Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections

verlandBoatTransportationDuringthePharaonicPeriod:
O
ArchaeologyandIconography
PearcePaulCreasman
LaboratoryofTree-RingResearch,UniversityofArizona
NoreenDoyle
InstituteofMaritimeResearchandDiscovery
Abstract
Pharaonic Egyptian needs for waterborne transport surpassed the convenience of geography. Several obstacleschiefly the lack of a water passage from the Nile Valley to the Red Sea and the unnavigable waters of the Second Cataracthad to be overcome. The Egyptians achieved
this by techniques of hull construction, by architectural means, and by the employment of vehicles. Vehicles also functioned for the ceremonial
transport of boats and boat-shaped shrines. This paper is a survey of the methods of overland boat transportation during the pharaonic period,
with an emphasis on the archaeological and iconographic evidence.
or the ancient Egyptians, the material world of everyday
lifeencompassedthreemajorbodiesofwater:theNile,the
Mediterranean,andtheRedSea.WhiletheNileprovided
pharaonicEgyptwithitssuperhighway,greatlyfacilitatingthe
north-andsouthboundtransportationofcargoandpassengers,1
it also presented obstacles in the form of cataracts beyond the
Nubian border. Furthermore, until the creation of a canal during the Late Period,2 it provided no east/west corridor to the
Red Sea, which was the marine route not only to the nearby
SinaiPeninsula(withitsvaluableturquoise,malachite,andcopperores)butalsototheArabianandeastAfricancoasts.3 What
accident of geography omitted, the Egyptians themselves engineered to provide: where water could not be brought to boats,
boatswerebroughtoverlandtowater.eterrestrialgeography
ofEgypthadthusaprofoundeectonitsnauticaltechnology.4
earchaeologicalrecord,includingtexts,iconography,artifacts,andsitefeatures,providesavarietyofinformationonwhich
tobaseinterpretationsofthegeneralnatureandimportanceof
overland boat transportation during the pharaonic period.
However, just as with the transportation of stone,5 Egyptian
administrativerecordsandmonumentalinscriptionsomitmost
logisticaldetailsregardingtheconveyanceofwatercraoverland.

Eastern Desert Portage

AlthoughalsoreachablebytheNileandoverlandroutes,the
landofPunt(identiedwiththeregionnowoccupiedbyEritrea,
northernEthiopia,andeasternSudan,aswellassouthernArabia)

wasthefocusoftheRedSeatrade,andfromtherecamevaluable
exoticcommodities,includingfrankincenseandebony.6 eRed
Sea was, for the Egyptians, land-locked in pharaonic times,
accessible from the Nile Valley only through the wadis of the
Eastern Desert.7 Absence of sucient resources to support an
independent coastal boatbuilding industry made naval operationstheredependentupontheimportationofwatercra,either
astimber,asboatparts,orasmoreorlessconstructedwatercra.
AlthoughtheRedSeatradecoulddatefromasearlyasthe
Naqada II period,8 the earliest textual evidence suggesting the
transport of boats or boat timbers through the Eastern Desert
datestothereignofPepyII.PepynakhtcalledHeqaibrecordsan
expeditionundertakenduringthisreignintothecountryofthe
aAmw.9 Althoughtheinscriptiondoesnotspecifythelocationof
theexpedition,10 theaAmw aregenerallytakentobethepredecessors of Eastern Desert Bedouin.11 Pepy II charged Pepynakht
with fetching back the corpse of an ocer named Anankhet,
whomthe aAmw hadslain.Anankhetandhissoldiers,whowere
alsokilledintheattack,wereintheregiontoconstruct(spt,literally bind)12 a Byblos boat (kbnt) for a journey to Punt.
oughitwasformerlysuggestedthatByblosboatswerenecessarilybuiltontheSyriancoastbySyrianshipwrights,13 itisnow
generallyacceptedthatthetermderivesfromtheseagoingrun
onwhichsuchboatswererstemployed.14
Whileithasbeenconjecturedthatfullyconstructedwatercra could have been transported through the desert,15 the evidence(linguisticandotherwise)bettersupportsthemoreusual
contentionthatexpeditionsbroughttimbersandthatassembly

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Figure 1. Unpegged mortise-and-tenon joint.

tookplaceontheshore.16 Ageneraldescriptionofsuchanexpedition,ledbytheKeeperoftheDooroftheSouth,Henu,dates
tothereignofMentuhotepIII.17 Insettingoonhisjourneyto
Punt, Henu went forth from Koptos upon the road (i.e., the
Wadi Hammamat) with an army of three thousand men (this
wasperhapsanideal,ifnotstandard,complement;aninscription
atAynSoukhnaalsomentionsthreethousandmen18).Donkeys
accompanied them, but their only listed burdens are sandals.
Onceonthecoast,Henumadethisship(iri Haww pn).Onthe
returnthroughthewadi,aerthenavalexpeditionhadsecured
the gis and completed the round trip, Henu and his men
pickedupblocksofstonehewnfromthehills.
elargenumberofmenandthevarietyoftheirtasks(security,transportation,boatbuilding,sailing,well-digging,andquarrying) indicate the logistical complexity of the expedition.
Unfortunately,asthisisacommemorativeinscriptionandnot
an administrative document, Henu omits details critical to
understandingtheorganizationandexecutionoftheexpedition.
e text indicates specics of neither boat transport nor boat
construction,andthereisnocorrespondingiconographyfrom
anyperiodrelatedtooverlandtransporttowardorboatassemblyontheRedSeacoast.19
However,twocoastalsites,MersaGawasis/WadiGawasis
and Ayn Soukhna, provide direct archaeological evidence.
Scholars have known of the pharaonic site at Mersa
Gawasis/WadiGawasisforatleastyyears20 butdidnotfully
understanditssignicanceuntilthelastdecade,whenitbecame
thefocusofrevivedattentionthatremainsongoing.21 esiteis
located at the eastern end of the Wadi Gawasis, north of the
WadiHammamat.Atleastsevenchambershewnfromthelimestone terrace served as warehouses.22 Evidence of occupation
hasbeenconrmedfortheOldandMiddleKingdoms,when
thesitelikelyservedasaseasonalharborforexpeditions,especially to Punt. Here too are found disarticulated ship timbers
andahostofothership-relatedcomponentsdisplayingthecharacteristics of the Nilotic boatbuilding tradition: unpegged
mortise-and-tenonjoinery,dovetails,andlashingchannels.23

Figure 2. Transportation of a colossal statue by means of a sledge;

porters carry a timber in hand, after Newberry and Fraser, El
Bersheh Part 1, The Tomb of Tehuti-hetep (1895), pl. xv.

Figure 3. Log or timber carried to a boatyard slung from a carrying

pole, after Davies, Crum, and Boulenger, The Rock Tombs of Deir el
Gebrwi I (1902), pl. XXIV.

epharaonicsiteatAynSoukhna,whichincludesatleast
ninegalleriesdugintothebaseofamountainoverlookingthesea,
presentssimilarevidence.24 Nofewerthanthreegalleriesdateto
theOldKingdom,25 andothersareoftentativeMiddleKingdom
date.Numerouscedarshipplanks(andatleasttwooakplanks)
with characteristically Nilotic unpegged mortise-and-tenons
(Figure1)yieldcarbondatesofapproximately2000 bce.26
esiteshavenotyetyieldedtheprecisemeansbywhichtimbersinitiallyarrived.Noneoftheinscriptionsindicateanymeans
ofconveyance,althoughworkingscenesattesttotimberscarried
inhand(Figure2)27 andslungfromcarryingpoles(Figure 3).28
Denitive traces of construction on the shore are also lacking,
andindeed,asWardandZazzaropointout,itishardtoimagine
whatmightindicateship-assemblyratherthandisassemblyata

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Figure 4. Funerary procession, after Naville, Das gyptische Totenbuch der XVIII. bis XX. Dynastie I (1971), Taf. III.D.a.

sitesuchasWadiGawasis.29 AtboththissiteandAynSoukhna,
stored timbers represent the end (or at least intended middle)
stageintheexistenceoftheseagoingshipsfromwhichtheycame.
AtWadiGawasis,damagedtimbersweremarkedbeforedisassembly of the vessel, and workers removed barnacles and other
marineincrustationsbeforestoringtimbersinthecavesallindicationsofintenttoreuse.30 LikethedisassembledKhufuIboat
interred at Giza, the Ayn Soukhna timbers were stacked in an
organizedmanner,readyforfutureapplication.31
Ship-breaking with the aim of preserving the utility of at
leastsometimberswasmadepracticalbytheprevalentformof
constructionemployedinthehulls;thiswas,toallevidence,a
deliberategoalofpharaonicshipbuilders.32
Evidence of lashings (cordage run from plank to plank in
ordertoessentiallysewtheboattogether)ontheinboardfaces
oftimberscanbefoundontheremainsofmostpharaonicvessels,
beginningnolaterthantheEarlyDynastic,asrepresentedbythe
boatburialsatAbydos.33 Repurposedboattimberswerefoundin
theFirstDynastycemeteryatTarkhan,34 whiletimbersrecycled
for the construction of a Twelh Dynasty ramp appeared at
Lisht.35 All of thesein addition to the timbers from Ayn
SoukhnaandWadiGawasis,theFourthDynastyKhufuIvessel
at Giza,36 and possibly the boats from the pyramid complex of
SenwosretIIIatDahshur37likelydemonstrateevidenceoflashing. is would have made the boats easily disassembled (or,
indeed,asevidencedbythemodernreconstructionofKhufuI,38
easilyreassembled)usingafewspecializedtools.39
e second key element of hull joinery is characterized by
whatitlacks:pegged mortise-and-tenons.Inabsolutetermsofhull
integrity,peggedmortise-and-tenonjoineryismoreeectivethan
unpegged;lockingtenonsandplankstogetherbymeansofapeg
preventstheplanksfromslippinglaterallyorlongitudinallywhen
subjected to stresses.40 In the construction of other objects,
Egyptiancarpentersdidlocktenonsinthismannerandhadsince
asearlyastheNaqadaIIIperiod,41 andevenusedthetechniquefor
boatdeckhouses(KhufuI)andrudders,42 buttheyseemtohave
entirelyavoideditforhullconstruction.43 Nevertheless,beginning
inaboutthefourteenthcenturybce,peggedmortise-and-tenon
jointsprovedsoeectivethattheybecamethedominantshipbuildingtechnologyintheMediterraneanforaboutthenexttwothousandyears.44 Suchjoineryismeanttobepermanent:disassembly

