. As Horus inherits the ka of his father Osiris, so the king inherits his father's ka, the power of the kingship.

114 ( A b o v e ) The'ba' or soul of the deceased was depicted as a bird with a human face, often carrying a lantern. Here the 'ha' hovers over a mummified body, recalling how Isis fluttered her wings over Osiris to re-animate him.

113 The 'ka', symbolized by a pair of arms held out in protective embrace, is like 'ba' often translated as soul - but more in the sense of the vital, animating spirit of a per­ sonality.

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T h e period b e t w e e n an individual's death and interment w a s referred to as the time w h e n his o r her ka w a s 'at rest'. T h e E g y p t i a n s then had g o o d reason for the a n x i e t y they felt at the death o f the k i n g , for the king's ka, the p o w e r that maintained order or ma'et, w a s t e m p o r a r i l y absent f r o m the universe. O n c e the c e r e m o n y o f interment had been c o m ­ pleted, the ka could return to the b o d y . W i t h o u t the b o d y , the ka had n o w a y to receive the offerings, prayers and rituals that w e r e to benefit the deceased in his t o m b chapel. T h i s w a s the real reason for the i m p o r ­ tance o f the b o d y ' s preservation: w i t h o u t it, there w a s n o h o m e for the ka.

The cults of Osiris and Re-Atum F r o m the v e r y b e g i n n i n g o f E g y p t i a n history, that is, at least f r o m the First D y n a s t y , w e can find traces o f the t w o cults, the one o f Osiris and the other o f the S u n - g o d R e - A t u m in his m a n y aspects, that had impressed themselves on the E g y p t i a n p s y c h o l o g y , o b v i o u s l y a n s w e r i n g to the deep anxieties E g y p t i a n s felt about the great question o f death, especially the k i n g ' s death. O f the t w o cults, that o f Osiris is m o r e accessible to o u r minds, both because it is m o r e l o g i c a l l y coherent as a g r o u p o f legends, and because it relates closely to the w h o l e eastern Mediterranean p h e n o ­ m e n o n o f the fertility o r corn g o d , w h o s e death and rebirth in s o m e sense redeems h u m a n k i n d f r o m the terrible finality o f o u r o w n deaths. It w a s once fashionable a m o n g E g y p t o l o g i s t s to see the t w o cults in opposition, if not in outright conflict - a conflict that c o u l d be related in historical terms to the political ascendancy o f various priesthoods. T h e sun-cult w a s said to be exclusive and r o y a l , a religion o f the educated intellectual classes, w h i l e the Osirian w a s a people's religion, emotional, appealing to the heart rather than to the intellect, and democratic, in the sense that it w a s said to h a v e guaranteed access to the afterlife to w h o e v e r f o l l o w e d the prescribed rules o f b e h a v i o u r and ritual, rather than solely to r o y a l t y .

112

This theory o f a conflict is a little too neat to fit the facts such as w e n o w k n o w them. It seems m o r e likely that a l t h o u g h there w a s a certain a m o u n t o f tension b e t w e e n the t w o cults, they w e r e c o n c e i v e d o f as c o m ­ plementary w a y s o f expressing the same reality rather than antagonistic and opposing versions o f the truth. T h e k i n g w h e n he died b e c a m e the S u n - g o d o r part o f the g o d ' s entourage that crossed the sky w i t h h i m in his b o a t ; he also b e c a m e Osiris. It is a mistake to see t w o separate v i e w s o r e v e n t w o separate sets o f s y m ­ bols. F o r the ancient E g y p t i a n s , both w e r e v a l i d simultaneously, in a p a r ­ ticular and actual w a y . M o r e o v e r , the dead k i n g w a s also present in his t o m b , w h e r e he received the daily offerings and prayers and the seasonal

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116 The hieroglyph repre­ senting the Primeval Mound, the first piece of earth to emerge from the watery chaos at the crea­ tion - strikingly like King Zoser's Third Dynasty Step Pyramid at Saqqara (ill. 12).

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rituals that were presented to him. Again we come up against the Egyptian habit of perceiving what appear to be separate realities, or conflicting aspects of reality, with no sense of disharmony, and again we must be wary of approaching this ancient, non-logical perception with our insati­ able need to categorize and systematize. The collection of some seven hundred magic spells, hymns, prayers, incantations and fragments of mythology that Egyptologists call the Pyra­ mid Texts were intended to assist the dead ruler on his dangerous journey to the hereafter, and to secure his happiness and well-being once arrived there. The Texts were found inscribed in long lines of hieroglyphs, filled with once brightly coloured pigments and carved on the internal walls of the pyramids of the kings and queens o f the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties. The texts are vivid and dramatic in their imagery, and often fraught with emotion. There are three main stages on the voyage to resurrection: awakening in the dark tomb where, in a conjunction o f mythology and actuality, the king's body must be protected by spells against the snakes and scorpions that inhabit such places; the ascent or crossing to heaven, over the water that separates earth from sky, by bribing or threatening or pleading with the ferryman; and, finally, the joyous admission to the company of the gods and the great god, the Sun-god himself. A t times the dead king is identified as the son of Re-Atum, sharing in the Sungod's power; at other times he is said to ride as a passenger in the sun's boat, or he is a member of the god's entourage, his amanuensis or secre-

ny As one of the representations of the Sun-god, the phoenix bird, here depicted as a crane, was said to have landed on the Pri­ meval Mound as the sun's rays lit the earth when it emerged from the annual Nile flood.

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Re-Herakhty, Horus-of-the-Horizon, was another aspect of the sun deity. The hawk-headed god wears the Atef-crown (like Osiris in ill. 112), with its characteristic sun-disc in the centre and plumes on either side. ( B e l o w right) 119 (Above) The dawn or rising sun was often depicted as Khepri, the dung beetle, pushing its ball of dung out of which, the Egyptians mis­ takenly believed, its offspring emerged as the sun emerges from the eastern horizon. (Centre) The evening sun, or the sun at night, was seen in the ram-headed god carrying a sceptre. (Below) The solar boat, here shown in a stylized hieroglyph, almost always had a curious rectangular object hanging off the bow - perhaps representing the Field of Reeds through which the boat passed.

tary; at one point, thoroughly humbled, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt pleads for a position as the little pygmy who dances 'to entertain the heart of the god'. In one horrific passage, the king becomes a cannibal, devouring all the gods and concentrating their powers into himself as the supreme deity. The Texts as we know them were compiled by the priesthood of Heliopolis, now a suburb on the northern fringes of Cairo but in ancient times the centre of the cult of the Sun-god and the seat of the sacred benben. The benben was a cult object, probably of stone, shaped like a small pyra­ mid or pyramidion and representing the Primeval Hill, the first part of the earth in creation mythology to have emerged from the watery chaos, just as the black earth of Egypt emerged each year as the Nile flood waters began to subside. The pyramids probably derived their shape (but not of course their cumulative mass) from the benben, as did almost certainly the obelisk, a later development. It was on the Primeval Hill of the benben that the Sun-god first revealed himself in the shape of the phoenix bird. In other forms the god manifested himself as Horus, the hawk, soaring the heavens; as Khepri, the scarab beetle, pushing a ball of dung out of

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w h i c h , the E g y p t i a n s mistakenly thought, the beetle's offspring e m e r g e d as the sun e m e r g e s each m o r n i n g ; as the A t u m , the actual disc o f the sun itself, especially at m i d d a y ; and, in a fusion o f t w o manifestations, as R e ­ H e r a k h t y , the h a w k on the horizon. A l t h o u g h they are at first confusing, these different names and manifestations all represent one great g o d . A l l w e r e w o r s h i p p e d at Heliopolis (but not o n l y at Heliopolis) and all w e r e seen as simultaneous manifestations o f the singular, i m m a n e n t p o w e r o f the unique g o d o f the sun. In w h a t e v e r f o r m he manifested himself, the S u n - g o d traversed the sky in a special boat, w h o s e ritual shape and e q u i p m e n t remained m u c h the same t h r o u g h o u t E g y p t i a n history. T h e S u n - g o d ' s boat w a s originally a papyrus raft and from this w e can deduce that the cult o f the S u n - g o d w a s v e r y old indeed, g o i n g back certainly to a time before the E g y p t i a n s k n e w h o w to build boats out o f w o o d . M i r i a m L i c h t h e i m has translated Utterance 263, w h i c h she says is the oldest o f the P y r a m i d T e x t s concerned w i t h crossing the s k y b y b o a t : The That The That The That The That

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sky's reed-jioats are launched for Re, he may cross on them to lightland; sky's reed-floats are launched for Herakhty, Herakhty may cross on them to Re; sky's reed-floats are launched for Unas, he may cross on them to lightland, to Re; sky's reed-floats are launched for Unas, he may cross on them to Herakhty, to Re.

2

T h e reed-floats are a p r i m i t i v e kind o f transport, p r o b a b l y nothing m o r e than t w o b i g bundles o f papyrus b o u n d together. Later texts mention boats, and w h a t is meant is almost certainly p a p y r i f o r m w o o d e n boats. S o m e t i m e s the boat that crossed the d a y t i m e s k y w a s said to be the same as that w h i c h m a d e the m o r e perilous j o u r n e y beneath the w o r l d t h r o u g h the hours o f darkness w h e r e the A p o p i s serpent lay in w a i t to s w a l l o w the sun. A t other times, it w a s said that the g o d possessed a d a y t i m e boat as w e l l as a night-time boat, the latter equipped w i t h special offerings and m a g i c charms to w a r d off the dangers and evils o f the u n d e r w o r l d . T h e priesthood o f Heliopolis w a s p o w e r f u l e n o u g h to d o m i n a t e the r o y a l m o r t u a r y religion. B u t at s o m e time before the P y r a m i d T e x t s w e r e carved on the walls o f K i n g U n a s ' p y r a m i d , the cult o f Osiris had b e c o m e sufficiently important that the Heliopolitan priests felt it necessary to in­ corporate large parts o f the Osirian religion w i t h the sun-cult. W e cannot say that the w o r s h i p o f Osiris is as old as that o f the sun, although it seems likely that an agricultural society w o u l d w o r s h i p a fer-

120 The body of Nut the sky-goddess arched over the earth to form the vault of heaven. She was sometimes said to swallow the sun-disc in the evening and expel it again each morning. Her husband Geb, the earth-god, reclines at her feet whilst her father, Shu, the god of air, supports her.

tility g o d . S m a l l figures related to the cult o f Osiris and his sister-consort Isis w e r e found in predynastic graves, dating f r o m before 3000 B C, at H e l w a n , on the east bank o f the N i l e opposite the ancient site o f M e m p h i s , but there is n o evidence o f a n y t h i n g earlier. A n o t h e r early religious d o c u ­ ment, the M e m p h i t e T h e o l o g y , a creation m y t h that s o m e scholars believe m a y g o back to the First D y n a s t y , recounts the death o f Osiris and the subsequent succession o f his son H o r u s , a m y t h o l o g i c a l reenactment o f the death and succession o f the k i n g , indicating that b y the First D y n a s t y the legend w a s already w e l l established. Osiris, Seth and Isis (together w i t h their sister N e p h t h y s w h o p l a y e d a m i n o r role in the m y t h ) w e r e the offspring o f N u t the goddess o f the sky (whose arched b o d y forms the vault o f heaven o v e r the reclining earth in ancient portrayals) and the e a r t h - g o d G e b . G e b had g i v e n d o m i n i o n o v e r the w o r l d to his first-born Osiris, but Seth, in a fit o f j e a l o u s y , m u r d e r e d his brother, d r o w n i n g h i m in the N i l e , or, in later texts, dis­ m e m b e r i n g h i m and scattering his parts o v e r E g y p t . Isis rescued Osiris, and pulled his b o d y ashore at M e m p h i s . (In Plutarch's recounting, De hide et Osiride, Isis j o u r n e y e d to B y b l o s w h e r e she found Osiris' b o d y in a tree trunk that had been cut d o w n to m a k e a pillar for the palace

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o f the prince o f B y b l o s , but there is n o trace o f this interesting excursion in the earlier texts.) Fluttering her w i n g s o v e r his r e c u m b e n t b o d y , Isis reanimated Osiris sufficiently that she w a s able to c o n c e i v e a son, H o r u s , born in the reed marshes o f the Delta w h e r e s o m e scholars suggest the Osiris legend originated. A f t e r his reanimation, Osiris b e c a m e k i n g o f the dead. H o r u s , legitimate heir to Osiris' earthly d o m i n i o n , determined to a v e n g e his father, and after a terrible struggle w i t h his uncle, during w h i c h Seth p l u c k e d out one o f his n e p h e w ' s eyes (the eyes o f H o r u s the f a l c o n - g o d w e r e said to be the sun and the m o o n ) , Seth w a s vanquished and the victorious H o r u s succeeded to his father's throne, his e y e restored b y the intervention o f the m o o n - g o d T h o t h . In the w o r d s o f the M e m phite T h e o l o g y : ' H o r u s appeared as K i n g o f U p p e r E g y p t and appeared as K i n g o f L o w e r E g y p t in the e m b r a c e o f his father Osiris [that is, p r o b ­ ably in the fed-embrace that w o u l d transfer to H o r u s the vital divine and r o y a l force o f Osiris] together w i t h the gods w h o w e r e in front o f h i m and w h o w e r e behind h i m . '

