Types of boats of Ancient Egypt
The various types of boats of ancient Egypt are known from the relief depicted on the walls of the tombs and temples, as well as from the remains of true vessels and models which have been discovered. They fall into two overall categories.
Boats of everyday use
These were used for Nile transport, for example, of huge blocks of stone from the granite quarries of Aswan to their place of setting up as monuments throughout the river valley. The drawings of Hatshepsut's temple at "Deir el- Bahri" at "Luxor" show two huge granite obelisks, each hewn from a simple piece of stone, being carried down river. But boats were also used on seas, for instance the transfer of goods imported from other seas. Vessels formed of bound papyrus stems were preferred for fishing in the marshes of the Delta, as in invariably shown on tomb walls, but wooden boats were used for funerary purposes, to carry the pharaoh's body in his pilgrimage to the holy places and from the worldly abode to his place of burial.
Divine Boats:
These were symbolic vessels used as either a divine bark and placed in the holy of holies of the temple for the statue of god and carried on priests' shoulder on visits to other temples or solar boats figuratively used by the deceased accompanying the solar god and other gods in their trip to the other world. This type of boat is found painted on the walls of the temples and particularly of the royal tombs, but is also represented among the tomb's funerary furniture, to help the deceased in his journey to the after- life.
Cheops boat and its wonderful museum
Cheops Boat
The discovery of the Cheops Boat stands as one of the most important archeological finds in Egypt – and in the world- in modern times, since the discovery of the tomb of "Tutankhamun". Its inherent importance lies in the face that this is most ancient vessel found in perfect condition anywhere in the world and in an astonishing state of preservation after more than 45 centuries hidden under the sands of the "Giza" plateau.
There are two diverging concepts among archaeologist about the function and nature of the Cheops Boat. Some believe that it was a " Solar boat intended for use by the deceased pharaoh in his eternal life when, united with the solar god Re, he made his eternal journey across the sky from east to west by day and from west to east at night, illuminating the worlds of both living and dead. According to the story , the pharaoh needed two boats for his journey , one for day, the other for night. The other theory is that this was a funerary boat, actually used to carry the body of the late pharaoh in his pilgrimage to "Abydos" and the Cenotaph of the god "Osiris" before burial in the pyramid. Two boats would also be needed on this Journey, one to sail south, to Abydos , and another to return to the north for burial at Gizeh. In this case the boats would differ, one needing oars, the other sails.
Cheops Boat Museum
After the discovery of the boat, it was necessary to build a museum over the pit in which it had been found, it is designed to complement the vessel in both size and shape, and to take advantage of all of the latest advances in modern display methods, in order that the visitor can view it from all sides. The project wad designed with an outer shell of steel – reinforced concrete and the façade of transparent glass to make it complement its stern surroundings as well as to conceal its vast size and unusual shape. The use of glass also served the purpose of allowing the visitor a visual link with the nearby pyramid, removing any scene of isolation from the archeological site. The glass is double – glazed in massive style – each pane is 8 cm thick and the air - space a further 8 cm, giving a total thickness of 24 cm to insulate the interior from both heat and noise outside. The museum is also air conditioned, with temperature and humidity both controlled to maintain the unique vessel in perfect condition.
The main design of the museum
Designed in the shape of a huge boat itself to suit the nature of the artifact it contains, the museum has the Cheops Boat centrally located in its internal space, both horizontally and vertically, as well as housing the pit in which the vessel was found. This is one of the main elements of the display allowing the visitor a comprehensive impression of how the boat was preserved down the years. Also in the designer's mind was the fact that the museum should be capable of being extended to incorporate the second boat, when it is eventually revealed. The boat is surrounded by terraces on different levels, to allow the visitor to examine all its various details from below, above and all sides, including directly underneath. The terraces are so placed that an overall view of all aspects might be gained from a single continuing walk around the exhibit. The lower parts of the museum's exterior walls are covered with mud –brick, as an added insulation against the sun's heat, and on the interior the lower walls are faced with concrete slabs to increase the efficacy of the air conditioning and a fire – extinguishing system, and all the electrical circuits laid on when it was originally built have recently been isolated from the mains supply as an additional safety factor.
Lighting of the museum
It is generally accepted that for best results museums should have their objects displayed on the walls, with natural lighting from above. But this museum has a special and even unique nature, as the only one in the world intended to display a single object alone – an ancient boat 43.4 m in length and 7 m high – with the result that in both appearance and construction it differs from all others, breaking all the usual design rules.
Long experience has proved that artificial light, even if all possible precautions are taken, will have some effect on museum objects, and since the wood of the boat is so very ancient it has been decided to depend completely on natural lighting. All artificial lighting has been removed, and all electrical circuits throughout the display rooms cut off as an additional safeguard.
Reference: From the book, Museum of Cheops boat