ofapeggedhullwouldhaverequiredbreakingtimbers,oratleast
drillingorhammeringouthundredsofpegspervessel,appearsnot
to have suited the pharaonic Egyptian shipwrights purpose.
Althoughitwouldhaveresultedinimprovedseaworthiness,peggingwouldhavelimitedthereuseoftimbersandwouldhavemade
the regular disassembly of hulls an excruciating and impractical
task.econcessionseemsclear:moretimeinvestedinconstruction(andperhapsmaintenance)oflashedandunpeggedhullswas
exchangedforsavingswhenthevesselswereinuse.ereturnson
theinitialconstructioninvestmentwouldhavecompoundedeach
timeavesselwasdisassembledandreassembled.
Easeofdisassemblyshouldalsobeconsideredinthecontext
oflargeNiloticvessels,particularlyobeliskbarges.evolumeof
timber required to transport such architectural elements downstreamfromthequarrieswouldhavebeenastounding,andtowing a vessel of such large proportions upstream to the quarries
(eitherfromtheshipyardwhereitwasconstructedorbackfrom
itslastportofcall)mightnothavebeenpractical.erivercurrent,whichcouldreach4knots,45 couldhaveprovedimpassable
when the barge was headed southward. Disassembly of a barge,
forsubsequenttransportofthetimbersonsmaller,morestreamlinedvessels,mighthavebeenabetteroption.46
Slipways and Vehicles
e wooden runners of sledges, with their characteristic
bluntandusuallyupturnedforwardends,oenappearinpaintingsandreliefsshowingthetransportoflargeorheavyobjects.
Itemstransportedbythismethodincludedstoneblocksandnished architectural features such as colossal statuary, columns,
and obelisks,47 as well as considerably less massive but no less
unwieldystatuary.48 Boatscomposedanothersignicantclassof
objectstransportedinthismanner.
Mostoftheiconographicevidenceforsuchboattransport
comesfromthecontextofceremony49 ratherthandepictionsof
workingwatercrainscenesofdailylife.Ashrineaboardaceremonialcra,whichmightbealargemodelratherthanaworking
vessel, houses an image of the deity or the mummy of the
deceased,whichistakeneitheralongaritualcircuit(inthecase
ofagod)orfromtheembalmingstationtothetomb(inthecase
ofamummy;seeFigure4).Modelbarquesarebornealoonthe

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Figure 5. Portable sacred barque of Amun. O. BAM 21 446, Deir elMedina, after Emma Brunner-Traut and Hellmut Brunner, Osiris,
Kreuz und Halbmond: die drei Religionen gyptens (Mainz am
Rhein: von Zabern, 1984), 52 fig. 36.

Figure 7. Construction of a funerary shrine (TT51), after Davies,

Two Ramesside Tombes at Thebes (1927), pl. XXXVI.

Figure 6. Funerary procession, after Caminos, Fragments of the

Book of the Dead on Linen and Papyrus, Journal of Egyptian
Archaeology 56 (1970): pl. LIII.1.

shouldersofpriests(Figure5),aloierversionofthepresumably
originalpracticeofdrawingboatsalongonsledges(suggestedby
thefactthattwoormorehorizontalcarryingpoles50 commonly
supportasledgeuponwhichthebarquesits).
Intheiconography,funeraryvesselslargeenoughtoaccommodate the mummy and its con are the ceremonial cra far
morelikelytobeshownbeingdraggedonsledges.51 Althoughfrequentlyreferredtoasboats,manyoftheobjectsrepresentedin
theiconographyhaveanaturethattranscendsthenautical:they
are,rather,atypeofwoodenfuneraryshrine.Boatlessversions
of these shrines appear mounted on sledges or wagons
(Figure 6).52 In some cases, the shrine encases the hull; that is,
onlystemandsternpostappear(suchasinFigures7and8).ese
instances may represent shrines tted with nials to give the
appearanceofaboat.Althoughexcavationhasrevealednoexamples of these boat-shaped shrines, two such nialsa matching
set of stem and stern of New Kingdom dateare known.53 A
sceneofcarpentersatwork(Figure7)showsthatshrine,boat,and
sledgewereconstructedaselementsofasingleobject.isisfurtherunderscoredbyaninstanceinwhichatow-ropeistiednotto
thesledgeorothervehiclebuttothebowoftheboatbeingtransported(Figure9).Insomecases,thesledgerunnersmightnever
havebeenintendedtofacilitatetransportoftheobject;ithasbeen
noted, for example, that neither the little golden shrine of
Tutankhamen54 norasmallsledgefromLisht(probablyintended
foracanopicchest55)hasbeendragged.Inrareinstances,wagonmountedsledges(discussedfurtherbelow)havetransversebeams

Figure 8. Wagon-mounted funerary shrine, after Orazio Marucchi,

Guide du Muse gyptien du Vatican (Rome: Imprimerie Polyglotte
Vaticane, 1927), 40 fig. 11.

Figure 9. Wagon-mounted funerary shrine, after John H. Taylor,

Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt (London: British Museum
Press, 2001), 188 no. 131.

beneath therunners(Figures8and9),whichwould,ofcourse,renderasledgeimpracticalfordragging.Whilethesecouldbetaken
forelementsofthewheeledvehiclethatcarriesthesledge(alsodiscussedbelow),inonecaseparticularly(Figure9),itisevidentthat
the beams (or blocks?), being outside the wheels, are associated
with the sledge runner and not the wagon body, which seldom
appearsintheiconography.esewoodenmemberswereprobablyaddedtofacilitateliingtheshrinefromtheground.56

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Figure 10. Papyrus or papyriform funerary boat towed on a sledge

by six men (not shown), after Davies and Gardiner, The Tomb of
Antefoker (1920), pl. XIX.

Figure 11. Detail of funerary sledge, after Vandier dAbbadie, Deux

tombes ramessides Gournet-Mourra (1954), pl. XIII.

Figure 12. Sledge from Dahshur, from Reisner, Models of Ships and Boats (1913), 89 fig. 326.

Whilesuchobservationswarrantcautionindrawinginterpretations about functional nautical details from these objects,

theydonotnegatetheuseofwagonsorsledgestomovebulky
objects such as boats; these shrines will thus be treated as evidencewithoutprejudice.
eusualconventionistoshowasinglerunner,butonrare
occasions,bothrunnersappearas,forexample,inthetombof
Intef-iker (Figure 10). is has the advantage of showing both
tow-ropesclearlytiednottoabeambetweentherunnersbutto
the runners themselves.57 Typically, no means of attachment is
shown, and the line of the rope simply terminates at the sledge,
thoughinsomeimagesaring(presumablymetal)axedtothe
runnerservesasapurchasetotierope(s)(Figure11).58 Inother
cases,ropes(whichintheiconographycanappearasoneortwoin
number59)aretieddirectlyaroundtherunners(Figure10).
Few working sledges (Figure 12) are known.60 One was
foundalongwithasmanyasveboatsburiedbeyondanouter
enclosurewallsouthwestofSenwosretIIIspyramidatDahshur;61
presumably,itcarriedatleastone,ifnotall,oftheboatstothesite
for burial. Each runner, which has the same upturned end that
appearsinpaintingsandreliefs,measures4.21minlengthandhas
an L-shaped mortise running between the upper and outer side
faceimmediatelybehindtheupturn(presumablyforfasteninga
tow-rope).eoverallwidthofthesledgeisapproximately80cm.
Fourcrossbeamsspanthespacebetweentherunners.eextant
sledges,orrecordsthereof,seemtoindicatethat4mbyslightly
lessthan1mcouldbeconsideredcommondimensions.

Infuneraryscenes,suchboat-bearingsledgesarepulledby
a team of men,62 cattle,63 or both (men following cattle,64 or
menandcattleondierentropes65).Liquid(perhapsmilk?)was
poured in advance to purify the way,66 but pouring sucient
quantities of water would also have the eect of slicking the
roadway for readier passage of the sledge runners.67 Nile silt
makesahighlyeectivelubricant:oncemoistened,itbecomes
as slippery as ice.68 Iconography attests to the fact that the
Egyptianstookadvantageofthispropertyfortheoverlandtransportationofheavyobjects.69 Indeed,ithasbeenobservedthat
theundersideofatleastoneoftheextantsledgesdidnothave
scratches,whichindicatesthat,ifitwasdraggeditall,itwasnot
pulledover(oratleastnotdamagedby)roughsurfaces.70
Innauticalterminology,slipwayreferstoaslopingsection
ofshoreonwhichshipsandboatscanmoreeasilybemovedto
andfromthewater.etermhasbeenmorewidelyappliedto
any path across which an object may be dragged, pushed, or
towed.71 Kemp denes the term more narrowly as a mudlubricatedroadway,72 whichmayormaynotbereinforcedwith
stone,timber,ormudbrick.Slipwayswithoutsomekindofreinforcementarelikelytohavebeenoverlooked,reclaimedbythe
Nile or desert, or otherwise obscured from the archaeological
record.Mostwereprobablyconvenientpathsreinforcedasnecessaryforthetaskathandandlaterdisassembledtoreusethematerials,thusleavinglittle,ifany,evidence.Occasionally,morepermanentfacilitiesweredevised,suchasthelaunchingslipwayat
thequayatKarnak73 andtheportageslipwayatMirgissa.74

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Figure 13. Slipway around the Second Cataract at Mirgissa, after Vila, Les vestiges de la plaine, in Vercoutter, Mirgissa I (1970), 193 fig. 1.

Figure 14. Transverse section of the Mirgissa slipway, after Vila, Les vestiges de la plaine, in Vercoutter, Mirgissa I (1970), 209 fig. 16.