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121 112

3

In p r i m i t i v e agricultural societies, the institution o f kingship is closely connected w i t h the fertility o f the soil. It m a y be, as some scholars h a v e suggested, that w h e n the k i n g ' s p o w e r w a s seen to be w a n i n g , that is, w h e n crops failed o r in their natural season died off, the k i n g w a s killed and buried in the earth, that his r e m a i n i n g p o w e r m i g h t contribute to a n e w season's g r o w t h . It is a m y t h f r o m the deepest origins o f h u m a n culture. C e r t a i n l y there is n o suggestion that such dark events took place during E g y p t ' s historical period, but the hebsed festival, w i t h a ritual race run r o u n d a court such as the hebsed court at K i n g Z o s e r ' s p y r a m i d at Saqqara, seems to h a v e been a c e r e m o n y designed to rejuvenate s y m b o l i c ­ ally the k i n g ' s flagging p o w e r . B y the time the E g y p t i a n s entered on the stage o f history, they had already e v o l v e d a higher p h i l o s o p h y than that o f the simple c o r n - g o d , but w e can still trace, in the E g y p t i a n notion o f kingship, elements o f a m o r e p r i m i t i v e fertility cult. C u r i o u s l y , h o w e v e r , the original fertility g o d , Osiris, is the dead k i n g , and it is his son, H o r u s , w h o is the l i v i n g k i n g , guarantor o f ma'et, the order o f the universe on w h i c h depended the fertility o f m e n , animals and agriculture. H o r u s , w h e t h e r in the Osiris l e g e n d o r as the f a l c o n - g o d o f the sun, bears n o trace o f an o r i g i n in the cult o f a vegetation g o d . H e is a w a r r i o r , pure and simple, w h o avenges his father's m u r d e r and defends his rightful inheritance, E g y p t . H o r u s the l i v i n g k i n g becomes Osiris the dead k i n g w h o is succeeded b y H o r u s the l i v i n g k i n g in an u n c h a n g i n g cycle. Professor Frankfort claimed that the E g y p t i a n w o r d hm, c o m m o n l y translated 'majesty' as in the sense o f ' Y o u r M a j e s t y ' , should in fact be translated as 'incarnation' o r ' e m b o d i m e n t ' . T h u s the g o d ' s p o w e r o r ka w o u l d be t e m p o r a r i l y

12

(Opposite) 121 Horus the child (Harpocrates) is indicated by the side curl of hair which was the traditional symbol of childhood in ancient Egypt. The divine figure of Horus is deeply embedded in many conflicting Egyptian myth­ ologies, as the falconer hawk-god of the heavens, as the god of the sun and as the royal avenger of his father Osiris. In this image he is seen emerging from the pro­ tection of his mother Isis.

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(Opposite) 122 Horns as the protector of the king holds Chephren in his embrace, both transmitting and preserving the royal power. This is another view of the magnificent diorite statue first seen in ill. ¡8.

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manifest in the person o f C h e o p s o r Djedefre o r C h e p h r e n , but the i n d i v i duals themselves w e r e successive incarnations o f one g o d . I d o not k n o w w h e t h e r this theory can be sustained o r not, but it does p r o v i d e an interesting insight into the notion o f a kingship that is as u n c h a n g i n g and p e r petual as the notion o f ma'et. T h e p y r a m i d s themselves w e r e o b v i o u s l y a reflection o f the cult o f the S u n - g o d , but I h a v e dealt at s o m e length w i t h the Osiris legend because b y the time o f the P y r a m i d A g e , the t w o cults had interpenetrated in E g y p t i a n t h o u g h t about the afterlife. W e can see this interpénétration in the c o s m o g o n y o f the Great Ennead, the nine great g o d s , w h i c h began w i t h A t u m , the sun, as creator and p r i m e m o v e r . A t u m engendered S h u (air) and Tefnut (moisture) and f r o m this couple came G e b and N u t , earth and sky, w h o w e r e , as w e h a v e seen, the parents o f Osiris, Isis, Seth and N e p h t h y s . Osiris w a s w o r s h i p p e d chiefly at A b y d o s w h e r e the G r e a t P r o cession w a s an annual event that attracted p i l g r i m s f r o m all o v e r E g y p t . T h e y c a m e b y boat, and their boats w e r e usually some derivation o f the p a p y r i f o r m craft o f the S u n - g o d . R e - A t u m w a s w o r s h i p p e d in m a n y places in his m a n y manifestations, especially in later history, but Heliopolis remained the centre o f o r t h o d o x t h e o l o g y , the R o m e o f the E g y p t i a n w o r l d . Increasingly the Osiris cult came to dominate the religious thinking o f the E g y p t i a n s , but the sun-cult too remained important. L o n g after the end o f the O l d K i n g d o m , A m o n , a local g o d o f T h e b e s , b e c a m e A m o n - R e , g o d o f the sun and supreme g o d o f E g y p t , and the cult o f the sun really b e c a m e w h a t a m o u n t e d to an official state religion. B u t that is all later E g y p t i a n history and need not concern us here. T h e religion o f the ancient E g y p t i a n s is a c o m p l e x and difficult subject, partly b y its v e r y nature, w i t h its great pantheon o f gods and goddesses and its apparently conflicting statements about the relationships o f g o d s and m e n in the universe, and partly because our o w n t h o u g h t processes are so v e r y different. W e can l o o k u p o n the E g y p t i a n s as people in a p r e logical state, w h o s i m p l y did not understand that m u t u a l l y exclusive p r o positions could not be true at one and the same time. O r w e can v i e w them as people gifted w i t h an insight that w e h a v e since lost - that truth, as a philosophical o r scientific o r m o r a l statement, is not exclusive but rather inclusive and all-embracing. I h a v e tried in this discussion to stay a w a y f r o m the m o r e controversial problems o f E g y p t i a n religion. M u c h has been written about the subject, and m u c h o f that, unfortunately, has been nonsense. I w a n t e d to g i v e i n stead a brief s u r v e y o f E g y p t i a n attitudes t o w a r d s death and the afterlife and the role o f the k i n g therein, during the period o f the O l d K i n g d o m , so that the reader w i l l at least h a v e s o m e guidance in the chapter that follows.

123 A model of the Royal Ship, built by Ahmed Youssef Moustafa. Although the canopy in the model has been extended baldachin, in the actual reconstruction the two do not touch and the baldachin is much farther forward.

to the

C H A P T E R EIGHT

Conclusion

W h y did the E g y p t i a n s build an e n o r m o u s , f o r t y - t h r e e - m e t r e - l o n g w o o d e n ship to simulate a h u m b l e raft o f b o u n d bundles o f p a p y r u s ? A n d , h a v i n g d o n e so, w h y did they then proceed to dismantle the ship and b u r y it for eternity in the pit n e x t to the p y r a m i d ? T h e answers to these questions seem to lie in that most ancient and enduring E g y p t i a n m y t h , the j o u r n e y o f the S u n - g o d a r o u n d the heavens in his R e e d Float. P a p y r i f o r m boats w e r e built in a deliberate imitation o f the S u n - g o d ' s raft, and in the earliest depictions that w e k n o w , the shape o f the S u n - g o d ' s vessel closely resembles that o f the R o y a l Ship. E v e n as late as the T w e n t y - s i x t h D y n a s t y , the sun-boat, painted piously on coffins and papyrus texts, although it w a s often subject to artistic v a r i a ­ tions, continued to l o o k v e r y m u c h like C h e o p s ' great craft. T h e S u n - g o d travelled b y boat, because that w a s v i r t u a l l y the o n l y m e t h o d o f transport k n o w n to the E g y p t i a n s , at least in the O l d K i n g d o m . A n d he travelled in a raft o f b o u n d papyrus p r e s u m a b l y because the m y t h w a s so old that it antedated a time w h e n the E g y p t i a n s k n e w about and could build w o o d e n ships. T h e p a p y r u s raft then gained a certain religious significance b y association w i t h the S u n - g o d , and it maintained that sig­ nificance despite its m o r e practical and prosaic functions. B u t reed perishes q u i c k l y , as the E g y p t i a n s , constantly repairing and rebuilding their marsh boats, k n e w w e l l . F o r the hereafter a m o r e enduring material w a s needed. W o o d , especially Lebanese c e d a r w o o d , w a s not o n l y peculiarly long-last­ ing, but it w a s also i m b u e d w i t h a sacred and r o y a l significance that m a d e it the ideal material for the k i n g ' s imperishable R e e d Float, a duplicate o f that o f the S u n - g o d . T o say that the k i n g ' s p a p y r i f o r m boat duplicated the S u n - g o d ' s is not to say that they had the same functions. A t this stage o f o u r k n o w l e d g e about the O l d K i n g d o m , the question o f w h y this magnificent cedar vessel w a s buried n e x t to C h e o p s ' Great P y r a m i d cannot be a n s w e r e d for c e r ­ tain, t h o u g h a n y n u m b e r o f assertions h a v e been and w i l l continue to be m a d e . N o t h i n g else quite like the R o y a l S h i p has e v e r been found. T h e D a h ­ shur boats, w h i c h are the closest thing to it, w e r e assumed b y their e x c a v a -

100, 101

157

CONCLUSION

tor to h a v e been part o f the burial e q u i p m e n t o f K i n g Sesostris III, but recently serious doubts h a v e been raised as to w h e t h e r they h a v e a n y c o n ­ nection at all w i t h that i m p o r t a n t T w e l f t h D y n a s t y k i n g . T h e y are in a n y case h a r d l y o f the scale o r elegance o r magnificence o f the R o y a l Ship. B o a t - g r a v e s , w h i c h w e assume once held actual boats (but did they a l w a y s ?), o c c u r as far as w e k n o w at o n l y t w o periods in E g y p t i a n h i s t o r y : during the A r c h a i c P e r i o d o f the First and S e c o n d Dynasties in the r o y a l graves at Saqqara and in the necropolis o f the nobles across the r i v e r at H e l w a n ; and d u r i n g the F o u r t h D y n a s t y , p r i m a r i l y at G i z a , w i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f Djedefre's boat-pit n e x t to his p y r a m i d at A b u R o a s h . ( B u t the p y r a m i d at A b u R o a s h m a y h a v e been intended b y its builder to define the northern limits o f an eventual p y r a m i d field that w o u l d b e g i n w i t h C h e o p s ' Great P y r a m i d at Giza.) A t the end o f the Fifth D y n a s t y o r the b e g i n n i n g o f the S i x t h D y n a s t y K i n g U n a s had t w o boat-pits, each about fifty metres l o n g and lined in w h i t e T u r a limestone, d u g in the b e d r o c k to the south o f the fine c o v e r e d C a u s e w a y that led f r o m his Saqqara p y r a ­ m i d to its V a l l e y T e m p l e . E x c e p t for these, and the T w e l f t h D y n a s t y boats that m a y h a v e b e l o n g e d to Sesostris III, w e k n o w o f n o other boat-pits after the close o f the F o u r t h D y n a s t y . * It is altogether possible that boat-pits w e r e a continuous tradition f r o m the First D y n a s t y right up to the reign o f K i n g U n a s o r even later, and that w e h a v e either not found most o f them o r that e v i d e n c e o f them has been destroyed in previous excavations. B u t there are significant dif­ ferences b e t w e e n the early A r c h a i c boat-pits and the later ones o f the Fourth D y n a s t y that m a k e m e think w e are possibly seeing t w o different traditions. In the first place, each o f the earlier boat-pits w a s located to the north o f a g r a v e . ( T h e f e w exceptions to this rule m a y w e l l p r o v e on e x a m i n a ­ tion to be mistaken attributions that should in fact be t h o u g h t o f as b e l o n g ­ ing to graves that are to the south o f the boat-pits concerned.) A n o t h e r difference o f possible significance is that the A r c h a i c P e r i o d boat-pits seem a l w a y s to h a v e been single pits connected each w i t h an individual g r a v e . In the Fourth D y n a s t y , on the other hand, w e often h a v e g r o u p s o f b o a t pits located on several sides o f the p y r a m i d g r a v e and not restricted to the north alone. M o s t , perhaps all, o f the F o u r t h D y n a s t y b o a t - g r a v e s are connected w i t h reigning monarchs. A l t h o u g h the A r c h a i c boat-pits at Saqqara seem * Another construction frequently mentioned along with boat-graves is the 'solar barque' of King Niuserre in the Fifth Dynasty. It was a model boat built of mud-brick south of the sun temple constructed by this king near Abusir, but as it was unconnected with his pyramid or his burial, I feel it has no part in the present discussion.

