A funerary boat was unearthed in the enclosure of the necropolis of Abusir, a funerary complex near Cairo in Egypt. Explanations from naval archaeologist Patrice Pomey.
Remains of a III-IV Dynasty funerary bark found at the site of Abusir in Egypt.
NECROPOLIS. Stranded on a bed of stones, this funerary boat with planks still joined by wooden dowels had been lying for millennia under heaps of sand. 18 meters long, the boat was exhumed in the necropolis of Abusir, a cemetery famous for sheltering - like the Giza plateau - the pyramids of several pharaohs. Dated to 2550 BCE, it stood near a mastaba, the imposing burial of a high-ranking figure from the Old Kingdom (2686-2180 BCE). "This is an important discovery!" , enthuses Patrice Pomey, naval archaeologist specializing in Egypt, who salutes the work of the team from the Czech Institute of Archeology at Charles University in Prague, which is behind it. "The careful excavation of these remains should provide important information on nautical constructions in ancient Egypt and on the precise function that these boats may have had in funerary cults" , explains Miroslav Barta, the director of the Czech mission.
The real role played by these funerary boats is not unanimous"
Because a certain vagueness still surrounds the use of these boats. "The true role played by these funerary boats is not unanimous" , acknowledges Patrice Pomey. For some researchers, these were designed as solar boats, the name given to the skiffs used during the journey of the deceased in the world of the dead. While for others, these boats could also have served as real boats before being buried. "Only twenty of them are known for the whole of Pharaonic Egypt", continues Patrice Pomey. The oldest, dated to 3000 BCE, date back to the reign of Den, a ruler of the 1 era dynasty. They were discovered in the fall of 2012, on the site of Abu Rawash, at the exit of Giza. A dozen others were exhumed at Abydos, north of Thebes, dated from the 1 st and 2nd Dynasties.
Solar boat of the pharaoh Cheops, dating from the Old Kingdom (IVth dynasty). Made of cedar wood, it is 43 meters long and weighs 45 tons. ©The Picture Desk/AFP
KHEOPS. The most famous are the two funerary boats of Pharaoh Cheops, the largest of which, 43 meters long, was found in 1952 and required technical mastery and knowledge of naval architecture. It can be admired today in a museum located practically at the foot of the pyramid of the famous ruler of the 4th dynasty. The ship discovered at Abusir is interesting on several counts. First "because it makes the transition between the boats of the very first Egyptian dynasties, and that of the reign of Cheops. It will allow us to better understand the evolution of the first wooden boats, up to the latest with their assemblies by ligatures" , says Patrice Pomey. Then, it intrigues researchers by the fact that it is the first vestige of this kind found in a non-royal context. Until then, scientists thought these funeral boats were reserved for members of the royal family. Extraction work should continue during the spring of 2017. Agreements have been made between the Czech Institute of Egyptology and the Institute of Nautical Archeology of the University of Texas (USA), for the study of the techniques used in the construction of the hull.