Aptlyconceivedasaboatroad,75 theMirgissaslipway,the
only known example of its type, was constructed to avoid the
leastnavigableportionoftheSecondCataract(Figure 13);76 in
thevicinityoftherockofAbuSir,southofWadiHalfa,theNile
becamescarcelynavigableforaconsiderabledistance.iswas
the customary end-and-return point for nineteenth- and early
twentiethcentury European tourists venturing up the Nile.77
During the inundation, the rocks and islands of the cataract
might be submerged, turning this portion of the river into a
stretchofrapids;whenlow,fromroughlyDecembertoJuly,the
riverranveryshallow.78
Because neither trade, exploration, nor war wait for high
waters,slipwaystoensuresafeportagewereprudentinvestments
ofpotentiallygreatstrategicadvantage.atlaborandresources

wereinvestedtoconstructsuchanelaborateportagesuggeststhe
signicance,inqualityorquantity,ofthetrac.Itiscertainlyby
intentthatthesouthernendoftheslipwaywasincloseproximitytothefortofMirgissa(formonitoringandprotection),with
thenorthernendperhapsatMatugaorAbuSir.79 Itranstraight
fornolessthan1.5andperhapsasmuchas4km.80
UsedatleastaslateasthereignofAmenemhatIIIandpossibly into the New Kingdom,81 the slipway was not a simple
ditchorrut,buthadasupportstructureofmudbricks,packed
mud, and lateral wooden ties rather like [a] railroad
(Figure 14).82 e slipway itself is approximately 3 m wide,83
morethanenoughtoaccommodatethemaximumbeam(width)
of the Twelh Dynasty Dahshur boats (2.152.43 m84) and
wouldprovideampleclearanceforthewidthofasledgesuchas

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

that found at Dahshur (approximately 0.8 m).85 Sledge tracks
were,infact,evidentontheslipway,thelasttravelsbakedinto
thewateredsiltroad;86 incisedafewcentimetersintothesiltby
the weight of the sledge and its load,87 these are easily distinguishedasparallelimpressionsapproximatelyonemeterapart,a
gure corresponding tolerably well to the width of the sledge
foundatDahshur.Hoof-andfootprintswerealsofoundinthe
boat track. In this case, people (watering the silt? drovers?)
walked in front of cattle88 that dragged a sledge while one or
morepersonsfollowedbehind.isprovidesanarchaeological
paralleltotheiconographicexamplesofsledge-towinginfuneraryscenesdiscussedabove.
PhotographsoftheMirgissaslipway(Figure15)appearto
indicate that an additional mode of portage was employed
along the slipway: dragging a boat directly on the silt.
Vercoutternoted:Thesiltstillshowslongtrackwhereeither
thesledgeor the boat itself rubbedonthe[wet]silt[emphasis
added];89 however,itseemsthatbotheventsoccurred.
A certain set of raised striations is easily overlooked, but
nonethelesspresentsconvincingevidencefordirectcontactofa
boathullonthesilt.esestriationsaremuchthinnerthanthe
sledgetracksandlikelyresultedfromtheseamsofaboatcoming into contact with the wet silt. ey are remarkably consistent and spaced approximately 1520 cm apart from the
next90spacingthatrecallsthedimensionsofhulltimberson
theDahshurboats.91 Betweenthemarksoftheboatsseams,it
mayalsobepossibletoseetheevensmallerstriationslebythe
grainofthedraggedtimbersthemselves.92 Ifasledgehadbeen
employed,aboatshouldnothavecomeintocontactwithsilt
andlesuchmarks.
Inexceptionalcasesintheiconography,thereisnosledge
beneaththefuneraryboatinprocessionalscenes.93 Sledgesare
also missing from a couple of two-dimensional depictions of
working boats being actively moved across land: one from
the tombofMeryneithatSaqqara,94 theotherfromTT40,the
tombofHuy(Figure16).95 ereisnodoubtthattheformer
image, associated with workshop scenes, represents the festive
launchofaroyaltravelingboat.Twogangsofmenpullatropes;
whatseemstobeamakeshitruss,withthemastservingasa
truss stanchion, prevents the ends of the hull from bending
downward,orhogging.erudder isnotpresent.eeban
scene, associated with the collection of tribute from Nubia, is
moreambiguous.Hereeachcargoboat(alsorudderless)istted
withamoreconventionalformofhoggingtruss.esetrusses
are also associated with depictions of (the same?) boats elsewhereonthiswall,withcrewmenaboardandruddersmounted.
Oneoftherudderlessboatsisbeingsimultaneouslypushedand
pulled.egroundbefore(butnotbehind)thehullisdepicted
asanirregularsurfaceabovethepaintedbaseline,suggesting,as
Daviessays,themud-atsneartheriver.Althoughitisimpossible to discount the possibility that this is, like Meryneiths
scene,alaunch,itistemptingtoviewthisastheslipway,either
atMirgissaorelsewhere.96

Figure 15. Surface of Mirgissa slipway with features labeled, after Vila,
Les vestiges de la plaine, in Vercoutter, Mirgissa I (1970), 207 fig. 13.

Figure 16. Boats dragged or launched, after Davies, Gardiner, and

Davies, The Tomb of Huy, Viceroy of Nubia in the reign of
Tutankhamun (No. 40) (1926), pl. XVIII.

A water-slicked mud surface was not the only means the

Egyptiansusedtolessenfrictionforthetransportationofheavy
loads: wooden rollers facilitated the passage of sledges bearing
stoneblocksorstatuary,97 someofwhichmayhavesurpassedone
thousandtonsinweight.98 Suchmassisaseriousobstaclewhen
employingrollers,99 buteventhelargestboatswerenotnearlyso
heavy; the largest extant pharaonic vessel, the approximately
43.5 m long Khufu I,100 consists of approximately 38 tons of
Lebanesecedar.101 Whilerollersareahypotheticalpossibilityfor
theportageofboats,theavailableevidenceisdisputable.

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Figure 17. Funerary procession, after Corteggiani, The Egypt of the Pharaohs at the Cairo Museum (1987), 92 no. 53.

Figure 18. Funerary procession, tomb of Sobeknakht (II), from Tylor, Wall Drawings and Monuments of El Kab (1896), pl. II.

ApurportedexamplefromtheNewKingdomcanbefound
in a vignette from the funerary papyrus of Maiherpri
(Figure 17).102 efunerarybarquesitsonitscustomarysledge
andisdraggedbyacombinedteamofmenandcattle.esledge
doesnotrestonthegroundline,butinsteadontwosmallsolid
circles that have been interpreted as rollers.103 A similar scene
from a New Kingdom linen at Dartmouth College Museum
(no. 39-64-6623), in which a team of cattle drag a boatless
funerarysledgewiththreecirclesbeneathit,hasbeensimilarly
interpreted(Figure6).104
euseofthewheelinEgypthasbeendismissedasimpracticalonaccountofthenatureofthegroundinbothoodplain
and desert.105 However, additional evidence reveals that this
scene almost certainly represents wheels rather than rollers;106
althoughspokedwheelswerewellknownbytheNewKingdom,
diskwheelsmadetheirrstidentiedappearanceintherecord
inEgyptatthebottomofasiegeladderinapaintingoflateFih
orearlySixthDynastydate.107
AnotherparallelroughlycontemporarywiththeMaiherpri
vignetteappearsonanEighteenthDynastysteleinthecollection
oftheUniversityofLiverpool(no.E.30).108 Hereitisnotaboat
beingtransportedbutasledgebearingwhatappearstobeacompartmentalizedcrateforavarietyofagriculturalproduce.Pulled
by a team of at least two oxen tended by a drover, the vehicle
rides low to the ground. ere is no sign of a separate wagon
frame beneath the sledgeonly a pair of circles. Kitchen con-

cedesthatthesecouldrepresentwheels,butstronglyprefersto
interpretthemasrollers.109 Whetherthearrangementofcaptive
rollers(i.e.,axedtothesledge)110 wouldinEgyptbeanymore
eectivethanwheelsseemsdubious.Italsobearsnoting,regardingtheutilityofwheelsinEgypt,thatchariotssometimesappear
inagriculturalandgardenscenes.111
Furthermore, among the Karnak talatat, fatted cattle
appearonwhatareindisputablywheeledwagons.112 Unlikechariotsoftheperiod,thesewagonshavediskwheels;theaxleand
linchpinsecuringeachwheelareclearlyportrayedinrelief,distinguishingthemfromrollers.Eachvehicleisequippedwiththree
pairsofwheelstoconveytheenormousweightofthelivestock.
Similarly, barque-shrines with nominal stem and stern (associatedwiththeburialoftheBuchisbullinthePtolemaicperiod)
havewhatappear tobefourpairsofdiskwheels.113
Other examples of solid wheels exist in association with
boats.EarliestoftheseisthewallpaintingintheSeventeenth
Dynasty tomb of Sobeknakht (II) at el Kab (Figure 18),114 in
whichashrinecontainingthemummysitsaboardasmallboat
of typically funerary form. The vessel sits on a sledge that in
turnisprovidedwithsolidwheelsthroughwhichtheaxleterminalsprotrude.115 AswiththewheeledvehicleintheLiverpool
stele,thereisnoevidenceforawagonbody.Whetherthesledge
itselfhasbeenfittedwithwheelsorrestsuponawagonundepictedexcept foritswheelsisimpossibletosay.Aswithscenes
of sledge-dragging (and also paralleling evidence from the

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21

P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Figure 19. Wheeled boat model, after Brunton and Engelbach, Gurob (1927), pl. LII.