I 8 5

CONCLUSION

124 Painted on a limestone block near the pyramid of Mycerinus at Giza, this boat hieroglyph is thought by some archaeologists to indicate the presence of at least one boatpit in association with this pyramid.

also to h a v e been connected w i t h r o y a l g r a v e s , it is not at all clear w h e t h e r the graves at H e l w a n w e r e o f r o y a l t y o n l y , o r o f the n o b i l i t y and other citizens as w e l l . T h e e x c a v a t o r , Z a k i Saad, certainly believed that the H e l ­ w a n burials w e r e not e x c l u s i v e l y r o y a l . In the F o u r t h D y n a s t y , C h e o p s had five boat-pits that w e presently k n o w of, C h e p h r e n possibly had six, and at the p y r a m i d o f M y c e r i n u s , the smallest o f the three G i z a p y r a m i d s , a boat h i e r o g l y p h has been found that s o m e archaeologists believe m a y indicate the presence o f at least one b o a t - g r a v e here as w e l l . S e v e r a l small boat-pits seem to b e l o n g to the subsidiary p y r a m i d s n e x t to the G r e a t P y r a m i d . T h e s e little p y r a m i d s are traditionally ascribed to C h e o p s ' principal queens, but there is not a great deal o f evidence to support the assertion. E g y p t i a n c u s t o m generally p r o ­ v i d e d for o n l y one G r e a t Q u e e n , usually, as w e h a v e seen, the eldest daughter o f the p r e v i o u s ruler, t h o u g h a k i n g m i g h t h a v e several w i v e s in addition to his concubines. It seems o d d that C h e o p s w o u l d h a v e had three principal queens. Perhaps these p y r a m i d s had s o m e other function in the r o y a l burial scheme.

124

A t the end o f the dynasty Q u e e n K h e n t k a w e s had a boat-pit on the southwest corner o f her most peculiar g r a v e , neither p y r a m i d n o r m a s taba, near the S p h i n x at G i z a , but a g o o d a r g u m e n t can be m a d e that K h e n t k a w e s w a s a reigning m o n a r c h herself, the last ruler o f the F o u r t h D y n a s t y , despite the fact that she w a s a w o m a n . Djedefre, o f course, had o n l y one boat-pit that w e k n o w of, but his p y r a m i d c o m p l e x is in such a ruinous condition that there m a y v e r y w e l l h a v e been others w h i c h h a v e since disappeared.

159

CONCLUSION

T h e r e are then these significant differences b e t w e e n the A r c h a i c Period b o a t - g r a v e s and those o f the Fourth D y n a s t y : their location in relation to the g r a v e s ; the n u m b e r o f pits attached to a g r a v e ; and the presence o r absence o f a r o y a l connection. T h e early Saqqara boat-pits are also a g o o d deal smaller than the later ones, a v e r a g i n g b e t w e e n ten and fifteen metres l o n g , w i t h n o n e l o n g e r than t w e n t y metres. W h a t are w e to m a k e o f this? Is it possible, as has been suggested, that the A r c h a i c boat-burials, situated to the north o f the g r a v e s , h a v e to d o w i t h a stellar cult, one that w a s a l w a y s present to a greater o r lesser degree in E g y p t i a n religion but that seems to h a v e been strongest just before the dynastic period, w h e n it w a s taken o v e r , absorbed into the cults o f Osiris and o f the S u n - g o d ? M a n y (although not all) E g y p t o l o g i s t s feel that the v e r y earliest Utterances in the P y r a m i d T e x t s reflect this belief in a stellar cult that w o u l d require the deceased to j o u r n e y to the stars or to j o i n in an afterlife circuit o f the pole star, eternally w h e e l i n g , b y boat o f course, a r o u n d this fixed northern point. I h a v e not dealt m u c h in the p r e v i o u s chapter w i t h the stellar aspects o f E g y p t i a n religion, because it is not really relevant to the P y r a m i d A g e w i t h w h i c h w e h a v e been dealing. I noted earlier that the stars w e r e s o m e ­ times t h o u g h t o f as has, the bird-souls o f the deceased. T h e E g y p t i a n s also sometimes described their dead kings as h a v i n g ascended to the stars, parti­ cularly to the stars that r e v o l v e d eternally a r o u n d the pole star. These c i r c u m p o l a r stars w e r e called in the P y r a m i d T e x t s the Indestructible Stars or the Imperishable Stars. B y the b e g i n n i n g o f the dynastic period, the stellar cult is believed to h a v e diminished from its earlier importance, but perhaps the northern location o f the early boat-pits reflects a lingering tradition. C e r t a i n l y the northern placement o f the entrance to the p y r a ­ mids, w h i c h continued right t h r o u g h the P y r a m i d A g e , reflects beliefs connected w i t h the earlier cult. R a t h e r than entrance, w e should perhaps think o f it as an exit, the passage for the king's spirit to the stars. If the earlier boats w e r e intended to transport the deceased to the stars, w e r e the Fourth D y n a s t y boats, then, reflecting the p r e d o m i n a n c e at that time o f the solar cult, meant to carry the dead king on his j o u r n e y w i t h the S u n - g o d ? It is an a n s w e r that is often g i v e n and that is argued f o r c e ­ fully b y K a m a l e l - M a l l a k h , the discoverer o f the boat-pits, w h o has referred to the R o y a l Ship as a 'solar b a r q u e ' from the v e r y b e g i n n i n g . M a l l a k h believes that the reconstructed R o y a l Ship represents the m'ndt, the boat in w h i c h the S u n - g o d crosses the d a y t i m e sky. T h e second, u n ­ opened boat-pit on the p y r a m i d ' s south face, he feels, w i l l be found to contain the n i g h t - t i m e boat, the mskt.t, w h i c h , in keeping w i t h the m o r e perilous nature o f the night j o u r n e y , w i l l be a c c o m p a n i e d b y offerings to w a r d off the dangers o f the night.

160

CONCLUSION

O t h e r archaeologists and E g y p t o l o g i s t s h a v e pointed out that the S u n g o d has a boat o f his o w n already. T h e dead k i n g w a s said to travel in that boat and w o u l d therefore, to the literal-minded E g y p t i a n s , h a v e n o need for another boat at all, at least as far as his solar j o u r n e y s w e r e c o n ­ cerned. M o r e o v e r , they argue, n o n e o f the attributes that are traditionally found a c c o m p a n y i n g the solar barque w e r e found in the pit. These attributes v a r y c o n s i d e r a b l y : they m i g h t be the r a m - h e a d e d o r h a w k headed figure o f the S u n - g o d himself; or the disc o f the sun, the A t u m ; o r the K h e p r i d u n g - b e e t l e ; o r the steps that m a y represent a ladder to heaven and that m a n y E g y p t o l o g i s t s believe is the o r i g i n o f the f o r m o f the Step P y r a m i d ; o r the curious blade-like instrument that is sometimes called an executioner's knife. O n e o r several o f these attributes is a l w a y s present to signify that a p a p y r i f o r m boat is in fact a solar barque and not an o r d i n a r y funerary o r p i l g r i m a g e boat. A n o t h e r typical feature o f the solar b a r q u e is a strange rectangular mat or fringe that hangs off the b o w post and that appears to be m a d e o f w o v e n reeds, perhaps in a s y m b o l i c reference to the Field or M a r s h o f R e e d s t h r o u g h w h i c h the sun-boat passes before it emerges at d a w n . T h e boat o f the S u n - g o d is n e v e r s h o w n w i t h either sails o r oars, t h o u g h usually it has t w o o r m o r e steering-oars slung off the after deck. B e i n g divine, it needs n o h u m a n or other p r o p u l ­ sion. N o t one o f these devices, as w e h a v e seen, w a s included w i t h the R o y a l S h i p , and o f course the v e r y presence o f the five pairs o f oars, s y m ­ bolic t h o u g h their function m a y h a v e been, is an a r g u m e n t against the solar barque. A h m e d Y o u s s e f M o u s t a f a is c o n v i n c e d that the R o y a l Ship w a s not intended as a s y m b o l i c means o f transport but w a s actually used - at least once, if not several times. H e bases his j u d g m e n t on evidence f r o m the ship itself: across certain o f the 'baffles', b o o m e r a n g - s h a p e d pieces o f w o o d that w e r e inserted to relieve the great strain o f the rope bindings on the w o o d , as w e l l as in other places, the w o o d w a s m a r k e d , scarred as it w e r e , b y the ropes w h i c h , in shrinking, had left a clear imprint on the water-softened w o o d . H a g A h m e d calls the R o y a l Ship a 'funerary b a r q u e ' . H e believes that it w a s used perhaps o n l y once, to trans­ port the dead k i n g ' s b o d y in a s o l e m n funeral procession f r o m M e m p h i s , the capital, d o w n - r i v e r to the r o y a l burial g r o u n d at G i z a . W e can see a similar kind o f procession in a late papyrus, f r o m the T w e n t y - f i r s t D y n a s t y , about 1000 B C , in the British M u s e u m . C a l l e d ' T h e B o o k o f the D e a d o f Q u e e n N e j m t ' , it s h o w s precisely the same lines as the R o y a l Ship in a p a p y r i f o r m funerary b a r q u e that is being d r a w n on a sledge across the desert to the necropolis. ( O n e recalls that the D a h s h u r boats had been found w i t h the remnants o f a sledge that had o b v i o u s l y been used for the same purpose, to pull the boats f r o m the river's e d g e to the

ng

1 lg

125

126

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C O N C L U S I O N

127

burying ground.) The mummy of the deceased queen - or of her consort, the High Priest of Amun - is presumably inside the cabin which looks astonishingly similar in construction to the cabin on the R o y a l Ship, although it lacks a canopy. The R o y a l Ship, in its journey from Memphis to Giza, would have been towed by smaller craft, though it would have depended on the strong river current for its main propulsion. The priests and nobles and royal sons who manned the oars, including the two great steering-oars, would have been there for symbolic reasons as well as to help keep the ship on course. A witness to the stately procession would inevitably have been reminded of the passage in the Pyramid Texts referring to the ferrying of the dead king across the waters to the hereafter. Once again in Egyptian belief, actual and symbolic acts interpenetrate, enriching each other with both reality and magic. Hag Ahmed believes that the R o y a l Ship was built on purpose as a funerary barque, that is, that it was not part of the royal fleet comman­ deered after the king's death for this sacred use. Papyriform boats are usu­ ally shown painted green amidships and yellow ochre at each end, with the all-seeing, all-protective wedjat-eye drawn on either side of the bow. Björn Landström, who is not an Egyptologist but who probably knows more about ancient Egyptian ships and ship-building than any person alive, detects in the fact that the R o y a l Ship's hull is unpainted and midecorated, evidence that the ship was built in a hurry - for a last pil­ grimage, Landström speculates, carrying the king's mummy to the holy places of Egypt, Sais, Buto and Abydos. D r Iskander, in charge of chemical restoration of the boat, would con­ cur with the idea of a hasty construction, for he believes that the R o y a l Ship was actually built on the Giza plateau next to the already dug grave - built, dismantled and buried all in one operation. D r Iskander's con­ clusion is based on the presence, in the mud plaster that covered the lime­ stone blocks over the pit, of many sizeable pieces of cedar, acacia and other woods that had been used in the ship's construction, such as would have

125 Hag Ahmed Youssef believes that the Royal Ship must have been used at least once, for only shrinking ropes pulled tautly across soft wet wood could have left such clear impressions as these on the seam battens in­ side the ship's hull.

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C O N C L U S I O N

126 A late papyrus, from the Twenty-first Dynasty, shows a boat similar to the Royal Ship being drawn on a sledge. The cabin, which bears a curious resemblance to that on Cheops' boat, encloses the coffin of Queen Nejmt (or of her husband, the High Priest of Amun) which is being borne to its resting place in the tomb. The Royal Ship, in similar fashion, may have borne the coffin of Cheops, drawn on a sledge up the Causeway to the Great Pyramid.

been left by boatwrights in the normal course of operation. The question that continues to puzzle is w h y the pit was so much shorter than the boat. The only sensible answer has to be that the ship's exact measurements for some reason were not available to the people who were excavating the pit, which would dispose of Dr Iskander's theory, but would still leave unexplained the carpentry debris left behind. I. E. S. Edwards, former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum, takes a more cautious view. Assuming that all the boat-pits around Cheops' pyramid once contained actual boats, he suggests that some of the boats were used in the funeral ceremonies and processions, while others were intended 'to provide the dead king with a means of transport in his After-life'. The distinguished Egyptologist J . E. Cerny supported this theory; the R o y a l Ship and her sister, he felt, were for the eastern and western voyaging of the dead king, while the empty pits on the east face of the pyramid probably once contained the boats for the northern and southern journeys, and the now empty pit next to the Causeway the king's actual funerary barge. Throughout Egyptian history, the use of papyriform boats seems to have been restricted to events that had a religious or cultic significance - as pilgrimage boats, for instance, especially to the important site of Abydos, sacred to Osiris, where every Egyptian hoped to journey if not annually, at least once in his lifetime; or as funerary boats, to transport the mummy across the river to the necropolis on the west bank; or as vehicles for the transport of important gods. In this last case, the religious significance was doubly emphasized, for in later times (and probably earlier as well) the image of the god - Amon, for instance - was exhibited in a papyriform barque, a fabulous vessel of gold encrusted with precious stones, never meant to be placed in the water but rather to be borne aloft

1 2 7 The wedjat-eye was often painted as a protective device on the bows of ships, particularly of papyriform craft. The absence of any decoration whatsoever on the Royal Ship suggests that she was constructed hastily.

