“Glory to you, Osiris, God of Eternity, king of the gods, whose names are innumerable, whose incarnations are holy. You are a sacred image in temples; the twin soul will always be sacred to incoming mortals."
(Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead - Hymn to Osiris)
History of ancient civilizations. The interest in Ancient Egypt, caused by articles about Akhenaten and Ramses among the readers of materials on VO, did not go out at all, as evidenced by their letters. And many are even interested in such "little things" as the ancient Egyptian ships. In particular, there were questions about the so-called "Pharaoh's Solar Boat", but there is simply nothing to add to what VO wrote about earlier. And to everyone who is interested in this topic, I can recommend the material by S. Denisova "Cedar boat of Cheops: a journey of 5,000 years."
Nevertheless, quite a lot is known about the shipbuilding of the ancient Egyptians. And the point is not only in the two found "Solar boats", and drawings on papyri and on the walls of temples and tombs. We were just very lucky that due to some circumstances that are difficult to explain today, in one of the Egyptian tombs a whole "fleet" of models was discovered, and even with figures of people. These models were made very carefully, skillfully, so that their study gave Egyptologists a lot in relation to the ancient ships of Egypt. Well, today we will tell you about how these models fell into the hands of scientists and what they are …
And it so happened that back in 1895, French archaeologists investigated the Theban tomb No. 280, which belonged to the dignitary of the Middle Kingdom Maketra (or Maketra), but did not find anything interesting, since all the available rooms in this tomb were plundered back in antiquity. But in early 1920, Metropolitan Museum archaeologist Herbert Winlock decided to get an accurate plan of this tomb for his map of the 11th Dynasty necropolis in Thebes, and therefore ordered his workers to clean up the accumulated debris.
It was during this cleaning operation that a small hidden chamber was discovered, filled with many almost perfectly preserved models and models, which, like the ushebti figures “I am here,” were supposed to make life easier for the owner in the next world. Half of them ended up in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and the other half, when dividing the finds, went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In general, these models represented the whole life of Meketr, who held a high position of the king's administrator. Imagine this: an entire room at the back of the tomb was filled with elaborate models of polished and painted wood. Among them were houses, workshops, a slaughterhouse, a bakery and a brewery (how can one live in the next world without bread, beer and meat?), And models of various ships.
Among the ship models, some are very interesting. For example, a model of a ship carrying the mummy of a certain Dzhehuti. His mummified body lies on a stretcher under a canopy and is looked after by two women who play the roles of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, sisters of the god Osiris. Jehuti became a blessed spirit and, in a sense, Osiris himself: because in a short text on a papyrus scroll held by a priest, he refers to the mummy as a deity: "Oh, Osiris."
A group of sailors standing at the mast hoists the sail (not preserved), and four people sit, crouched in front of the mast. Their posture is akin to the so-called "block sculptures" or "cubic sculptures", well known from the art of the Middle Kingdom. It has been argued that this pose indicates that the person presented in this way is participating in rituals. The helmsman and another person next to the stretcher sit in a similar position, although each of them has a free hand for movement.
Among the pleasures of the life of a noble Egyptian were hunting excursions to the swamps of the Nile for fishing and hunting birds. For such trips, papyrus rafts or light boats like this were used. There is a model boat on which Meketra and his son or comrade watch the hunters from a light shelter made of woven reed and decorated with two large shields. On the bow, two men with harpoons are clearly hunting large fish, while on deck a kneeling fisherman retrieves a harpoon from the fish. The woman brings the catch to Meketra. The presence of women from a noble family in such scenes in the swamps is a very recurring theme in Egyptian art.
Various religious ceremonies played an important role in the life of the Egyptians. And they knew so much about the "next world" that … "they lived now" solely for the sake of "living later." To ensure the rest, it was necessary to "go to Abydos". This was such a very important religious center for the Egyptians. And not to go to the living, but to the dead. And when it was impossible to take the mummy there, they carried the statue of the deceased. There, rituals were performed over her, after which she was taken back and placed in a memorial temple.
In Egypt, it was easy to determine in which direction a particular ship was sailing. If heading north, the mast was usually folded and supported by a forked support beam, always ready to be set up for the return journey. The sail is folded on the deck. The small cabin, located amidships, leaves room for eighteen rowers. Speed is clearly important on this journey. Sitting on a chair on the nose, Meketra brings a closed lotus flower to his nose. Before him stands a man (possibly the captain of the boat), arms folded reverently across his chest. Inside the hut, a servant guards Meketr's chest. Is the general manager on an inspection trip for the pharaoh, and are there bills in this chest? Even if this is a real-life event, the model still has a cult purpose, because the lotus flower, which opens every morning at sunrise, is a symbol of rebirth.
And now a little for those who, seduced by the models of ancient Egyptian boats, decide to do something similar for themselves. On the Internet there are drawings and projections of models of various Egyptian ships, so finding them is not a problem. The problem should be done, and it is desirable in a technique that is as close as possible to the technique of the ancient Egyptians, because it was very interesting. And we know enough about how they built their ships. Firstly, on the basis of reliefs on the walls of temples, and secondly, on the basis of studying the design of "solar boats".
Egyptian ships, which originate from knitted papyrus boats, did not have a keel or frames. They cut out the boards of the required curvature, and then connected them in a very clever way: they made holes in the boards and inserted wooden spikes into them, sawn at the ends and with wedges inserted into the cuts. When the board with its holes was put on the tenons of another, these wedges wedged the tenons, and the connection turned out to be extremely strong. In addition, the body was pulled together with ropes up and down. The ship turned out to be light, durable and load-carrying.
To some extent, you can repeat the technology of the ancient Egyptians as follows. The base of the body is glued from cardboard frames and a diametrical profile. You can make two profiles so that the body blank consists of two halves.
Then take the stirring sticks for coffee. They are cut into "boards" of suitable length, which are then attached to plasticine blanks as tightly as possible to each other. It turns out the first layer of cladding. Then the second layer is glued onto it with PVA glue, and so that the joining lines of the boards do not coincide. The body must dry thoroughly, after which the halves are removed from the plasticine base and cleaned with sandpaper from the inside and outside. The deck is laid on the beams. Deck planks are also made from stirring sticks. The rest of the details of the model are 30 cm long - matches, slats, plywood spatulas for ice cream. The model is painted with acrylic paints, but it is quite possible to try to mold the figures of people from plastic!