Mirgissa slipway), cattle pull Sobekhnakhts vehicle, before

whichwalkmen,oneofwhompurifiestheway.Tylorsinterpretation of the scene as a representation of a wagon drawn
over rollers (on account of the artists unfamiliarity with the
functionofwheels)wasdiscountedatanearlydate.116
Wheelsofthissortappearwithaboatmodelfoundina
tombatGurob(Figure19).117 Unlikemostotherboatmodels,
thisoneisgenerallyconsideredtobeachildstoy;118 thehull
formdiffersfromotherboatmodelsanddoesnotmatchwell
withEgyptianritualwatercraft.Asidefromapiercedrectangular piece of wood that served to attach the boat to its conveyance,ofthesupportingvehicleonlythefourwheelsremain.
If this was made as an amusement, something with which a
child could play, the arrangement of the supporting vehicle
need not reference any other representations or working
arrangement: the wheels might exist only to allow the boat
model to be moved across the ground or floor and nothing
more. However, the polychrome decoration of each wheel is
vaguely reminiscent of some postNew Kingdom representationsofdiskwheels(see,e.g.,Figure9)thatappearinscenesof
funerary processions with wagons towed by men or by men
and cattle. While in some cases it is ambiguous whether the
wheelsdepictedareratherimpressionisticallyrenderedspoked
wheels,oneexamplewithconcentriccirclesoverlainbypetal
shapesonitswheelsseemsmorelikelytorepresentdecorated
solid wheels.119 With the interpretation of the object from
Gurob in dispute (toy or representation of wheeled ritual
craft?),itisdifficulttoinfermuchinformationfromitregardingtheportageofworkingwatercraft.
Alowwagonwithfoursmallsolidwheelsandthusavery
lowproledubbedbysomeatrolley120isknownfromthe
Ptolemaic Period (Figure 20).121 Found at Medinet Madi, the

Figure 20. Wagon from Medinet Madi, after Dittmann, Der

Segelwagen von Medinet Madi, MDAIK 10 (1941), 64 Abb. 3.

wooden frame of the wagon measured 2.09 m in length and

1.23 minbreadth(excludingthetwoaxles,eachofwhichmeasures1.70mfromendtoend).esoliddiscwheels,axedto
theaxlewithalinchpinandeach31cmindiameter,areprobably not strong enough to support large stone loads. However,
lessweightyloads,includingsmallvesselsofperhaps15morless
(aboutthesizeoftheDahshurboats),wouldnotbeunreasonable.Ithasbeensuggestedthatasledgeorotherstructurewould
havebeensecuredatopthewagon.122 Althoughthereisnoevidencethatthisvehiclecarriedaboat,itisentirelypossiblethat
just such a trolley was what the artists of the examples mentionedaboveintendedtorepresent.123
Moresophisticatedspokedwheelsalsoappearwithfuneraryboattransport.Mostofthesearepost-pharaonic,buttheearliest example comes from the tomb of Ahhotep (I). A model
wagon, made of copper alloy and wood, was found in associationwithtwoexceptionalmodelboats,oneofgoldandoneof
silver.124 e wagon (Figure 21) has two pairs of four-spoked

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22

P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Figure 21. Model wagon from the tomb of Ahhotep, after von
Bissing, Ein Thebanischer Grabfund aus dem anfang des neuen reichs.
Neudruck der Ausgabe (1900), Taf. X.

Figure 22. Funerary procession, tomb of Petosiris at Tuna el-Gebel.

Photograph by Noreen Doyle.

wheels125 onxedaxlesthatrunundertheextremeendsofthe
wagonframe.Atoptheframesitsablockofwoodtowhichone
ortheotherofthehullswasfastened;bothblockandhullshave
protruding, horizontal metal eyes, two on each side, with the
blockhavinganadditionaleyeononeshortside.
Thereisdebateastowhichmodelboatbelongsmounted
onthewagon.Ascurrentlydisplayed,thegoldmodelisplaced
there.126 It has the characteristics of a funerary barque with
papyriformfinialsturnedinboard,butbearsnochapel,hasa
single quarter rudder (extremely unusual for the period127),
and includes a complement of oarsmen. Unlike t wodimensional representations of vehicle-borne boats or any
other boat models, both metal hulls are provided with rings
by which each could be fastened to corresponding rings on
the(ora)wagon.Furthermore,thepresenceofthecrewswith
theiroarsorpaddles128 callsintoquestionthepurposeofsettingeitherboatontoawagon.Possiblytheyaretoys,afunctionthatrelievesthemofanyneedtoaccuratelyrepresenta
working, real-world arrangement; in no known representationsofceremonialoverlandboattransportfromtheperiodis
rowing or paddling portrayed, although this would not, of
course,beimpossible.

Representationsofwagonsatleastnominallybearingaboat
orboat-shapedshrinebecamemorecommonduringtheird
IntermediatePeriodandthereaer.129 Someareprocessionsassociatedwithgodsandtemples,whichare(alongwiththefestival
ofOpet)probablyancestraltothefestivalofthelocalsaint,Abu
el-Haggag,celebratedannuallyeventodayatLuxorwithawagonborneboat.130 However,mostofthepost-pharaonic,pre-Islamic
examplesoccurinassociationwithfuneralprocessions.
ewagonsthemselvesarenotwelldenedintwodimensions,andseldomprovideanyinterpretivelyusefulinformation.
ey appear most commonly as sledges perched atop wheels,
withlittleclearevidenceofanystructuralconnectionbetween
thetwoelements.Asdiscussedpreviously,itispossiblethatwhat
appear to be beams parallel to the axles in two examples
(Figures 8and9)mightbelongtotheshrinebeingcarriedrather
thantothewheeledvehicle:notethatsuchbeamsdonotappear
onthemodelsortheMedinetMadiwagon.Anotherpossibility
isthatthecartbodyitselfisdeliberatelyarchaizedasasledge.131
OnthefunerarywagoninthetombofPetosirisatTunael-Gebel
(Figure22),132 abarappearsrunningbetweenthetwowheels;it
passesbehindthefelloeoftherearwheelbutrunsoverthe
felloeandspokestothehuboftheforwardwheel,almostasifit
wereintendedtorepresent(insomekindofperspective)theaxle.
But it seems highly doubtful that this is a two-wheeled cart
ratherthanafour-wheeledwagon.ezigzaglinesbetweenthis
barandthebottomofthepolesthatsupporttheboat(whether
decorativeorintendedtoindicatesomestructuralelement)are
likewisediculttointerpret.133
Evenifmostofthesewheeledprocessionalwagonsnevercarriedworkingboats,anotableaccountofthetransportofworking (as opposed to ceremonial) watercra by wheeled conveyance does exist. e Gebel Barkal Stele of utmoses III
describestheeventaspartofthatkingseighthAsiancampaign,
inhisthirty-thirdyear,whentheEgyptianarmyhadtocrossthe
Euphrates.134 ekingorderedboats(aHaw)tobemadeorhewn
(mDH)135 inthehillsneartheMistressofByblos.etermaHaw
isacommontermusedtorefertoNileboatsusedforpurposes
asdiverseasshingandwar.136
ese vessels were transported to the river by ox-drawn
carts(wrrywt).Faulknersclaimthatthisistherstrecordeduse
bytheEgyptiansofwheeledtransportasdistinctfromthelight
two-wheeledchariot137 isincorrect,asthepreviouslydiscussed
iconographic evidence of wheeled vehicles (some predating
utmoses III)attests.eterm wrrywt is,infact,usuallytranslated as chariot. Chariots occasionally appear in agricultural
scenes, apparently to transport ocials into the elds,138 but
sometimes also to haul loads. Ox-drawn chariots are known
too,139 butinthiscontext,cart(meaningatwo-wheeledvehicle
otherthanachariot)isprobablyintended.140 eymighthave
generally resembled those that appear later in the Battle of
Kadeshreliefs(Figure23)141 or,morenearlycontemporarywith
theinscription,thetwo-wheeledox-drawncartwithrailedsides
knownfromafragmentaryreliefofanagriculturalscene.142

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Notes

Figure 23. Carts at the Battle of Kadesh, after Wreszinski, Atlas zur
altaegyptischen Kulturgeschichte II (1935), 170.

Faulknersuggeststhat,giventhedistanceandroughnessof
theterrainthatutmosesIIIsarmywouldhaveencountered,
its boats must have been transported in sections.143 is is certainlypossibleandevenprobable;sometimesevenchariotshad
to be disassembled for mountain crossings.144 For most watercra, timbers approaching 4 m in length would probably have
beenrare.Forexample,ofthe99structuraltimbersusedinthe
constructionoftheCairoDahshurboats,onlyoneexceeds4m
inlength,withonlyeightexceeding3m.emajority,51,are
lessthan2m,andanadditional39timbersare23m;allsuch
lengthscouldeasilybetransportedontwo-wheeledcarts.Over
rougherterrainunsuitableforwheeledvehicles,asingletporter
wouldnda2mtimbermanageable,andcertainlydonkeysor
teamsofporterscouldtransportlongertimbers(Figures2and3);
fewtimberswouldhaverequiredspecialoverlandtravelarrangements.145 is account strongly suggests that whoever hewed
theboatsatByblosdidsousingNiloticbuildingtechniques.
Conclusions
While there is insucient evidence to indicate that the
need for overland transportationespecially as disarticulated
timbersinhibitedthedevelopmentofboatandshipconstruction and technologies, it was at least a consideration for the
pharaonic shipbuilder. is consideration (or necessity) may
havehadfurtherramicationsonEgyptsprowessasaseafaring
power, especially from the New Kingdom onwards, as other
Mediterranean cultures adapted more ecient construction
technologiessuchaspeggedmortise-and-tenons.
For working watercra of relatively modest size, portage
withoutdisassemblywascertainlypossiblebyseveralmeans,but
the available evidence suggests this practice was probably connedtoexceptionalregions(suchastheSecondCataract)and/or
circumstances(e.g.,ritualcontexts).Inthelattercase,portagepreservedtheEgyptianidealofwatertransport,eveniftheboatcarryingthedeceasedtothetombwasmoresemblantthanauthentic.