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C O N C L U S I O N

130

on the shoulders of the priests or other members of the religious procession - and then to be placed in the seat of honour on an actual papyriform barge, gilded equally lavishly, which was floated across the Nile during the annual Feast of the Valley when A m o n visited the holy places of Thebes. W e have seen that the sacred form most probably originated in the R e e d Float of the Sun-god which was itself a throw-back to a time when the Egyptians knew virtually no other form of transport. Translated into the permanence of cedar, which had special connotations of immortality, it became the king's transport as well. It seems altogether possible that the king never travelled anywhere for any reason in anything but a papyri­ form boat. Like so many royal privileges, this one too could be offered to selected people whom the king wished to honour, in the same way that he might also offer them a statue for their tomb, or a piece of land the income from which would secure food and drink offerings for eternity. In this way, many of the mortuary rites and customs that had been restricted to royalty in the Old Kingdom had, before the Twelfth Dynasty (that is, c. 1900 B C ) , become privileges that were assumed to be rights of the noble classes. Later still, these same privileges of burial rite and equipment would become available to anyone who had the means to pay for them. B y the Twelfth Dynasty, the Pyramid Texts had also been adopted by the nobility and, with some changes and developments, painted on the interiors of coffins - whence they derive their later name of Coffin Texts. Just as it was now too expensive to carve these spells on the walls

128 This unfinished relief in the Deir el-Bahri (Thebes) tomb of Nespekashuti dates from the seventh century B C and shows a papyriform pilgrimage boat, nearly 2000 years after the construction of Cheops' Royal Ship, being towed by another craft. The relief is labelled ' The Return from Abydos', the city sacred to Osiris to which every Egyptian hoped to make the pilgrimage at least once in his lifetime.

1 2 9 The night boat of the sun, in a preliminary drawing for an unfinished relief carving in the Eighteenth Dynasty tomb of Horemhab. The ram-headed Sun-god is protected by two serpents, within and without the shrine.

of tombs, so no one could afford to bury actual boats with the deceased. The custom then grew up of placing models in the tombs - a delightful custom that has granted us an extremely privileged look at daily life in ancient Egypt - charming models of carpenters' shops, of potters' studios, of laundries, bakeries, butchers, and many, many models of boats. Already around 2000 B C the nobleman Meketre was buried at Thebes with a dozen of these model boats, and w e must believe that these represented exact replicas of the little fleet that a man of Meketre's standing would have maintained in real life. There were four travelling boats, two under sail and two to be rowed, two kitchen tenders to accompany the travelling boats on voyages and provide for the crew as well as passengers, and four papyriform 'yachts', to use their excavator's terminology, looking very much like miniatures of King Cheops' R o y a l Ship. Painted green and ochre, these must have represented Meketre's pilgrimage and funerary vessels, to enable him to continue 'on the celestial Nile' the voyages he had made in his lifetime. Not all Egyptians, by any means, could have 1

130 The serpent is both protector and adversary. Here Osiris, on a painted coffin cover, lies in the starry under­ world, guarded by the serpent. But the serpent must be defeated before Osiris can be resurrected, and the Dragon of Darkness, Apopis, must be overcome before the sun's boat can emerge into the new dawn.

131

i j i This delightful model car­ penter's shop is from the same Ele­ venth Dynasty Theban tomb as the papyriform model boat (ill. 106). The sawyer in the foreground is using a pull-saw (modern saws are pushed rather than pulled).

106, 107, XII

maintained such a fleet, but almost all Egyptians would have needed a papyriform pilgrimage and burial boat. Those who could not afford a special vessel reserved for this purpose would perhaps, as w e have specu­ lated, have added papyriform stem and stern pieces to an ordinary travel­ ling boat, and it seems quite possible that these would have been socketed on in precisely the same way the stem and stern pieces are socketed on to the R o y a l Ship. It has been suggested that the R o y a l Ship is part of just such a flotilla, on a grander scale, as the model one buried with Meketre. In Cheops' case they could have been either ships used in his lifetime or special ones constructed for his burial equipment. They may have been used to carry to the pyramid his mummy in its coffin, his mummified viscera, perhaps in an alabaster container like that of Queen Hetep-heres, and all the royal funerary paraphernalia, burial equipment and offerings for his happiness and well-being in the afterlife. The boats were then buried for the king's use in eternity. The Royal Ship today The R o y a l Ship of King Cheops is the oldest, the largest and the bestpreserved of any ancient ship that has ever been found, an extraordinary testimony to the technological skill of the ancient Egyptians and a precious

166

C O N C L U S I O N

clue to the origins of maritime history. It is all the more a pity, then, that this unique find, so carefully and intelligently restored by Ahmed Youssef Moustafa, should be left virtually exposed to the elements in a museum that is at best inadequate and at worst a downright threat to the ship's survival. 'The wooden parts of the boat', wrote the late Dr Abdel Moneim Abubakr in 1 9 7 1 , 'were as hard and new as if they had been placed there but a year ago.' Kamal el-Mallakh recalls that when he opened the pit in 1954 the original colour of the w o o d was warm and light and 'so highly polished that I could sometimes see my own reflection in a piece of side planking'. These statements, unfortunately, are no longer true. Despite all the attention that continues to be given to the boat, prin­ cipally by Hag Ahmed Youssef who maintains a constant check on the condition of the ancient timbers, the ship will not be safe until it is decently housed, and protected from temperature and humidity fluctuations as well as from the danger of fire, which would be disastrous on the nearly water­ less desert plateau.

4, IV

132 View along the port side of the reconstructed Royal Ship towards the how. The internal ropes stitching the ship together are just visible between the hull timbers, though originally none would have been seen from the outside.

CONCLUSION

E x p e r t s in the preservation o f ancient w o o d agree that the ideal situation for the restored boat w o u l d be to duplicate as nearly as possible the c o n d i ­ tions in the pit, conditions that preserved the ship nearly intact for s o m e four and a half millennia. E v e n w i t h the best air conditioning unit i m a g i n ­ able these conditions w o u l d be difficult to maintain in a glass house in the desert. T h e temperature in the pit w a s fairly constant at 2 2 C e n t i g r a d e . T h e temperature in the m u s e u m is often m o r e than t w i c e that. B u t h i g h temperatures and d r y air are not in themselves such g r a v e p r o b l e m s as are the fluctuations in temperature and h u m i d i t y . W o o d , e v e n 4 , 5 0 0 - y e a r old w o o d , is a natural l i v i n g m e d i u m , reacting to its e n v i r o n m e n t , e x p a n d i n g and contracting w i t h heat and cold, moisture and dryness. S u c h continual changes, often taking place o v e r a short period o f time, strain these ancient timbers to the b r e a k i n g point, and there is almost n o t h ­ ing that can be d o n e to counteract t h e m short o f c h a n g i n g the e n v i r o n ­ m e n t in w h i c h the boat n o w rests. 0

It w o u l d seem to be a simple e n o u g h chore, to redesign the glass m u s e u m , or to build an entirely n e w m u s e u m , to house the R o y a l S h i p in a w o r t h y setting and a p r o p e r e n v i r o n m e n t - simple, and not v e r y costly w h e n measured, for instance, against the a m o u n t o f m o n e y that w a s spent to rescue the N u b i a n m o n u m e n t s threatened b y the H i g h D a m at A s w a n . M o n e y c o u l d certainly be found for such an i m p o r t a n t project, and g o o d w i l l too is not lacking, as H a g A h m e d has s h o w n . B u t m o n e y and g o o d w i l l alone cannot s o l v e the p r o b l e m . S o m e t h i n g m o r e is needed. F r o m the d a y o f its d i s c o v e r y , the R o y a l S h i p has been the v i c t i m o f w h a t inevitably appears to an outsider to be petty bureaucratic politicking and crude j o c k e y i n g for public r e c o g n i t i o n . Individual pride and national h o n o u r help to confuse the p r o b l e m : it is e x t r e m e l y difficult for the E g y p ­ tians to admit that a p r o b l e m does exist and to accept the fact that foreign help, b o t h financial and technological, w i l l be necessary to s o l v e it. T h e prospect o f losing the boat t h r o u g h n e g l i g e n c e and indifference is h o r r i f y ­ ing, but, to E g y p t ' s shame, it is a v e r y real possibility. W h a t can be d o n e to save it?

(Opposite) 133 Looking up at the port side stern section - the majestic sweep of the ship is supported by a series of steel stanchions.

168

P r o b a b l y the o n l y w a y in the end to control w h a t happens to the boat and to w h a t is assumed to be the sister ship in the second pit is t h r o u g h the establishment o f a national o r better, e v e n an international, c o m m i s ­ sion, under E g y p t i a n control but d r a w i n g freely on the expertise and e x ­ periences o f the great n u m b e r o f m a r i t i m e m u s e u m s that h a v e been estab­ lished lately in N o r t h e r n E u r o p e and A m e r i c a . S u c h a c o m m i s s i o n must h a v e an independent authority in o r d e r to distance itself as m u c h as poss­ ible f r o m the politicking that has d o g g e d the boat in the past. A n d it w o u l d need financial independence sufficient to build and maintain a p r o p e r m u s e u m that w o u l d be l a r g e e n o u g h for both boats - and to m a k e possible

CONCLUSION

the e x c a v a t i o n and restoration, under H a g A h m e d Y o u s s e f ' s supervision, o f the sister craft. B u t the p r o b l e m is not w i t h the boats alone. T h e entire G i z a plateau, in fact the w h o l e stretch o f p y r a m i d fields south at least as far as Saqqara, faces t w o threats: the expansion o f the city o f C a i r o , w h o s e population has m o r e than trebled in the last dozen years, and the tourist b o o m that, w i t h optimistic solutions in sight for E g y p t ' s external political problems, has already b e g u n on a mass scale. E v e n today an extension o f the p y r a m i d road leads up to the plateau itself, crosses right o v e r the black basalt p a v ing-stones o f K i n g C h e o p s ' M o r t u a r y T e m p l e , and s w i n g s out b e t w e e n the t w o main p y r a m i d s t o w a r d s 'Sahara C i t y ' , a n e w l y fashionable suburb, w h e r e unattractive b u n g a l o w s m a r the horizon, in full v i e w of, and d o m i n a t i n g , the sacred burial g r o u n d o f E g y p t ' s ancient kings. U n d e r the aspect o f eternity it is all a little ridiculous, a testament to m o d e r n folly and greed. U n f o r t u n a t e l y it is likely to get m u c h w o r s e before it ever gets even slightly better. A l r e a d y it is almost impossible to see the p y r a m i d s as V i v a n t D e n o n s a w them w h e n he c a m e out w i t h N a p o l e o n in 1 7 9 8 , 'in that refined and transparent c o l o u r i n g they o w e to the i m mense v o l u m e o f air surrounding them T h e great distance f r o m w h i c h they can be perceived m a k e s them appear diaphanous, tinted w i t h the bluish tone o f the s k y , and restores to t h e m the perfection and purity o f the angles w h i c h the centuries h a v e m a r r e d . ' T h e s e days, f r o m a great distance the p y r a m i d s too often cannot be perceived at all, o w i n g to the industrial and a u t o m o b i l e pollution that stains the air for miles around Cairo. It has been proposed that the entire area surrounding the p y r a m i d s for several miles be ceded to the D e p a r t m e n t o f Antiquities in perpetuity as archaeological territory. T h e existing settlement at Sahara C i t y w o u l d be dismantled before it has a chance to s w e l l any further, and the boundaries o f 'Pacific Properties', a questionable v e n t u r e into tourist d e v e l o p m e n t b y a H o n g K o n g real-estate speculator, w o u l d b e kept sufficiently far a w a y to be invisible f r o m the heights o f the plateau. A d m i s s i o n to the p y r a m i d area w o u l d be restricted to ticket-holders, and transportation b y electric m o t o r carts w i t h i n the area w o u l d be under the supervision o f the D e p a r t m e n t o f Antiquities w i t h n o private vehicles a l l o w e d . T h e inc o m e thus accumulated (surprisingly n o admission fee is presently charged at the G i z a p y r a m i d s and at S a q q a r a the fee is m i n i m a l ) w o u l d p a y for guards, guides and maintenance o f the m o n u m e n t s - including o f course the R o y a l S h i p - w i t h a healthy s u m left o v e r to support further e x c a v a tion and restoration. If it all sounds a little bit like D i s n e y l a n d - o n - t h e N i l e , one must r e m e m b e r that the alternative is uncontrolled d e v e l o p ment led b y the w o r s t kind o f p r o p e r t y speculators and corrupt and 2

(Opposite) ¡34 The papyriform stem section of the ship with the two steering oars.

