Boats and Ships

The ancient Egyptians were blessed with a reliable and accessible means of transportation from the beginning of their civilization. The Nile River that made the region habitable also made easy communication possible and ultimately assisted in the development of a unified country and culture. The use of the Nile for both transport and communication was facilitated by the combination of two factors. The river current flows from the south to the north, and the prevailing wind is from the north to south. This meant that boats, barges, and other rivercraft could travel northward with the current using oars and against the current to the south with the assistance of sails. The Egyptians demonstrated the importance of this simple rule of river navigation even for the spirit in the next life by representations in the tombs illustrating boats with sails both furled and deployed.

The earliest evidence for water transport can be found in a series of crude clay models of a canoe-like craft that are dated to the early Badarian Period (5500–4000 BCE). More complete representations of complicated vessels are shown in designs on later Predynastic pottery (3500–3150 BCE) (Fig. 56). These early drawings and paintings depict boats complete with cabins, with many oars, flagpoles, and standards. Although the oarsmen are not shown, there are sometimes male and female figures standing on the roofs of the cabins. These images have caused a good deal of speculation as to their meaning and symbolism. They may have religious significance, and there are several suggested interpretations, but it is not possible to completely explain them. In any case, the boats depicted seem to be large and need to be propelled by large bodies of oarsmen. Often on the prow and on the cabins there are decorations in the form of tree branches and totem-like emblems. These branches and emblems may have religious or even geographical meanings, but these are also not completely understood. It is thought that some of the totems refer to clans, tribes, or regions and home ports, all interesting ideas but difficult to prove. It is enough to say that we have good evidence that the advantages of river transport were utilized early in the prehistoric period and that the construction and use of rivercraft is documented during the formative period of the Egyptian state and even before the development of writing.