1. eeaseofNilenavigationisoenoverstatedbyscholars,thoughseldombytravelers,whoseaccountsareoenlledwithfrustrations
occasionedbystorm,lackofwind,andotherdelaysandhazards.
Forareviewofthechallenges,seeAngusGraham,PlyingtheNile:
Not Plain Sailing, in Kathryn Piquette and Serena Love (eds.),
Current Research in Egyptology 2003: Proceedings om the Fourth
Annual Symposium (Oxford:Oxbow,2005),4156.
2. Carol A. Redmount, e Wadi Tumilat and the Canal of the
Pharaohs, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 54 (1995): 127135.
Belief in such a canal prompted, for example, Carl Slver
(EgyptianShippingofabout1500b.c.,e Mariners Mirror 11
[1936]:430469) tosuggestthatitwouldhavebeenmucheasier
tobuildshipsontheNileandsendthembyitseasternarmtothe
RedSeathantotransportmaterialsforshipbuildingfromtheNile
by land to the coast of the Red Sea (454). Torgny SveSderbergh (e Navy of the Eighteenth Egyptian Dynasty
[Uppsala: Lundequistska Bokhandeln, 1946], 13) also believed
thatHatshepsutsPuntexpeditiontraveledfromtheRedSeato
the Nile by some water passage, because no desert traveling is
depictedinthescenesoftheeventatDeirel-Bahri.
3. EvidenceofamaritimecorridorbetweentheNileandtheOases
andtheFaiyumtothewestisscant.Anotableexceptioncould
betheLahun-HawaragapconnectingtheriverandLakeMoeris,
especially during the annual floods; see James Harrell and
Thomas Bown, An Old Kingdom Basalt Quarry at Widan elFaras and the Quarry Road to Lake Moeris, Journal of the
American Research Center in Egypt 32(1995):7191.
4. For a discussion of the development of ancient Egyptian waterborne transportation from a geoarchaeological perspective, see
Fekri A. Hassan, The Dynamics of a Riverine Civilization:
A Geoarchaeological Perspective on the Nile Valley, Egypt,
World Archaeology 29(1997):5174.
5. Barbara G. Aston, James Harrell, and Ian Shaw, Stone, in Paul
Nicholson and I. Shaw (eds.), Ancient Egyptian Materials and
Technology (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2000),577.
6. Foracurrentreviewoftheliteratureandsummaryoftheevidence
regardingPuntanditslocation,seeKathrynA.BardandRodolfo
Fattovich,Introduction,inK.A.BardandR.Fattovich(eds.),
Harbor of the Pharaohs to the Land of Punt: Archaeological
Investigations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Egypt, 20002005 (Napoli:
UniversitdegliStudidiNapoliLOrientale,2007),1727.
7. See, for example, Lanny Bell, Janet H. Johnson, and Donald
Whitcomb, e Eastern Desert of Upper Egypt: Routes and
Inscriptions,Journal of Near Eastern Studies 43(1984):2746.
8. JurisZarins,AncientEgyptandtheRedSeaTrade:eCasefor
ObsidianinthePredynasticandArchaicPeriods,inA.Leonard
andB.Williams(eds.),Essays in Ancient Civilization Presented to
Helene J. Kantor (Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1989), 339368.
Zarinssuggeststhatforeignobsidiancouldhavefounditswayinto
EgyptviaRedSeatradebasedatKoptos,attheendoftheWadi
Hammamat,asearlyastheNaqadaIIperiod.

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

9. Text: Kurt Sethe, Urkunden des Alten Reichs I (Leipzig: J. C.
Hinrichssche Buchhandlung, 1933), 131135. Translations:
JamesHenryBreasted,Ancient Records of Egypt Volume 1: e First
rough Seventeenth Dynasties (Chicago: University of Chicago,
1906),161164;AlessandroRoccati,La literature historique sous
lAncien Empire gyptien (Paris:EditionsduCerf,1982),208211;
MiriamLichtheim,Ancient Egyptian Autobiographies, Chiey of the
Middle Kingdom: A Study and an Anthology (Freiburg: Universittsverlag,Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht,1988),1516;Nigel C.
Strudwick,Texts om the Pyramid Age (Atlanta:SocietyofBiblical
Literature,2005),333335.
10. Sve-Sderbergh(1946,11)suggestedSuezasthelocation,butthe
twositesdiscussedbelow,Mersa/WadiGawasisandAynSoukhna,
aredistinctpossibilities.
11. Breasted1906,163,n.e;Strudwick2005,377n.27;Roccati1982,
182.ForadiscussionoftheidentityoftheaAmw,seeJaniceKamrin,
eAamuofShuintheTombofKhnumhotepIIatBeniHassan,
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 1.3(2009):2236.
12. Translations of spt vary: build (Breasted 1906, 163; Percy E.
Newberry, Notes on Seagoing Ships, Journal of Egyptian
Archaeology 28 [1942]: 6466; Strudwick 2005, 333); equip
(Lichtheim1988,16;PierreMontet,Notesetdocumentspour
serviralhistoiredesrelationsentrelanciennegypteetlaSyrie
III:Byblosetlesnaviresgiblites,Kmi 13[1954]:6375).Fora
listofoccurrencesofthisverb,rstusedforbindingapapyrus
ra, see Dilwyn Jones, A Glossary of Ancient Egyptian Nautical
Titles and Terms (London:KeganPaulInternational,1988),222,
VI.76. e type of watercra indicated here is not, however, a
reedboat,astranslatedinStrudwick.
13. Newberry1942,65.
14. R. O. Faulkner, Egyptian Seagoing Ships, Journal of Egyptian
Archaeology 26 (1941): 39; Shelley Wachsmann, Seagoing Ships
and Seamanship in the Bronze Age Levant (CollegeStation:Texas
A&M,1998),19.ItisstillsometimessuggestedthatduringtheOld
Kingdom, Syrian shipbuilders were responsible for the construction of these vessels; see Steve Vinson, Seafaring, in Elizabeth
Frood and Willeke Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of
Egyptology (Los Angeles: UCLA Department of Near Eastern
Languages and Cultures), escholarship.org/uc/item/9d93885v
(accessedMarch26,2009).
15. Robert Partridge, Transport in Ancient Egypt (London: e
RubiconPress,1996),61.
16. Forexample,Slver1936,453;Newberry1942,63;CherylA.Ward,
Sacred and Secular: Ancient Egyptian Ships and Boats
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum, 2000),140;
C. A. Ward and Chiara Zazzaro, Evidence for Pharaonic
Seagoing Ships at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, Egypt, International
Journal of Nautical Archaeology 39.1 (2010): 2643; Abdel
MonemA.H.Sayed,DiscoveryoftheSiteofthe12thDynasty
PortatWadiGawasisontheRedSeaShore,Revue dgyptologie
29 (1977): 140178; A. M. A. H. Sayed, New Light on the
RecentlyDiscoveredPortontheRedSeaShore,Chronique dgypte 48(1983):2337.

17. Breasted 1906, 429433; Jules Couyat and Pierre Montet, Les
Inscriptions hiroglyphiques et hiratiques de Oudi Hammmt
(Cairo: lInstitut franais darchologie orientale, 1912), 8184,
pl. XXXI;Lichtheim1988,5254.
18. Mahmoud Abd el-Raziq, Georges Castel, and Pierre Tallet,
Lexploration archologique du site dAyn Soukhna (20012004),
inJean-ClaudeGoyon(ed.),Proceedings of the Ninth International
Congress of Egyptologists/Actes du Neuvime Congrs International des
gyptologues, Grenoble, 612 septembre 2004 (Leuven: Uitgeverij
PeetersenDepartementOosterseStudies,2007),1:6168.
19. For Nilotic boat construction scenes, see Edward M. Rogers, An
AnalysisofTombReliefsDepictingBoatConstructionfromtheOld
KingdomPeriodinEgypt(mastersthesis,TexasA&MUniversity,
1996), nautarch.tamu.edu/eses/pdf-les/Rogers-MA1996.pdf
(accessedDecember16,2008).
20. LeoA.Tregenza,Egyptian Years (London:OxfordUniversityPress,
1958), 182. See also the following by Abdel Monem A. H. Sayed:
1997; e Recently Discovered Port on the Red Sea Shore,
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 64 (1978): 6971; Observations
on Recent Discoveries at Wadi Gawasis, Journal of Egyptian
Archaeology 66(1980):154171;1983.
21. See,forexample,BardandFattovich2007andWardandZazzaro2010.
22. TrinaArpinetal.,Fieldwork,inBardandFattovich,Harbor of the
Pharaohs to the Land of Punt,3799.
23. See Ward and Zazzaro 2010 and also Ward and Zazzaro, Finds:
ShipEvidence,inBardandFattovich,Harbor of the Pharaohs to
the Land of Punt,135164.
24. MahmoudAbdel-Raziq,GeorgesCastel,andPierreTallet,Dans
legolfedeSuez,lesminesdecuivredAynSoukhna,Archologia
414 (2004): 1021; Ayn Soukhna et la mer Rouge, gypte,
Afrique et Orient 41(2006):36;Lexplorationarchologique
dusitedAynSoukhna(20012004),inGoyon,Proceedings of
the Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists,6168;Institut
franais darchologie orientale Le Caire, Ayn Soukhna.
Travaux archologiques. www.ifao.egnet.net/archeologie/aynsoukhna (accessedMarch15,2010).
25. Pharos: Newsletter of the Alexandria Centre for Maritime
Archaeology & Underwater Cultural Heritage 1(2009):2.
26. PatricePomey,APharaonicSea-GoingShipoftheMiddleKingdom
(c.2000b.c.)fromAynSoukhna(paperpresentedattheTwelh
InternationalSymposiumonBoatandShipArchaeology,2009).
27. Forexample,theplankcarriedinassociationwiththetransportof
the colossus depicted in the tomb of Djehutyhotep (Percy E.
NewberryandGeorgeWilloughbyFraser,El Bersheh Part 1, e
Tomb of Tehuti-hetep [London, Egypt Exploration Fund, 1895],
20,pl.xv).Compare,too,thetransportofamummycasecradled
in the arms of four men who carry it to the tomb (TT277,
Ameneminet; Jeanne Marie Vandier dAbbadie, Deux tombes
ramessides Gournet-Mourra [Cairo: Imprimerie de lInstitut
FranaisdArchologieOrientale,1954],pl.XIV,XV.2,XVI.12).
28. NormandeGarisDavies,W.E.Crum,andGeorgeAlbertBoulenger,
e Rock Tombs of Deir el Gebrwi I (London:EgyptExploration
Fund,1902),pl.XVI,XXIV;KlausP.KuhlmannandWolfgang