170

CONCLUSION

unscrupulous politicians w h o will sell off bit by bit not only Egypt's heri­ tage but also one of her major sources of income in the future. Under this scheme the R o y a l Ship would be properly housed in a con­ trolled and stabilized environment, and the second pit would be un­ covered and its contents excavated and reconstructed under the super­ vision of Hag Ahmed Youssef. In the second boat-pit obviously lie answers to many of the questions that the first boat has raised. In a certain sense, the form as well as the function of the R o y a l Ship will never be fully understood until the second pit is opened. But it must not be opened until the first boat can be properly maintained. The R o y a l Ship was exca­ vated and reconstructed with the most painstaking methods, with the wise, and indeed, loving attention of the men who were involved, Kamal el-Mallakh, Salah Osman who supervised the removal of the blocks, Zaki Nour, in charge of the pyramids region, Zaki Iskander, Abdel Moneim Abubakr, and of course Ahmed Youssef Moustafa. It is a pity that the R o y a l Ship has been left to fend for herself in the inappropriate environ­ ment of the glass museum; it would be a tragedy if this magnificent ritual vessel, having survived forty-five centuries with a minimum of damage, were to disappear, because of our negligence and indifference, within our own lifetimes.

'35 Just two of the dozens of different knots that held together the various sections of the Royal Ship-and that, reconstructed in modern rope, continue to hold her together today.

172

ij6 The Royal Ship today in the museum at Giza; the fans that stir the air and provide the only kind of temperature and humidity control can be seen along the balcony in the middle left of the picture.

Acknowledgments

I a m grateful to the f o l l o w i n g individuals for the

w e l l as their k n o w l e d g e o f ancient E g y p t i a n

help they g a v e m e and the patient courtesy w i t h

civilization; and o f course to H a g A h m e d Y o u s -

w h i c h m y questions w e r e answered and m y

sef M o u s t a f a , w h o s e p r o f o u n d understanding o f

needs w e r e m e t : to M a e T r a d , librarian o f that

e v e r y aspect o f the R o y a l Ship's history and

unique institution, the C h i c a g o H o u s e L i b r a r y

construction m a d e it possible for this b o o k to

in L u x o r ; to D r Lionel C a s s o n o f N e w Y o r k

be written.

U n i v e r s i t y , p r o b a b l y the w o r l d ' s leading auth­

Special thanks are due to D r W i l l i a m W a r d

ority on ancient ships, ship-building and m a r i ­

o f the A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t y o f B e i r u t w h o in­

time trade; to K a m a l e l - M a l l a k h , Z a k i Iskander

troduced m e to E g y p t o l o g y m a n y years a g o ; to

and L a b i b H a b a c h i , a m o n g the m a n y E g y p t ­

Christine S t u r k e n for her indefatigable efforts as

ologists in that c o u n t r y and elsewhere w h o so

translator, hostess and friend; and to m y hus­

generously shared their m e m o r i e s o f the dis­

band L o r e n Jenkins for his support and patience

c o v e r y and reconstruction o f the R o y a l S h i p as

and undiminished enthusiasm.

N o t e s on t h e t e x t

Chapter Two

differences and similarities in early times see B a u m g a r t e l , E . The

1

F o r a spirited defence o f this v i e w p o i n t , see Mendelssohn, K . The Riddle of the

Pyramids,

London 1974. 2

E d w a r d s , I. E . S . The Pyramids of Egypt, H a r -

3

H e r o d o t u s , The Histories, B o o k T w o , 1 2 2 ff.,

Cultures

of

Prehistoric

Egypt, vols. I and II, L o n d o n 1 9 5 5 and i 9 6 0 . 6

See note 5 a b o v e .

7

H e r o d o t u s , The Histories,

B o o k T w o , para.

96, transí. Lionel C a s s o n (unpubl.). A l t h o u g h

m o n d s w o r t h 1 9 6 1 , p. 96.

H e r o d o t u s speaks o f a keel, E g y p t i a n ships were

transí. A u b r e y de Selincourt, revised b y A . R .

flat-bottomed

and keelless at least until

well after the M i d d l e K i n g d o m .

Burn, Harmondsworth 1972.

Chapter Seven

Chapter Six 1 T r a n s l . J o h n A . W i l s o n , in P r i t c h a r d , J . B . , ed.

1

Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 3 r d e d n , Princeton 1969. 2

W a r d , W . A . , Egypt and the East World,

Mediterranean

2 3

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3 Transí. H . G o e d i c k e , in Journal

of the

4

If, in fact, it w a s ever c o m p l e t e l y b r o k e n ; see W a r d , op. cit., for a discussion o f continuing trade

throughout

the

T r a n s l . J o h n A . W i l s o n , in Pritchard (ed.) o p . Frankfort, H . Kingship and the Gods, C h i c a g o

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5 O f course there

174

1975¬ L i c h t h e i m , op. cit.

Chapter Eight

Period. differences.

Literature, Berkeley

1 9 4 8 , p. 4 5 .

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K i n g Sneferu depicted on a stela f r o m D a h ­ shur. P h o t o K u r t

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Title-pages T h e reconstructed R o y a l Ship. G a r t h

19

1

T h e dismantled ship in the pit, before e x c a v a ­

20

tion. 2

T h e N i l e in flood at G i z a . C o u r t e s y M u s e u m

3

M a p o f the O l d K i n g d o m p y r a m i d fields. T h e m u s e u m , south side o f the G r e a t P y r a ­

21 22

Palmiform

column

supporting

the

D o o r latch in the cabin. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

7

Sliding lock in the cabin. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

8

A h m e d Youssef Moustafa. Photo J o h n Ross.

9

M i n i a t u r e i v o r y statuette o f C h e o p s . C a i r o

23 24

palette

of

Narmer

plex. D r a w i n g b y K u r t

(reverse

26

Hemiunu.

F r a g m e n t o f the P a l e r m o Stone.

Palermo Archeolo¬

Wooden

furniture o f Q u e e n

Hetep-heres.

C a r t o u c h e o f Sneferu, detail o f Hetep-heres'

T h e Great Pyramid of Cheops

from

the

Section t h r o u g h G r e a t P y r a m i d and boat-pit containing the R o y a l S h i p . G a r t h D e n n i n g

Mendelssohn.

after N o u r et al. i 9 6 0 .

M o d e l o f Step P y r a m i d c o m p l e x at Saqqara

13

Cartouche

27

Plan o f south side o f G r e a t P y r a m i d . G a r t h

28

Kamal el-Mallakh. Photo J o h n Ross.

b y J . - P . Lauer.

D e n n i n g after N o u r et al. i 9 6 0 . King

Cheops,

from

Lisht.

Photo John Ross.

29

Plan o f the G i z a necropolis, w i t h the three Cheops,

Chephren

i960. 30

C a r t o u c h e o f Djedefre, f r o m a b l o c k c o v e r ­

31

T h e dismantled ship inside the pit, before all

32

The

Hirmer 1968. B o a t - p i t s and mastabas to the east o f C h e o p s '

ing the boat-pit.

p y r a m i d . P h o t o Peter C l a y t o n . Sections t h r o u g h the principal p y r a m i d s o f the O l d K i n g d o m .

Plan o f limestone blocks sealing pit w i t h the R o y a l S h i p . G a r t h D e n n i n g after N o u r et al.

and

M y c e r i n u s . G a r t h D e n n i n g after L a n g e and

16

vizier

Hildesheim.

Fine A r t s , B o s t o n .

and

12

of

o f the

Boston. 25

T h e traditional O l d K i n g d o m p y r a m i d c o m ­

pyramids

statue

southwest, early 1 9 3 0 s . C o u r t e s y M u s e u m o f

obverse). C a i r o M u s e u m .

of

Limestone

b e d - c a n o p y . C o u r t e s y M u s e u m o f Fine A r t s ,

Museum. Photo Hirmer.

15

of

C o u r t e s y M u s e u m o f Fine A r t s , B o s t o n .

6

14

Tomb

gica, P a l e r m o . cabin

roofbeam. Photo J o h n Ross.

11

marshes,

M u s e u m . P h o t o Soprintendenza

mid of Cheops. Photo J o h n Ross.

Slate

the

Seated figure o f B e z m e s . C o u r t e s y Trustees

Pelizaeus M u s e u m ,

4

10

scene in

o f the British M u s e u m , L o n d o n .

o f Fine A r t s , B o s t o n .

5

Hunting

M e r e r u k a , S a q q a r a . P h o t o A l b e r t Shoucair.

D e n n i n g after L a n d s t r o m 1 9 7 0 .

the blocks had been r e m o v e d . pit

(and

dismantled

ship)

after

the

r e m o v a l o f the blocks.

177

LIST

OF

33

ILLUSTRATIONS

R e p r o d u c t i o n o f curtain b o x f r o m the t o m b

62

34

Arts, Boston.

63

P a p y r u s - b u d finial f r o m Hetep-heres' b e d -

64-67

canopy. Courtesy Museum

o f Fine

Arts,

O t h e r carpenter's marks. R e s t o r i n g part o f a sheer strake, adding

n e w w o o d f r o m the outside. 68,

Boston.

69

R e s t o r i n g a hull t i m b e r b y inserting a

35

P a p y r u s - b u d finial f r o m the deck c a n o p y .

36

W o o d e n statue o f K a - A p e r . C a i r o M u s e u m .

7 0 , 7 1 R e p a i r i n g a crack in the central stringer.

37

W e s t e r n end o f the pit before r e m o v a l o f the

72

core o f n e w w o o d .

38

T h e b o t t o m hull timbers in the restoration shed.

blocks. R e m o v a l o f the first b l o c k on 2 3 N o v e m b e r

73

T r i a l assembly: m o v i n g a g a r b o a r d strake into place.

1954¬ 3 9 , 4 0 A n c i e n t matting as found in the pit.

74, 75

41

7 6 , 7 7 A s s e m b l y o f the hull timbers around t e m ­

T h e ship's p r o w p h o t o g r a p h e d in the pit before e x c a v a t i o n .

Incorrect trial assemblies o f the hull.

plate moulds.

42

Lifting the cabin d o o r assembly.

78

Sliding the b o w s p r i t o v e r the b o w .

43

T h e notched timbers in the pit.

79

T h e fully reconstructed ship in the m u s e u m ,

80

D i a g r a m s h o w i n g the internal structure o f

44

T h e hull planks o f the p r o w , western end o f the pit.

v i e w e d f r o m the b o w . P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

45

Detail o f western end s h o w i n g rope lashing.

the R o y a l S h i p . G a r t h D e n n i n g after Land¬

46

T h e hull timbers o f the stern, eastern end o f

strom 1 9 7 0 .

the pit. 47 48

81

Lifting one o f the notched timbers (stringers). R e m o v i n g hull timbers f r o m the b o t t o m o f

D r a w i n g o f the ship's strakes . G a r t h D e n n i n g after A h m e d Y o u s s e f M o u s t a f a .

82

E x t e r n a l batten concealing the ropes lashing

the pit.

stern piece

49

C o i l s o f rope in the b o t t o m o f the pit.

Ross.

50

T i e d bundles o f w o o d in the b o t t o m o f the

83

Interior o f the c o m p l e t e d hull.

pit.

84

E r e c t i n g the cabin on the incomplete ship in

51 52

T h e e m p t y boat-pit, l o o k i n g west.

54

T e n s y m b o l s painted on the south w a l l o f the

86

C a b i n sub-assembly w i t h patches for knots in

1970.

87

mortise-and-tenon

T h r e e objects f r o m the pit unrelated to the

88

A s s e m b l i n g the cabin in the m u s e u m .

boat itself: flint knife, basalt h a m m e r and

89

V i e w f r o m inside the cabin to the foredeck.

90

Interior o f the cabin. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

Photo John Ross.

A h m e d Youssef Moustafa with a model

of

the ship's hull. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

91

R e s t o r a t i o n shed and boat-pits on the south side o f the G r e a t P y r a m i d in 1 9 6 3 . P h o t o R e l i e f f r o m m o r t u a r y temple

the

92

T w o o f the oars on the port side. P h o t o J o h n

93

C o m p o s i t e p h o t o g r a p h o f the reconstructed

Ross. o f Sahure.