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Schenkel,Das Grab des Ibi, Obergutsverwalters der Gottesgemahlin
des Amun (ebanisches Grab Nr. 36) (Mainz am Rhein: Verlag
PhilippvonZabern,1983),1:95,2:Taf.31,103,104b.
29. WardandZazzaro2010,14.
30. Ibid.
31. Pomey2009.SeealsoPharos 1(2009):2.
32. Ward2000,140.
33. David OConnor, Abydos: Egypts First Pharaohs and the Cult of
Osiris (London: ames and Hudson, 2009), 183194; Cheryl A.
Ward, Sewn Planked Boats from Early Dynastic Abydos, Egypt,
in C. Beltrame (ed.), Boats, Ships and Shipyards: Proceedings om
the Ninth International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology,
Venice 2000 (Oxford:OxbowBooks,2003),1923.Someoftimbers
oftheKhufuIboatwereinscribedwithcomplementaryhieroglyphs,
suggestingstep-by-stepassemblyinstructions(Ward2000,140).
34. Steve Vinson, Egyptian Boats and Ships (Buckinghamshire: Shire,
1994),1819;WilliamF.FlindersPetrie,GeraldA.Wainwright,
and Alan H. Gardiner, Tarkhan I and Memphis V (London:
SchoolofArchaeologyinEgypt,1913),24,pl.9.
35. DieterArnold,Building in Egypt: Pharaonic Stone Masonry (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1991), 8692; Ward 2000, 110112;
Cheryl Ward Haldane, Boat Timbers from El-Lisht: a New
Method of Ancient Egyptian Hull Construction. Preliminary
Report, e Mariners Mirror 74 (1988): 141152; C. W.
Haldane,eLishtTimbers:aReportoneirSignicance,in
Dieter Arnold (ed.), e Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I:
e Southern Cemeteries of Lisht (New York: Metropolitan
MuseumofArt,1992),102112.
36. Mohammad Zaki Nour, Zaky Iskander, Mohammad Salah Osman,
and Ahmad Youssof Moustafa, e Cheops Boats (Cairo: General
Organisation for Government Printing Oces, 1960); Abdel
Moneim Abubakr and Ahmed Youssef Moustafa, e Funerary
Boat of Khufu, Beitrge zur gyptischen Bauforschung und
Altertumskunde 12 (1971): 116; Paul Lipke, e Royal Ship of
Cheops (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1984); P. Lipke,
RetrospectiveontheRoyalShipofCheops,inSeanMcGrailand
EricKentley(eds.),Sewn Plank Boats (Oxford:BritishArchaeological
Reports,1985),918;J.RichardStey,Wooden Shipbuilding and the
Interpretation of Shipwrecks (College Station: Texas A&M Press,
1994),2428;Ward2000,4760;SamuelMark,eConstruction
oftheKhufuIVessel(c. 2566 b.c.):ARe-Evaluation,International
Journal of Nautical Archaeology 38.1(2009):133152.
37. eirmethodofconstructionisamatterofdebate(seePearcePaul
Creasman,AFurtherInvestigationoftheCairoDahshurBoats,
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology [forthcoming]); however, even
theseboatsdemonstratehallmarksofeasydisassembly.
38. Lipke1984.
39. Vinson1994,44.
40. SeeCreasman,forthcoming,forabriefdiscussionofthestructural
meritsofpeggedversusunpeggedmortise-and-tenonjoinery.
41. Ward 2000, 32; see also William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Guy
Brunton, and Margaret Alice Murray, Lahun II (London:
BernardQuaritch,1923).

42. SeeCreasman,forthcoming,andWardandZazzaro2010,34(g. 10),

foranillustrationofrudderbladeswithpeggedmortise-and-tenons.
43. CherylA.Ward,BoatbuildinginAncientEgypt,inFrederickM.
Hocker and C. A. Ward (eds.), e Philosophy of Shipbuilding:
Conceptual Approaches to the Study of Wooden Ships (College
Station:TexasA&MUniversityPress,2004),1324.
44. Forfurtherdiscussion,seeVinson1994,3741.
45. Vinson1994,7.
46. BjrnLandstrm,Ships of the Pharaohs (NewYork:Doubleday,
1970),130.However,thereisalsoanargumentforthetowing
of such barges upstream; see J. V. Wehausen, A. Mansour,
M. C. Ximenes, and F. Stross, The Colossi of Memnon and
EgyptianBarges,International Journal of Nautical Archaeology
17(1988):295310.
47. Newberry and Fraser 1895, 1726, pl. xii, xv; Aston, Harrell, and
Shaw 2000, 1819; Mark Lehner, Construction of Pyramids
(Old Kingdom), in Kathryn A. Bard (ed.) Encyclopedia of the
Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (London:Routledge,1999),639645;
Partridge1996,131137;HarrellandBown1995,8283;George
Goyon, Les navires de transport de la chausse monumentale
dOunas,Bulletin de lInstitut anais dArchologie orientale 69
(1971):1141,pl. IVII;Arnold1991,275280.
48. Forexample,VandierdAbbadie1954,pl.X,XI.
49. See,forexample,ArvidGttlicher,Kultschie und Schiskulte im
Altertum (Berlin: Mann, 1992), 1375; Alan R. Schulman,
A Memphite Stela, the Bark of Ptah, and Some Iconographic
Comments, Bulletin of the Egyptological Seminar 2 (1980):
83109,pl.12;W.B.Kristensen,DeSymboliekvandeBootin
den Egyptischen Godsdienst, Koninklijke Akademie van
Wetenschappen, Verslagen en Medeelingen: Afdeeling letterkunde 5.4 (1919): 254288; Claude Traunecker, La barque
processionnelle dAmon, Les Dossier Histoire et Archologie 61
(1982): 4954; G. A. Gaballa and Kenneth A. Kitchen, e
Festival of I Sokar, Orientalia (New Series) 38 (1969): 176;
CatherineGraindorge-Hreil,Le dieu Sokar bes au Nouvel
empire (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1994); L. B. Mikhail, e
Festival of Sokar: An Episode of the Osirian Khoiak Festival,
Gttinger Miszellen 82 (1984): 2544; Epigraphic Survey, e
Festival Procession of Opet in the Colonnade Hall with
Translations of Texts, Commentary, and Glossary (Chicago:
OrientalInstitute,1994).
50. GeorgesLegrain,Lelogementettransportdesbarquessacresetdes
statuesdesdiexdansquelquestemplesgyptiens,Bulletin de linstitut anais darchologie orientale 13(1917):176,pls.IVII,113.
51. On occasion, funerary boats are elevated, such as depicted on the
Nineteenth Dynasty Memphite relief of Merymery (see P. A. A.
Boeser, Die Denkmler des neuen Reiches: Grber [Milano:
Cisalpino,1911],pl.XV;HansD.SchneiderandMaartenJ.Raven,
De egyptische oudheid [s-Gravenhage: Staatsuitgeverij, 1981], 98,
no. 84b).Notonlyisthesledge-mountedmodelfuneraryboatcarriedonpolesbymen,butaropeisheldinhandbythreeadditional
menandisfastenedtoateamoftwocattle.Merymerythusenjoys
allpossibleadvantagesofeveryformofconveyance.

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26

P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

52. Iconographicandactualexamplesabound,butsee:NormandeGaris
Davies and Alan H. Gardiner, e Tomb of Antefoker, Vizier of
Sesostris I, and of His Wife, Senet (No. 60) (London: G. Allen &
Unwin,1920),pl.XXI(TT60);NinadeGarisDaviesandNorman
de Garis Davies, e Tombs of Menkheperrasonb, Amenmose, and
Another (Nos. 86, 112, 42, 226) (London:EgyptExplorationSociety,
1933), pl. XXXVIII (TT42); Torgny Sve-Sderbergh, Private
Tombs at ebes 1: Four Eighteenth Dynasty Tombs (Oxford:Grith
Institute,1957),pl.XXIV(TT17);NormandeGarisDavies,e
Tomb of Tetaky at ebes (No. 15), Journal of Egyptian
Archaeology 11 (1925): 1018, pls. IIV, pl. V (TT15); Edouard
Naville, Das gyptische Totenbuch der XVIII. bis XX. Dynastie I
(Graz:AkademischeDruck&Verlagsanstalt,1971),Taf.III.P.e.,L.a,
L.e;AhmedFakhryandJrgenOsing,Denkmler der Oase Dachla
(MainzamRhein:vonZabern,1982),Taf.22c,24a,31b;Marianne
Eaton-KraussandE. Graefe,e Small Golden Shrine om the Tomb
of Tutankhamun [Oxford:GrithInstitute,1985]).
53. S. R. K. Glanville and R. O. Faulkner, Catalogue of Egyptian
Antiquities in the British Museum II: Wooden Model Boats (London:
TrusteesoftheBritishMuseum),67,pl.XIIbc(BM36848).
54. Partridge1996,137.
55. Arnold(1992,59)suggeststhatthelackofscratchesmightindicateceremonialratherthanpracticaluse.
56. NotethatinTT49(NormandeGarisDavies,e Tomb of Neferhotep at ebes III [New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art,
1933], pl. XXV) two shrine-bearing boats arrayed with other
funerary furniture before the tomb-owner sit either on a sledge
setonwhatisapparentlyasetofcarryingpoles(lowerregister)or
is set directly onto carrying poles, which are set upon blocks to
keepthemotheground(upperregister).
57. e watercra in this scenewhich supports a funerary lionheadedbier,thecon,and,presumably,themummycouldbe
eitherapapyruscraorawoodenpapyriformvessel.Remainsof
papyruswatercra,whichsurelyexistedaseverydayworkingcra,
arenotknownfromthearchaeologicalrecord.
58. Forexample,VandierdAbbadie1954,pl.VIII,X;GeorgeFoucart,
Le tombeau dAmonmos (tombeau no. 19) (Cairo: LInstitut
franaisdarchologieorientale,1932),37,g.5;pl.IV,9.
59. Occasionally, the rope is omitted entirely; see Earl of Carnarvon
and Howard Carter, Five Years Exploration at ebes (London:
H. Frowde,1912),pl.LXIII(TT37:mandrivingtwocattlewith
a brace between their horns for the rope, pulling a sledge-borne
barquewithtwosteeringoars).
60. In addition to the sledge from Dahshur (George Andrew Reisner,
Catalogue gnral des antiquits gyptiennes du muse du Caire, 68,
Nos. 47984975 et 50345200: Models of Ships and Boats [Cairo:
lInstitutfranaisdArchologieorientale,1913],8889;Jacquesde
Morgan, Fouilles Dhchour: MarsJuin 1894. [Vienna: Adolph
Holzhausen,1895],8183),asmallsledge,approximately1.70cm
inlength,fromSenwosretIspyramidcomplexatLishtisknown
(Dieter Arnold, Pyramid Complex of Senwosret I at Lisht [New
York:MetropolitanMuseumofArt,1992],59;WilliamHayes,e
Scepter of Egypt: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian

Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art I [Cambridge:

HarvardUniversityPress,1953],193).Arnold(1992,26)hypothesizesthatatleastoneotherlargesledge,approximately4.2m,was
alsopresentatthatsite,butthewoodwastoodegradedtoconrm
thesuspicion.Itispossiblethatanotherfull-sizedsledgeexists.On
displayattheCairoMuseumisasledgelabeled5460,presumably
correspondingtotheCatalogue General.However,GC5460isan
amulet (G. A. Reisner, Amulets, Catalogue General 52186000 et
1200112527 [Cairo: LInstitut franais dArchologie orientale,
1907],35).esledgeondisplayisoen(correctly)identiedas
thesledgefromSenwosret IIIspyramidcomplexatDahshur(GC
4928 in Reisner 1913, 8889). For example, Partridge (1996,
131133) explicitly reconciles the visual dierences between
ReisnersrecordingsoftheDahshursledgeandtheoneondisplay,
but no one has claried the conicting labels. Comparison of
Reisnersdrawing(1913,89,g.326)oftheDahshursledgewith
theonelabeledGC5460producesanear-identicalmatch.Records
associatedwithasledge5460reportthatitcamefromtheNew
Kingdom and has similar dimensions to the Dahshur sledge
(WaheedEdwar,personalcommunication,June4,2004).Aphotographofthesledge,withArabiclabellegible,canbefoundinPearce
PaulCreasman,eCairoDahshurBoats(mastersthesis,Texas
A&M University, 2005), associates.imrd.org/pcreasmanMA2005.pdf (accessed December 12, 2009), 123, g. 57. To the
best of our knowledge, the records of the Cairo Museum sledge
(JE?)5460areotherwiseunpublished.
61. Reisner 1913, 8889; de Morgan 1895, 8183. For the Dahshur
boatsandtheirdiscovery,seeDianaCraigPatchandCherylWard
Haldane, e Pharaohs Boat at the Carnegie (Pittsburgh:
Carnegie Museum of Natural History; 1990), Ward 2000,
83102; Pearce Paul Creasman, Benjamin Vining, Samuel
Koepnick, and Noreen Doyle, An Experimental Geophysical
Survey at the Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur,
Egypt, in Search of Boats, International Journal of Nautical
Archaeology 38.2(2009):38699;P.P.Creasman,DouglasSassen,
S.Koepnick,andN.Doyle,Ground-PenetratingRadarSurveyat
thePyramidComplexofSenwosretIIIatDahshur,Egypt,2008:
SearchfortheLostBoatofaPharaoh,Journal of Archaeological
Science 37.3(2010):516524;Creasman,forthcoming.
62. For example, Vandier dAbbadie 1954, pl. X (TT277); Naville
1971,Taf.III.P.e.
63. Forexample,MarcelleBaudandtienneDrioton,Le tombeau de
Ro (tombeau no. 255) (Cairo:lInstitutfranaisdArchologieorientale,1928),g.7;Naville1971,Taf.III.P.j.,L.e.
64. Forexample,TT78(AnneliesBrackandArthurBrack,Das Grab
des Haremheb: eben nr. 78 [Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern,
1980],Taf.16,55b);TT16(MarcelleBaudandtienneDrioton,
Le tombeau de Panehsy, in Georges Foucart, M. Baud, and
E. Drioton (eds.), Tombes thbaines: Ncropole de Dir AbnNaga: Le tombeau de Ro [tombeau no. 255]; Le tombeau de
Panehsy [tombeau no. 16]; Le tombeau dAmonmos [tombeau no.
19]; Le tombeau dAmon-am-anit [tombeau no. 277] [Cairo:
LInstitutfranaisdarchologieorientale,1935],pt.2,11,g.3).

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27

P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

65. Foucart1932,37,g.5,pl.IV(TT19).
66. Forexample,BaudandDrioton1928,12,g.7(TT255);Naville
1971, Taf. III.D.a. For the ritual, see Foucart, 5263; Davies
1925; Norman de Garis Davies, An Apparent Instance of
PerspectivalDrawing,Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 11(1926):
110112; Miriam Lichtheim, Situla No. 11395 and Some
Remarks on Egyptian Situlae, Journal of Near Eastern Studies
6.3(1947): 169179.
67. Barry Kemp, Soil (Including Mud-Brick Architecture), in
Nicholson and Shaw, Ancient Egyptian Materials and
Technology,78103.
68. Jean Vercoutter, Excavations at Mirgissa II (Oct. 1963March
1964),Kush: Journal of the Sudan Antiquities Service 13(1965):
6273; see also J. Vercoutter, Desert Highway Built for Ships,
e UNESCO Courier (December1964):3637.
69. Kemp2000,93.
70. Howlikelyanexplanationthisisforthelackofscratchesmentioned
byArnold(1992,59)isunknown.eundersidesofotherextant
sledge(s)havenot,toourknowledge,beensimilarlyexamined.
71. Forexample,therearequarry-andconstruction-relatedslipwaysat
Lahun(Petrie,Brunton,andMurray1923,2,12,34,pl.XIII,XV)
and Lisht (Arnold 1991: 8692; Ward 2000, 110112; Haldane
1992;Haldane1988),bothreinforcedwithdisarticulatedboattimbers.Sometimespyramidrampsarereferredtoasslipways(James
Frederick Edwards, Building the Great Pyramid: Probable
Construction Methods Employed at Giza, Technology and
Culture 44.2 (2003): 340354, 349; Mark Lehner, e Complete
Pyramids (London:amesandHudson,1997),215217;Dows
Dunham,BuildinganEgyptianPyramid,Archaeology 9.3(1956):
159165. For a summary of road-building in context of quarries,
seeAston,Harrell,andShaw2000,1820.
72. Kemp2000,93.
73. Jean-Claude Golvin, Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak, in Bard,
Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt,400404,g.53;
Partridge1996,8,g.5.
74. JeanVercoutter,Mirgissa I (Paris:DirectionGnraledesRelations
Culturelles, Scientiques et Techniques, Ministre des Aaires
trangres,avecleconcoursduCentreNationaldelaRecherche
Scientique,1970),1315,173180;AndrVila,Lesvestigesde
laplaine,inVercoutter,Mirgissa I,193221.
75. atis,aroadintendedfor boatsanddistinctfromroadsmadeof
boattimbers,likethosepreviouslymentionedatLahunandLisht.
A70msegmentofthenearly10kmquarryroadbetweenWidan
el-Faras and Lake Moeris was constructed of silicied wood
(HarrellandBown1995,80,g.15),butitisnotclearifthewood
wassiliciedpriortouseintheroad.Regardless,therearenoindications the wood was from a repurposed boat(s), nor is there a
clearinterpretationofwhenthisroadwasconstructed.
76. Vercoutter 1964, 3738; Vercoutter 1965, 6273; Vila 1970,
204214.Ironically,theslipwayisnowsubmergedandlikelylost
duetothecreationofLakeNasser/Nubia.
77. Cooks Tourists Handbook for Egypt, the Nile and the Desert
(London:omasCookandSon,1892),243.

78. H. E. Hurst, The Nile: A General Account of the River and the
Utilization of Its Waters (London:Constable,1952),73.Before
theNilewasdammed,thefloodstypicallybeganinJune,reaching their apex in September. The waters would quickly recede,
ultimately reaching their lowest levels in May (John Ball,
Contributions to the Geography of Egypt [Cairo: Survey and
Mines Department, Ministry of Finance, 1939], 204; Harrell
andBown1995,83).
79. Vercoutter1965,69.
80. etotallengthoftheslipwayisunknown.eFrenchconcession
only included the southernmost 1.5 km (Vila 1970, 193, g. 1;
Vercoutter 1970, 1213, g. 4), and the remaining portion was
notsurveyedpriortotheoodingoftheregion.
81. Alessandra Nibbi, A Group of Stone Anchors from Mirgissa on
the Upper Nile, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology
21.3(1992):259267;Vercoutter1970,1823.
82. Vercoutter1965,69;Vercoutter1964,37.
83. Vercoutter1965,68.
84. Creasman,forthcoming,table1;Ward2000,84,table8.
85. Reisner1913,88.
86. Vila1970,209,gs.13,15,16.
87. See Vila 1970, 207, g. 13 (Les traces de patins de traneau sont
indiquesparlesechesblanches);209,g.16(empreintesdes
patins);215,g.22,atbottom.
88. Note that the carcasses of dra cattle were found in the builders
debrisfromtheEleventhDynastycomplexofMentuhotepatDeir
el-Bahri(Lehner1997,203;Arnold1991,64).
89. Vercoutter1965,68.
90. See,especially,Vila1970,gs.13,22.
91. For hull plank dimensions, see Creasman 2005, 37 (table 1), 49
(table2),85(table7),92(table8).
92. See,especially,Vila1970,g.13.
93. Onthesideofarishi coffinintheMetropolitanMuseumofArt
(William Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt: A Background for the
Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of
Art II [Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress,1959],31,fig.14),
two cattle, driven by a man with a stick, drag a funerary boat
directlyontheground.ItshouldbenotedthatHayesdescribed
the style of painting on this coffin as somewhat crude; the
absence of the sledge could be merely an artistic oversight, or
even the result of concern for fitting the entire scene into the
narrowregister.
94. RenvanWalsem,TheTombofMeryneithatSaqqara.Results
of the Dutch Mission 20012003, Bulletin of the Australian
Centre for Egyptology 14(2003):117134,pl.12.
95. Norman de Garis Davies, Alan H. Gardiner, and Nina de Garis
Davies, The Tomb of Huy, Viceroy of Nubia in the Reign of
Tutankhamun (No. 40) (London: Egypt Exploration Society,
1926),pl.XVIII.
96. FirstproposedverybrieyinNoreenDoyle,Iconographyandthe
Interpretation of Ancient Egyptian Watercra (masters thesis,
Texas A&M University, 1998), nautarch.tamu.edu/eses/pdfles/Doyle-MA1998.pdf (accessed December 16, 2008), 32. If