C o u r t e s y Staatliche M u s e e n , Berlin. 59

T h e dismantled parts o f the baldachin.

60

T h e reconstructed baldachin.

61

T h e parts o f the ship laid out in the restora­ tion shed.

V i e w aft along the starboard side o f reconstructed ship. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

Peter C l a y t o n . 58

C a b i n w a l l panel w i t h joints.

potsherd. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

57

Photo J o h n

D r a w i n g o f the deckhouse. A f t e r L a n d s t r o m

pit.

56

section.

the w o o d .

53

55

stern

85

L i m e s t o n e blocks at the v e r y b o t t o m o f the pit.

to

the restoration shed.

B r o k e n sleeve o f the p r o w and a d a m a g e d oar.

178

T h e classifying signs for the four quarters o f the ship.

o f Hetep-heres. C o u r t e s y M u s e u m o f Fine

ship in the m u s e u m . P h o t o J o h n R o s s . 94

M a p o f O l d K i n g d o m E g y p t and n e i g h b o u r ­ ing lands. D r a w n b y G a r t h D e n n i n g .

95

C e d a r trees near Beshara, L e b a n o n . P h o t o CNT/FATTAL.

LIST OF

96 97 98

N a q a d a II pot decorated w i t h a boat motif.

114

Sui, T h e b a n B o o k o f the D e a d .

R e l i e f in the t o m b o f Q u e e n M e r e s a n k h III

Trustees o f the British M u s e u m , L o n d o n . 115

Ka s y m b o l . F r o m R u n d l e C l a r k 1 9 5 9 .

Gilded

116

Primeval M o u n d hieroglyph. F r o m R u n d l e

117

T h e P h o e n i x at Heliopolis. P a p y r u s o f A n i .

wooden

statue

of

Tutankhamun

Clark 1959.

T i hunting in the marshes, a relief f r o m his

C o u r t e s y Trustees o f the British

t o m b at Saqqara. P h o t o H i r m e r .

London.

D r a w i n g o f funerary boat o f Sesostris III

118

Reisner 1 9 1 3 .

119 120

121

Reconstruction

drawing

of

obelisks.

Production, 105

Model

Photo Hirmer.

funerary

Fund,

excavations

supplemented

o f the from

one

John

Battens s h o w i n g rope marks f r o m the R o y a l Ship. Photo J o h n Ross.

British

Rogers

contribution Meketre's

S h i p being d r a w n on a sledge. Detail o f B o o k o f D e a d o f Q u e e n N e j m t . British M u s e u m ,

of

L o n d o n . P h o t o C r a i g Meredith. 127

of

T h e wedjat-eye.

Detail o f painted

wooden

stela. P h o t o J o h n R o s s . 128

of

Photo

125

E d w a r d S. Harkness. of

Ship.

from

tomb

1919-1920. by

Royal

B o a t h i e r o g l y p h near M y c e r i n u s ' p y r a m i d ,

Meketre. T h e Metropolitan M u s e u m o f A r t , Museum

the

124

126 barque

of

Ross. Giza. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

C o u r t e s y Trustees

Model

Cour­

Museum,

Book

Museum, London. 106

British

123

Stockholm.

S i x t h D y n a s t y m o d e l funerary boat Aswan.

the

Detail o f statue o f C h e p h r e n . C a i r o M u s e u m .

A f t e r B j o r n L a n d s t r o m (based on relief at D e i r e l - B a h r i ) , courtesy International

of

122 Hatshepsut's

barge, built to carry t w o e n o r m o u s

Trustees

London.

temple, A b u s i r . G a r t h D e n n i n g after L a n d ­ 104

H o r u s emerges f r o m Isis' protection. tesy

D r a w i n g o f a ship f r o m Sahure's m o r t u a r y strom 1 9 7 0 .

V i g n e t t e f r o m the B o o k o f the D e a d , D e i r British M u s e u m , L o n d o n .

Saqqara. P h o t o courtesy o f the Oriental In­ 103

H i e r o g l y p h s for the sun at d a w n , sun at night

el B a h r i , E g y p t . C o u r t e s y Trustees o f the

S h i p - b u i l d i n g scene, relief in the t o m b o f T i , stitute, C h i c a g o .

R e - H e r a k h t y and T h o t h . C o u r t e s y Trustees

and solar boat. F r o m R u n d l e C l a r k 1 9 5 9 .

F u n e r a r y boat o f Sesostris III f r o m Dahshur. Field M u s e u m o f N a t u r a l H i s t o r y , C h i c a g o .

102

Museum,

o f the British M u s e u m , L o n d o n .

f r o m D a h s h u r , n o w in C a i r o M u s e u m . F r o m 101

Courtesy

at Giza. P h o t o B . V . B o t h m e r .

molean M u s e u m , O x f o r d .

100

Ba-bird hovering over m u m m y . Papyrus of

British M u s e u m . P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

astride a p a p y r u s raft. Griffith Institute, A s h 99

ILLUSTRATIONS

'The

Return

from

Abydos'.

Unfinished

relief, T o m b o f Nespekashuti, D e i r el-Bahri,

107

Drawing

model

funerary barques. F r o m W i n l o c k 1 9 5 5 .

T h e b e s . C o u r t e s y the B r o o k l y n

108

Plan and section o f a m o d e l boat o f Q u e e n

N e w York.

109

Priests c a r r y i n g a sacred ship. R i j k s m u s e u m

T o m b o f H o r e m h a b , V a l l e y o f the K i n g s ,

v a n O u d h e d e n , Leiden.

Thebes.

no

M i d d l e K i n g d o m m o d e l funerary barque.

Metropolitan M u s e u m of A r t , N e w Y o r k .

N e i t h . G a r t h D e n n i n g after L a n d s t r o m 1 9 7 0 .

British

Museum,

London.

Photo

Craig

129

130

Model

funerary barque. British

Burton,

courtesy

Coffin c o v e r s h o w i n g Osiris amid the stars o f

131

Carpenter's shop f r o m the t o m b o f M e k e t r e .

John

132

V i e w along the port side o f the R o y a l Ship.

Goddess M a ' e t supported b y the king. F r o m

133

T h e underside o f the stern o f the R o y a l Ship.

Osiris, g o d o f the u n d e r w o r l d . T o m b Sennedjem,

Deir

el M e d i n a .

Photo

Cairo Museum.

of

Photo J o h n Ross.

Ross. 113

Harry

relief,

British M u s e u m , L o n d o n .

Museum,

London. Photo C r a i g Meredith. 112

Photo

Unfinished

the u n d e r w o r l d sky. C o u r t e s y Trustees o f the

Meredith. in

N i g h t boat o f the sun.

Museum,

Rundle Clark 1959.

Photo John Ross.

179

LIST OF

134

ILLUSTRATIONS

T h e stern section o f the ship, w i t h t w o steer­

V I T h e f o r w a r d section o f the ship on the port side. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

ing oars. P h o t o J o h n R o s s . 135

K n o t s used in the R o y a l S h i p . P h o t o J o h n

136

T h e R o y a l S h i p in the m u s e u m . P h o t o J o h n

Ross.

AFTER

Ross.

PAGE

Il6

V I I T h e foredeck baldachin or c a n o p y . P h o t o John Ross. VIII Detail s h o w i n g

Colour plates IX AFTER

PAGE

I The

to the

hull.

Detail o f cabin exterior w i t h supporting columns. P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

32

Great

oars lashed

Photo John Ross.

Pyramid

seen

from

the

X

T h e cabin and central section o f the ship. Photo John Ross.

southwest. P h o t o J o h n R o s s . II T h e G i z a p y r a m i d s v i e w e d f r o m the air. Photo John Ross. III O n e o f the e m p t y boat-pits on the eastern

AFTER

PAGE

134

X I T w o N i l e boats painted on a cloth f r o m

side o f the Great P y r a m i d . P h o t o J o h n R o s s .

Gebelein. T u r i n M u s e u m . P h o t o j o h n R o s s .

I V T h e south side o f the Great P y r a m i d , w i t h

X I I F u n e r a r y a n d / o r p i l g r i m a g e boat f r o m t o m b

the m o d e r n m u s e u m . P h o t o J o h n R o s s . AFTER

PAGE

50

of Meketre, Thebes. Metropolitan M u s e u m of Art, N e w York. Photojohn Ross. X I I I T h e boat o f the rising sun, f r o m the P a p y r u s

V T h e R o y a l S h i p in the m u s e u m . P h o t o J o h n Ross.

180

o f A n h a i . P h o t o courtesy the Trustees o f the British M u s e u m , L o n d o n .

Index

N u m e r a l s in italics refer to illustration n u m b e r s

A b u Roash n , 1 2 , 28, 49, 1 5 8

B e z m e s 3 8 ; 20

Abubakr,

boat-building 6 0 , 7 3 , 7 4 , 7 5 , 89,

Dr

Abdel

Moneim

Abydos 30, 4 3 , 1 5 4 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 3 ; from

119.

1 2 3 - 5 , 1 2 8 - 9 ; 102

Abusir 1 2 , 1 2 9 , 1 3 4 , 1 5 8 Return

in,

9 2 - 3 , 96, 1 0 9 , i n .

167, 1 7 2

'The

carpenters' marks 8 7 , 8 8 ; 62, 63

Abydos'

C a s s o n , Lionel 7 4 , 1 0 6 , 1 0 9 , 1 2 3 cedar 8 , 1 3 , 3 6 , 4 0 , 5 4 , 6 2 , 6 4 , 6 5 , 80, 8 3 , 8 8 , 1 0 0 , 1 0 2 , 1 1 2 , 1 1 4 ,

boat-pits: G r e a t P y r a m i d 8, 2 2 ,

1 2 4 , 1 5 7 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 4 ; 95

2 7 , 2 8 , 4 9 , 5 0 , 5 3 , 5 9 , 60, 6 4 - 8 1 ,

cenotaph 3 0

8 3 , 84, 88, 89, 9 4 , 96, 1 5 8 , 1 5 9 ,

Cerny, J . E . 163

acacia 80, 1 1 5 , 1 2 3 , 1 6 2

1 6 0 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 3 , 1 6 8 , 1 7 2 ; 14, 15,

C h e o p s , K i n g 8, 1 1 , 1 2 , 1 4 , 1 6 ,

afterlife 3 1 , 3 5 , 3 6 , 1 3 7 , 1 4 7 , 1 5 4 ,

26, 2 7 , 29, 32, 37, 39-53,

128

57, /77,

IV; see also R o y a l Ship

160, 1 6 3 , 166 A h a , K i n g : mastaba t o m b o f 2 3 , 24

1 9 , 2 5 , 2 7 , 2 8 , 3 5 , 36, 3 8 , 4 0 , 4 1 . 4 2 , 4 3 , 5 0 , 6 7 , 6 8 , 69, 1 2 0 , 1 4 0 , 1

of

1 5 4 . 1 5 9 . 6 3 ; cartouche o f 1 3 ;

A r c h a i c Period 1 5 8 , 1 5 9 , 1 6 0 ;

statuette o f 9 ; p y r a m i d of, see

boat-pits:

of

Aha

23, 28;

Akhenaton, K i n g : box of 61

o f C h e p h r e n 1 5 9 ; o f Djedefre

alabaster 3 5 , 4 0 , 4 1 , 1 4 5 , 1 6 6

1 5 8 , 1 5 9 ; of Khentkawes 1 5 9 ;

Great P y r a m i d o f C h e o p s Chephren, King 28, 4 3 , 1 2 0 , 1 5 4 ,

A m e n e m h e t I 13

o f M y c e r i n u s 1 5 9 ; o f PSesostris

1 5 9 ; pyramid of 1 1 , 1 2 , 28, 49;

A m o n 1 5 4 , 1 6 3 , 1 6 4 ; Barque of

III 1 5 8 ; o f U n a s 1 5 8

2,3,14,16G,

137;

B o s t o n M u s e u m o f Fine A r t s 2 3 ,

XIII

62, 79

Amon-Re 114, 154

122;

II, III; statue o f 18,

Valley Temple of 35

Cilicia 3 6

A m u n , H i g h Priest o f 1 6 2

b o w s p r i t 5 4 , 98

climate 1 9 , 6 4 , 6 5 , 1 4 2

Apopis 1 5 0 ; J jo

Breasted, J a m e s 5 7 , 1 4 0

Coffin T e x t s 1 6 4

A r c h a i c Period 1 5 8 , 1 6 0

British M u s e u m 3 8 , 64, 6 5 , 80,

c o l u m n 1 4 , 2 3 , 6 3 ; 5 , 34, 35

Aswan 1 9 , 2 1 , 26, 1 3 0 , 1 3 4 , 1 3 9

copper 36, 80; 5, 7

ba 1 4 5 , 1 6 0 ; 114

137. 161 burial 1 2 , 1 4 , 2 3 , 3 6 , 4 0 , 4 1 burial e q u i p m e n t 2 2 , 2 3 , 4 3 , 1 2 4 , 125, 1 3 7 , 166 Buto 3 1 ,162