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

Huysisnotadepictionofaslipway,itcouldinsteadbeavisual
manifestationofaboastencountered,forexample,inautobiographies in which the tomb-owner species that he has built watercraforaparticulartaskappointedtohimbythekingsee,e.g.,
the inscription at Qubbet al-Hawa in the tomb of Sabni, which
states: e majesty of my lord sent me to construct two great
barges in Wawat so as to ship two great obelisks north to
Heliopolis (Strudwick 2005, 339; also Roccati 1982, 214215;
Lichtheim1988,17).
97. Karl Martin, Obelisks: Quarrying, Transporting and Erecting, in
Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt,587589;
Arnold1991,273275.
98. Martin1999,588;SomersClarkeandReginaldEngelbach,Ancient
Egyptian Construction and Architecture (Oxford: Oxford
UniversityPress,1930),34.
99. Arnold1991,275.Notethateventhecolossusbeingtransportedin
ascenefromthetombofDjehutyhotep(Figure2),estimatedto
have weighed about sixty tons (Clarke and Engelbach 1930, 85),
wasmovedonasledgewithoutrollers.
100. SeeNour,Iskander,Osman,andMoustafa1960;Abubakrand
Moustafa 1971; Lipke 1984; Lipke 1985; Steffy 1994, 2428;
Ward2000,4760;Mark2009).
101. Mark2009,133.RowenaGale,PeterGasson,NigelHepper,and
GeoreyKillen,Wood,inPaulNicholsonandIanShaw(eds.),
Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2000), 334371, oer a gure of
40 tonsdisplacement.However,displacementistheweightof
a vessel and all of its burden (Stey 1994, 251252; emphasis
added).eKhufuIvesselcouldhaveheldfargreater;thegure
of 40 tons displacement is too low. It is, in any case, extremely
unlikelythatsuchalargevesselwouldbetransportedoverlandas
asingleunit,giventhestressesthatwouldbeplacedonthehull
whenremovedfromthewater.
102. Jean-Pierre Corteggiani, e Egypt of the Pharaohs at the Cairo
Museum (London:Scala,1987),9293,no.53.
103. Arnold1991,275.
104. Ricardo A. Caminos, Fragments of the Book of the Dead on
Linen and Papyrus, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 56 (1970):
117131.Pointingtotheunusualnumberofcirclesbeneaththe
sledge,Caminospreferedtointerpretthemasrollers.
105. Partridge1996,76;similarly,theuseofwheeledvehiclesatDeir
el-Medina is said to rarely have occurred, if ever (Jacques J.
Janssen, Donkeys at Deir el-Medna [Leiden: Instituut voor het
NabijeOosten,2005],74).
106. DaviespointedoutthewheelsinelKabscenein1926,112.
107. SaqqaratombofKaemhesit.WolfgangHelck,Rad,inW.Helk
andEberhardOtto(eds.),Lexikon der gyptologie V.1 (Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz, 1983), 7678; Yigael Yadin, Art of Warfare in
Biblical Lands in the Light of Archaeological Discovery (London:
WeidenfeldandNicholson,1963),147.
108. KennethA.Kitchen,AnUnusualStelafromAbydos,Journal of
Egyptian Archaeology 47(1961):1018.
109. Kitchen1961,13.

110. M.A.LittauerandJ.H.Crouwel,Wheeled Vehicles and Ridden

Animals in the Ancient Near East (Leiden:E.J.Brill,1979),8and
also 35, where the authors propose that wagons developed from
sledgesonrollers.
111. For examples, see Cyril Aldred, An Unusual Fragment of New
Kingdom Relief, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 15 (1956):
150152,pl.XVII;Yadin1963,188189,210211.
112. DonaldB.Redford,e Akhenaten Temple Project Volume 2: RwdMnw, Foreigners, and Inscriptions (Toronto: Akhenaten Temple
Project,1988),10,pl.31.
113. Robert Mond and Oliver H. Myers, The Bucheum III: The
Plates (London: Egypt Exploration Society, 1934), pl. CIX.1;
tienneDrioton,Encyclopdie photographique de lart: Le Muse
du Caire: Photographies indites dAndr Vigneau (Paris: ditionsTel,1949),pl.192,no.192,46.
114. JosephJohnTylor,Wall Drawings and Monuments of El Kab: e
Tomb of Sebeknekht (London:EgyptExplorationFund,1896),4,
pl.II.FortheplacementofthisSobeknakhtinthechronologyof
the Seventeenth Dynasty, see Chris Bennett, A Genealogical
ChronologyoftheSeventeenthDynasty,Journal of the American
Research Center in Egypt 39(2002):123155.
115. Davies1926,112;vanWalsem1997,229.
116. Tylor1896,4;Davies1926.
117. GuyBruntonandReginaldEngelbach,Gurob (London:Bernard
Quaritch, 1927), pl. LII; Angela P. omas, Gurob: A New
Kingdom Town (Warminster: Aris & Philips, 1981), 1:86,
no. 747;2:pl.56,no.747;Wachsmann,e Gurob Ship Model
(CollegeStation:TexasA&MUniversityPress,forthcoming).
118. Emma Brunner-Traut, Spielzeug, in Wolfgang Helk and
Eberhard Otto (eds.), Lexikon der gyptologie V.8 (Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz, 1984), 11521156; omas 1921, 1, 86. See
Wachsmann,forthcoming,foradierentinterpretation.
119. Foradiscussionoftheserepresentations,seeRenvanWalsem,e
Con of Djedmonthuiufankh in the National Museum of Antiquities
at Leiden (Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten,
1997),226231;seealsoWachsmann,forthcoming.
120. LittauerandCrouwel1979,112.
121. Karl Heinrich Dittmann, Der Segelwagen von Medinet Madi,
Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archologischen Instituts, Abteilung
Kairo 10(1941):6078,pl.16.
122. Dittmann1941,6264,abb.2.
123. Forfurtherdiscussion,seeDittmann1941,65.
124. Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing, Ein ebanischer Grabfund aus
dem anfang des neuen reichs. Neudruck der Ausgabe (Berlin:
A. Duncker,1900),1922,Taf.IX.2ak,X.
125. Forthespokesofchariotwheelsandthesignicanceoftheirnumber, see James K. Homeier, Observations on the Evolving
Chariot Wheel in the 18th Dynasty, Journal of the American
Research Center in Egypt 13(1976):4345.
126. MohamedSalehandHourigSourouzian,e Egyptian Museum,
Cairo: Ocial Catalogue (Mainz: Verlag Philipp von Zabern,
1987),no.123.
127. Doyle1998,122.

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P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation

128. Whether these crewmen are rowing or paddling (among other
detailsofthesilvermodel)issubjecttodebate;forasummary,see
Wachsmann,forthcoming.
129. Alistofexamples,withdiscussion,canbefoundinvanWalsem
1997,225239;seealsoWachsmann,forthcoming.
130. Abdel Moneim Abubakr, Divine Boats of Ancient Egypt,
Archaeology 8 (1955): 9395; S. Wachsmann, Sailing into
Egypts Past: Does a Celebration of Luxors Patron Saint Echo
Ancient Pharaonic Traditions? Archaeology 55.4 (July/August
2002): 3639; S. Wachsmann, e Moulid of Abu el Haggag:
A Contemporary Boat Festival in Egypt, in Harry Tzalas (ed.),
Tropis VII, Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Ship
Construction in Antiquity (Athens: Hellenic Institute for the
Preservation of Ship Construction in Antiquity), 2:821835;
Wachsmann,forthcoming.
131. Archaizingmightalsoaccountfortheproliferationofdisk(rather
than spoked) wheels on many funerary vehicles. e Egyptians
employeddeliberatearchaicformsinwatercra,mostnotablygiving wooden hulls the pretense of being ras by means of papyriform nials, but also, more elaborately, in rigging: see Noreen
Doyle,ePersistenceoftheBipodMastandtheTransienceof
the Tripod (paper presented at the Fiy-Seventh Annual
MeetingoftheAmericanResearchCenterinEgypt,2006).
132. N.Cherpion,J.-P.Corteggiani,andJ.-Fr.Gaout.Le tombeau de
Ptosiris Touna el-Gebel. Relev photographique (Cairo:lInstitut
franaisdarchologieorientale,2007),134135(scene92,6).
133. e depiction is vaguely visually reminiscent of a funerary cart
appearinginavignettedrawnonlinen(BM10265),inwhichthe
cart body appears as a cross-hatched area between the wheels
(Kristensen1919,272,g.6;Gttlicher1992,69,abb.40).
134. Adriaan de Buck, Egyptian Readingbook: Exercises and Middle
Egyptian Texts (Leyden:NederlandschArchaeologisch-Philologiscal
Instituut Voor Het Nabije Oosten, 1948), 12, 58; Donald B.

Redford, e Wars in Syria and Palestine of utmose III (Leiden:

Brill,2003),106107;R.O.Faulkner,eEuphratesCampaignof
utmosis III, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 32 (1946): 3942;
Georg Steindorf, Stele utmosis III. Vom Gebel Barkal, in
Wolfgang Helck (ed.), Urkunden der 18. Dynastie: historische
Inschrien utmosis III und Amenophis II (Leipzig:Hinrichssche
Buchhandlung, 1955), 12271368; George Andrew Reisner and
MaryB.Reisner,InscribedMonumentsofGebelBarkalPart2.e
GraniteStelaofutmosisIII,Zeitschri fr gyptische Sprache und
Altertumskunde 69(1933):2439.
135. Jones1988,215216(VI.39).
136. Jones1988,131132(II.14,II.15).
137. Faulkner1946,40.
138. One example is TT17 (Nebamun); see Richard B. Parkinson,
The Painted Tomb-Chapel of Nebamun (London: British
MuseumPress,2008);Yadin1963,210.Asecondexampleisa
faiencefragment(chariotinvineyard);seeYadin1963,188.
139. Davies, Gardiner, and Davies 1926, 24, pl. XXIII, XXVII,
XXVIII(Nubian).
140. SeeA.ErmanandW.Grapow,Wrterbuch der gyptische Sprache
(Berlin:Akademie-Verlag,1926)1:334;compareuseoftheword
in O. Cairo 25 543, which makes reference to a she-ass of the
wagon(Janssen2005,74).
141. Walter Wreszinski, Atlas zur altaegyptischen Kulturgeschichte II
(Leipzig:J.C.Hinrichs-schen,1935),Taf.22,23,82,92,92a,93,
94,169,170;Yadin1963,107109.
142. FromTT125,datingtothereignofHatshepsut;seeCyrilAldred,
AnUnusualFragmentofNewKingdomRelief,Journal of Near
Eastern Studies 15(1956):150152,pl.XVII.
143. Faulkner 1946, 40. Vinson (1994, 44) suggests that the army
broughtprefabricatedboatswiththemfortherivercrossing.
144. Yadin1963,454.
145. Creasman2005,tables15and711.

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