Badarian 1 3 0

Byblos 40, 1 1 2 , 1 1 4 , 1 1 6 , 1 1 9 ,

A t e f - c r o w n 112, 118 Atum 150, 154, 161

baldachin (foredeck c a n o p y ) 86, 1 0 3 , 1 3 4 , 1 3 7 ; 58-60,123,

151. 153

Bass, G e o r g e 7 4 B a u m g a r t e l , Elise 1 1 6 benben 1 4 9

in

Dahshur 1 2 , 2 8 , 30, 3 1 , 4 0 , 4 1 , 4 3 , 60, 1 5 7 , 1 6 1 ; boats f r o m 84, 9 3 , 1 2 4 , 1 2 5 , 1 2 8 ; 100, 101 dakkah 5 0

VII

basalt 2 6 , 4 7 , 1 7 0 ; 55

Coptos

cult 3 1 , 1 3 0 , 1 4 7 , 1 4 9 , 1 6 0 , 1 6 3

cabin 6 3 , 7 8 , 8 6 , 1 0 3 , 1 6 2 ; 32, 84¬ 90, IX,

X

C a i r o M u s e u m 3 9, 4 3 , 60, 6 1 , 6 2 , 64, 1 2 4

death

19, 36,

140,

144, 147,

154 Deir el-Bahri 1 2 9 , 1 3 4 , 1 3 7 Delta 2 1 , 3 1 , 1 1 9 , 1 2 1 , 1 5 3

B e n i Hasan 1 2 5

canal 2 2

Denon, Vivant 1 7 0

Bent Pyramid 1 2 , 28, 30, 40, 4 1 ;

c a n o p y 1 4 , 6 2 , 6 3 , 7 8 , 86, 1 0 3 ,

desmostachya bipinnata 7 0

16C,

16D

106, 1 6 1

diorite 3 5 , 3 9 ; 18, 122

181

INDEX

Djedefre, K i n g 2 8 , 6 7 , 1 5 4 ; b o a t pit o f 1 5 8 , 1 5 9 ; cartouche o f 5 0 ,

40, 4 5 , 5 4 ; ¡4; plateau 8, 1 1 , 1 2 ,

6 8 ; 30; p y r a m i d o f 1 2 , 4 9

1 6 , 2 5 , 4 2 , 5 3 , 8 3 ; 2; p y r a m i d s

d o o r 7 0 , 80, 1 0 3 ; 42 door-latch 1 0 3 ; 6 Double

Giza 1 4 , 3 1 , 4 1 , 4 9 . 7 8 , 1 2 0 , 1 4 5 , H u see H u n i hull 80, 8 7 , 9 6 , 1 0 0 , 1 0 2 , 1 0 8 , 1 2 4 , 1 5 8 , 1 5 9 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 ; necropolis

C r o w n of Upper

and

Lower Egypt 17

1 0 , 2 8 , 4 3 . 4 5 . 5 9 , 1 7 0 ; I-IV god-king 3 1 , 3 6 , 81 g o l d 4 0 , 6 1 , 62, i n ,

D r i o t o n , A b b e 4 9 , 50

1 3 7 , 1 6 2 ; 36, 68, 6g Huni, King 28, 42 Ipuwer 1 1 4

112,163524,

34

Isis 1 5 1 , 1 5 3 Iskander, D r Z a k i 5 6 , 6 4 , 66, 7 0 , 7 1 , 7 6 , 7 8 , 80, 88, 1 6 2 , 1 6 3 , 1 7 2 ;

D u n c a n , D a v i d 5 4 , 5 6 , 6 5 , 70

Gordon, Lady Duff 1 3 9

D u n h a m , D o w s 2 2 , 79

granite 2 6 , 4 7 , 8 1

39 ivory 4 3 , 6 1 , i n ; 9

g r a v e - g o o d s 23 ebony 6 1 , 62, i n E d w a r d s , I. E . S . 3 1 , 1 6 3 Eighteenth D y n a s t y 2 8 , 1 2 1 , 1 2 9 ;

Great Procession 1 5 4

juncus arabicus 70

Great P y r a m i d o f C h e o p s 8, 9,

Junker, Herbert 4 7 , 57

1 1 , 1 2 , 1 6 , 2 1 , 2 5 , 3 1 , 3 5 , 36, 38, 40, 4 3 , 4 5 , 4 6 , 4 7 , 4 9 , 1 0 8 , 1 5 7 ,

ka 3 5 , 1 4 6 , 1 4 7 , 1 5 3 ; 113

Eleventh Dynasty 1 3 4

158,

K a - A p e r see Sheikh el-Beled

Emery, W . B . 2 3 , 28, 30, 3 1 , 57

I-IV

tombs of 59

1 5 9 ; 2-4,

14, 16F,

25-7,

K a m o s e , K i n g : stela o f 5 4

Greenhill, Basil 1 2 3 , 1 2 8 , 1 2 9 ,

Engelbach, R . F. 6 1

K f a r e s - S a m m ä n 9, 1 0 , 2 7 ; 2

g y p s u m 4 7 , 6 5 , 69

faience 6 1 , 6 2

Karnak 54, 59, 1 3 7 K a w a b , C r o w n Prince 3 5 , 3 6

130

K h a f r e see C h e p h r e n

Faiyum 1 1 , 65

Habachi, Labib 5 4 , 5 7

Fakhry, A h m e d 2 8 , 30, 4 1 , 57,

Hapi 1 4 0

124

Khentiamentiu 4 3 ; g Khentkawes, Queen 49, 1 5 9

H a r v a r d - B o s t o n E x p e d i t i o n 40

Feast o f the V a l l e y 1 6 4

Hassan, S e l i m 5 7

fertility 2 1 , 1 4 0 , 1 4 4 , 1 4 7 , 1 5 3

H a t h o r 10

Field o f R e e d s 1 1 9 , 1 6 1

Hatshepsut,

Fifth D y n a s t y 1 2 , 3 2 , 3 9 , 4 9 , 7 4 , 98,120,125,129,134,145,

148,

158 First D y n a s t y 2 0 , 2 3 , 5 4 . n 6 , 1 4 7 , 151, 157, 158

Khepri 1 4 9 , 1 6 1 ;

ng

Khnum-hotep, tomb of 1 2 5 K h u f u see C h e o p s

Queen:

temple

kingship 1 4 4 , 1 4 5 , 1 5 3 - 4

reliefs o f 1 2 9 , 1 3 7 ; 104 hebsed c e r e m o n y 3 0 , 1 4 4 , 1 S 3 ; 17

Landström, Björn 1 4 , 1 5 , 7 4 , 1 0 2 ,

Helck, W o l f g a n g 87

119,

Heliopolis43, 1 3 4 , 149, 1 5 0 , 1 5 4

134, 162

Helwan 1 2 , 1 5 1 , 1 5 7 , 1 5 9

1 2 1 , 124, 125, 129, 130,

L i b y a n desert 4 3 ; escarpment 4 6 ,

First Intermediate Period 1 4 3

H e m i u n u , V i z i e r 3 8 , 4 2 ; 21

flint 8 1 ; 55

H e m o n see H e m i u n u

L i b y a n s 40

Fourth D y n a s t y 8, 1 3 , 1 4 , 1 6 , 2 0 ,

H e r o d o t u s 2 6 , 3 1 , 4 3 , 4 5 , 84, 1 1 5 ,

Lichtheim, Miriam 1 5 0

2 1 , 2 2 , 2 5 , 2 8 , 3 5 , 3 6 , 3 7 , 40, 4 2 ,

5 9 ; 3; plateau 2 2

123, 124, 125

43, 46, 49, 50, 68, 1 3 4 , 1 5 8 , 1 5 9 ,

H e s y - R e 64

1 6 0 ; craftsmanship 5 - 7

Hetep-heres,

Lily Lake 3 2 limestone 2 5 , 4 6 , 4 7 ,

Queen 4 0 - 4 2 , 62,

Frankfort, H . 1 5 3

6 3 ; burial hoard o f 6 2 ; 23, 24;

funerary boat 1 4 , 2 2 , 3 2 , 9 8 , 1 0 0 ,

curtain b o x o f 6 2 ; 33; furniture

Lisht 2 7

o f 6 2 , 6 4 , 80, 86, 1 0 3 ; 34,

lock 7

1 3 0 , 1 3 7 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 3 ; log,

no

35;

m u m m i f i e d viscera 1 4 5 , 1 6 6 g a n g p l a n k gi

Heyerdahl, T h o r 1 2 1

G e b 1 5 1 , 1 5 4 ; 120 Gebelein, painted

hieroglyphs 1 9 , 3 2 , 4 0 , 6 8 , 7 0 , 8 7 , fabric

from

1 1 9 ; XI Gelidonya, C a p e 74 Gerzean 1 1 6 ; painted pot o f g6 G h o n e i m , Z a k a r i a 54

182

1 4 8 , 1 5 9 ; 33, 116, 119, 124 H o r e m h e b , t o m b of: relief in 1 2 9

5 3 ; 21;

b e d r o c k 8 , 2 2 , 4 6 ; blocks 5 0 , 64, 6 5 , 6 6 - 9 , 1 6 2 ; 29, 37, 38, 52

L o r d o f the Westerners see K h e n tiamentiu Lower

Egypt

8, 2 0 , 3 1 ; R e d

C r o w n o f 3 0 ; 10 Luxor 59, i n , 1 3 9

Horus 1 3 4 , 1 3 7 , 1 4 6 , 1 4 9 , 1 5 1 , 1 5 3 ; 110, 121, 122 hm 1 5 3

Ma'adi 75 M a ' e t (goddess) 1 4 3 ; 113

INDEX

ma'et 1 4 3 , 1 4 4 . US.

H7, 153,

P a l e r m o Stone 3 9 , 4 2 , 1 1 4 ; 22

Napoleon 57, 1 7 0

palmiform column 5

N a p o l e o n i c invasion 4 5

154 M a l l a k h , K a m a l e l - 4 6 , 4 7 , 48, 49,

N a q a d a II 1 1 6 ; painted pot

of

p a l m i f o r m finials 1 4 , 63 ; 5 , 90 p a p y r i f o r m boat 5 4 , 1 2 8 , 1 3 0 - 1 ,

50, 5 3 , 5 4 , 5 6 , 6 6 , 6 8 , 7 0 , 1 6 0 , N a r m e r , palette o f 10

134,

mast 1 0 3 , 1 2 3 , 1 2 8

Nasser, G a m a l A b d u l - 5 0 , 5 6 , 5 7 ,

1 6 3 , 1 6 4 ; 10, 105

mastaba 1 2 , 2 3 , 2 4 , 2 8 , 3 5 , 3 6 , 5 0 ,

139 navigation 1 1 5

p a p y r i f o r m stem and stern pieces

necropolis 2 4 , 2 5 , 3 6 , 1 5 8 , 1 6 1 ,

134 papyrus 1 3 , 1 4 , 3 7 , 5 4 , 7 0 , 1 1 5 ,

1 6 7 , 1 7 2 ; 28

1 5 9 ; 14> ' 5 matting 1 3 , 6 5 , 7 0 , 7 1 , 7 3 , 7 6 , 1 0 6 , 1 6 1 ; 3 9 , 40 Meketre,

Chancellor :

70, 96, 9 8 , 1 0 2 , 1 2 8 , 1 6 6 ; 78, 79,

163

M e i d u m 2 5 , 2 8 , 3 1 , 4 3 , 1 4 5 ; 16B model

boat o f 1 3 4 ; 106, 107, XII Memphis 1 2 , 1 4 , 20, 2 1 , 24, 2 5 , 32, 43, 142, 1 5 1 , 161, 162

Neith,

Queen:

model

boat

of

'Papyrus o f A n h a i ' X / / /

Nephthys 1 5 1 , 154

papyrus-bud motif 1 4 , 63, 1 0 3 , 1 3 4 ; 23, 34, 35, 59, 60, 106, IX

New

Mendelssohn, K u r t 28

Nile 1 0 , 1 1 , 2 2 , 36, 3 7 , 4 5 , 54, 70,

K i n g d o m 54, 1 1 4 , 1 2 8 , 1 3 7

75, 96, 1 0 3 , i n ,

1 1 5 - 1 6 , 164,

M e n k a u r e see M y c e r i n u s

1 6 5 1 3 ; inundation o f 1 0 , 2 1 , 3 1 ,

M e r e r u k a , mastaba o f 19

39,

97

I

2

3 9 - 4 ° ; ',

personification

of 140

model boats 5 4 , 7 4 , 7 5 , 84, 1 3 0 , 1 3 7 , 1 5 8 ; 56, 105-8,

111,

XII

no,

1 2 2 , 1 3 0 , 1 3 4 , 1 5 0 , 1 5 7 ; 1 9 , 41,

97, 98 Pelizaeus

Museum,

Hildesheim

38 Pepi II, K i n g 1 3 4 Petrie, Flinders 2 6 , 1 4 5

Northern

m'ndt 1 6 0 134,

121 Niuserre, K i n g 1 5 8

134, 137, 143, 161, 162

papyrus raft 1 3 , 5 4 , 7 0 , 1 1 9 , 1 2 1 ,

Pepi I, K i n g 1 3 4

Nile Valley 20, 3 7 , 46, 1 1 2 , 1 1 5 ,

Middle K i n g d o m 1 1 , 1 2 4 , 1 2 5 ,

1 1 9 , 120, 1 2 1 , 123, 130,

N e j m t , Q u e e n 126 Nespekashuti, relief o f 128

Meresankh III, Q u e e n 1 2 0 , 1 4 5 ;

116,

131, 150, 157

1 3 4 ; 108

Memphite Theology 1 5 1 , 1 5 3 M e n e s , K i n g 2 0 , 43

150, 154, 157, 161, 162,

Pyramid

Philae 1 9 see

Red

Pyramid

phragmites communis 70 pilgrimage

N o u r , Z a k i 80, 1 7 2

boat

14, 130, 1 3 7 ,

1 6 1 , 1 6 3 , 1 6 6 ; 12tS

Nubia 1 3 4 , 142

Plutarch 1 5 1

models 2 3 , 1 2 0 , 1 6 5 ; 131

N u b i a n s 40

priest 2 2 , 1 0 3 , 1 3 4 , 1 3 7 , 1 4 3 , 1 4 4 ,

Mortuary Temple 22, 27, 3 5 , 47,

Nun X / / / Nut

49, 1 5 0

1 4 9 , 1 6 4 ; 109

1 5 1 , 1 5 4 ; 120

P r i m e v a l Hill 1 4 9 ; 116 p r o w 1 3 , 5 4 , 7 0 , 8 7 , 1 3 4 ; 41, 44,

Moustafa, H a g A h m e d Y o u s s e f 9, 1 2 , 1 3 , 1 4 , 5 6 , 5 9 , 60, 6 1 , 7 0 ,

oar 5 3 , 5 4 , 7 0 , 7 8 , 1 0 6 , 1 1 9 , 1 3 7 ,

71,73,74,75,76, 80,83,84,85,

142,

89,

134,

162,

94, 9 5 , 96, 1 0 3 , 1 0 8 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 7 , 1 6 8 , 1 7 2 ; 8, 42,

56,

1 6 1 , 1 6 2 ; 32, 5 1 , 92, 130, VIII,

XI

88 mud-plaster 4 7 , 5 0 , 1 6 2

obelisk 1 3 1 , 1 4 9 ; 104

50, 1 6 0 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 4

O l d K i n g d o m 8, 1 2 , 1 4 , 1 9 , 2 1 , 2 5 , 3 5 , 3 6 , 3 8 , 5 0 , 64, 89, 1 0 9 ,

m u m m y 4 2 , 9 8 , 1 4 5 ; transporta­

114,

tion o f 1 3 7 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 3 , 1 6 6 Murray, Margaret 42 m u s e u m 9, 1 2 , 1 3 , 1 4 , 7 1 , 7 5 , 84, 96,

1 0 8 , 1 6 8 , 1 7 2 ; 4, IV

Mycerinus, pyramid of 1 2 , 28, 6 3 , 1 5 9 ; 2 , 3 , 16H, II, III; boat h i e r o g l y p h near 1 5 9 ; 124

pyramids

see

Bent

Pyramid,

Great P y r a m i d , R e d P y r a m i d ,

81

mummification 1 4 5

M u q a t t a m hills 2 6

1 1 2 , 130, 145

Pyramid Texts 3 1 , 1 1 9 , 144, 1 4 8 ¬

offering 1 9 , 2 1 , 2 2 , 2 3 , 2 4 , 3 9 , 4 2 ,

mud-brick 2 3 , 1 2 4 , 1 5 8

51 Punt 3 6 , i n ,

Step P y r a m i d and under names of individual

kings

1 1 5 , 1 2 3 , 1 2 5 , 129, 134,

1 3 7 , 1 4 3 , 1 4 4 , 1 4 5 , 1 5 4 , 1 6 4 ; 3,

IU94 ' O p e n i n g o f the M o u t h '

Qoseir i n , 1 1 2

cere­

mony 3 2 , 35

'queens' p y r a m i d s ' 2 7 , 4 0 ; 14, 15

Osiris 3 0 , 1 4 0 , 1 4 6 , 1 5 3 , 1 6 3 ; 112, 130;

cult o f 1 4 7 , 1 5 0 , 1 5 4 , 1 6 0 ;

death o f 1 5 1 O s m a n , Salah 66, 1 7 2 ; 38

R e 53 R e - A t u m , cult o f 1 4 7 , 1 4 8 , 1 5 4 R e - H e r a k h t y 1 5 0 ; 118 R e d P y r a m i d 1 2 , 2 8 , 3 0 , 3 1 ; 16E

183

INDEX

reed raft 1 1 9 ,

I 2

I

3 > 3°,

157, 164;

99 Reisner, G e o r g e 2 8 , 40, 4 1 , 4 2 ,

Thoth 153 T h r o c k m o r t o n , Peter 7 4

Second Dynasty 2 3 , 1 5 8

T i , mastaba o f 1 2 0 , 1 2 5 ; reliefs o f 74, 7 5 , 9 8 , 1 2 8 ; 99, 102

Servin, A n d r e 1 2 9

5 7 , 6 2 , 7 8 , 7 9 , 80, 1 4 5 religion 3 6 , 1 4 0 - 2 , 1 4 4 , 1 4 7 , 1 5 0 , 154, 160 religious

schist 3 5 seal 2 1

ceremonies 1 3 7 ; p r o -

cession 1 6 4 ritual 1 2 , 2 4 , 1 0 8 , 1 1 9 , 1 2 0 , 1 3 4 ,

Sesostris

III, K i n g

84;

burial

equipment o f 1 1 5 ; p y r a m i d o f

transportation 1 3 , 1 2 3 , 1 6 4

124

T u r a limestone 2 6 , 1 5 8

Sheikh el-Beled 6 4 ; 36

turquoise 3 6 , 6 1

S h e m e l - N e s s i m 7, 8, 9

Tutankhamun,

1 3 7 , 1 4 4 , 1 4 5 , 1 4 7 ; funerary 3 1 ¬

Shepseskaf, K i n g 28

6 ; race 1 5 3

ship-building see boat-building

r o p e 1 3 , 2 3 , 2 8 , 5 4 , 7 0 , 7 1 , 80, 1 0 0 , 1 0 8 , 1 2 9 , 1 6 1 ; 43, 49, 123, R o y a l Ship 1 4 , 1 5 , 1 6 , 2 2 , 3 2 , 40, 6

43» 5 . 5 9 , 6 2 , 6 6 , 1 0 9 , 1 1 2 , 1 1 3 , 119,

129, 1 3 0 , 1 3 4 , 1 3 7 , 160,

1 6 1 , 1 6 5 , 1 6 6 ; conservation

of

56, 7 8 ; construction o f 3 6 , 3 8 , 6 4 - 5 , 7 1 , 7 3 , 84, 9 4 , 9 6 , 1 0 0 - 8 , i n , 1 1 4 , 1 2 4 , 1 2 8 ; 44-6, 62, 63, 78, 80-3,

85; excavation o f 5 7 ,

6 7 - 8 1 ; 31, 37, 38, 42, 43' 30-2;

Shu

47-9,

model o f 6 1 , 89, 9 5 , 9 6 ;

36,123;

reconstruction o f 8 3 - 8 ,

King

1 2 0 ; 98;

t o m b o f 5 6 ; m o d e l boats

1 5 4 ; 120

sidder 80, 1 1 5 Sinai 3 6 , 43

135

trade 1 1 2 , 1 1 4

Sixth D y n a s t y 3 2 , 4 7 , 5 0 , 1 3 4 , 143, 148, 158

157, 164 Twenty-first D y n a s t y 1 6 1 Twenty-sixth Dynasty 57, 1 5 7 T w o Lands 43 ; 10

sledge 1 6 1 ; 126 Sneferu, K i n g 1 2 , 2 8 , 3 0 , 3 1 , 40, 4 1 , 4 2 , 6 2 , 1 1 4 ; 17

U n a s , K i n g : boat-pits

of 1 5 8 ;

pyramid of 3 2 , 150

solar barque 1 4 , 9 6 , 1 4 8 , 1 5 7 , 1 5 8 ,

U p p e r E g y p t 8, 2 0 , 2 1 , 2 6 , 3 1 , 5 9 , 1 1 5 , 1 2 1 , 1 3 4 , 1 4 2 ; 94;

1 6 0 , 1 6 1 ; 119, 129 stellar cult 1 6 0 Step P y r a m i d 1 2 , 2 3 , 2 4 , 4 3 , 5 0 , 54, 1 4 4 , 1 6 1 ; 12, 16A

V a l l e y T e m p l e 2 2 , 2 7 , 3 2 , 3 5 , 40, 1 5 8 ; 11

succession 4 2 , 1 5 1

84, 88, 93, ¡32, 133, 136; restora-

S u m e r i a n civilization 1 1 5

W a d i H a m m a m a t i n ; 94

tion o f 8 3 , 8 8 - 9 ; 61, 64-71

Sumerians 1 9

Ward, W . A. 1 1 2

sun-boat see solar barque

wedjat-eye

sun-cult 1 4 7 , 1 5 0 , 1 5 4 , 1 6 0

Wen-Amon 114

Sun-god 14, 3 2 , 5 3 , 1 3 4 , 1 3 7 , 147, Saad, Z a k i 1 5 9

148,

Sahure, K i n g : m o r t u a r y temple

1 6 4 ; 117

o f 1 2 9 , 1 3 4 ; 103; S h i p o f State

149, 150, 154, 157,

161,

106 Sai's 1 6 2 Saqqara 1 2 , 2 3 , 2 8 , 3 0 , 4 3 , 5 4 , 64, 75, 120, 124, 129, 144, 157, 158, 1 6 0 , 1 7 0 ; see also Step P y r a m i d

184

1 3 4 , 1 6 2 ; 127

W e n i s see U n a s w o o d , preservation o f 6 4 , 6 5 , 8 8 ¬ 9, 1 6 8 ; 64-71

s y m b o l s Si; 54

w o o d e n boats 5 4 , 9 2 , 1 2 3 , 1 3 0 ,

Tefnut 1 5 4

writing 1 9 , 20

o f 5 8 , 86, 1 3 4 , 1 3 7 ; 38 sail 1 0 3 , 1 2 3 , 1 2 8 , 1 3 4 , 1 4 2 , 1 6 1 ;

White

C r o w n o f 3 0 ; 10

Sphinx 1 5 9

9 4 - 6 , 9 8 , 1 0 8 , 1 0 9 ; 72, 73-7, 79,

rudder 5 3 , 1 3 7

of

137 T w e l f t h D y n a s t y 2 7 , 60, 84, 1 3 7 ,

1 3 1 , 1 5 0 , 1 5 7 ; 96 temenos 2 2 , 4 8 , 4 9 , 1 2 4 ; 1 1 , 57 Thebes 59, 1 3 0 , 1 3 7 , 1 5 4 , 164, 1 6 5 ; necropolis o f 5 9 , 60 Third Dynasty 2 3 , 2 5 , 42, 50, 54, 64, 1 4 4

Z a w i y e t el-Meitin 1 2 9 Zoser, K i n g 1 2 , 2 3 , 50, 54, 1 4 4 , J

5 3 > p y r a m i d o f see Step P y r a -

mid

{Continuedfromfront flap)

a picture on the b o x — A h m e d Youssef devoted fourteen years to the immense task o f reconstruction. The triumphant result is not only an aesthetic masterpiece to rival the Great Pyramid but also a vital source o f information

about the design and con­

struction o f ancient ships and a tribute to one of the greatest periods in the history of civilization.

N a n c y Jenkins the archaeological journal­ ist and writer, has prepared this book in collaboration

with

Ahmed

Youssef

Moustafa, restorer o f the R o y a l Ship. The photographs by J o h n R o s s o f the recon­ structed vessel are the first to be made widely available.

Holt, Rinehart and W i n s t o n 383 Madison A v e n u e N e w Y o r k , N e w Y o r k 10017

Printed in Great Britain

Nancy Jenkins

The Boat Beneath the Pyramid Holt Rinehart Winston