Boats and a Sphinx

Below is an excavated model of pharaoh's 'Solar' boat. Like the full size boats it is constructed of cedar wood (you may have heard of the 'Cedars of Lebanon'). These boats, small and large, are remnants of that long ago forest remembered only in legend.

This is not an exact replica of the full size boat that was found in the 1950's, but it gives you an idea of the shape. This model is about 6 feet long. As you can see this from the shape, this is a boat for sailing on a river.

The real boats are about 140 feet long.



When this boat was found, it had been disassembled and put in a stone storage pit. It took years for a team to reassemble it (at first they didn't know it was a boat). There are no metal parts, only wooden planks, wood pegs and rope. The boat is held together by weaving the rope through holes in the wood planks and tightening it. When the boat is put into the water, the wood swells, the rope shrinks and there are no leaks. There is evidence that this boat was actually used on the river, as various parts show normal wear. This shot is looking from the middle of boat towards the bow (front). The cabin would have been used by the pharaoh to keep out of the sun and would be filled with cushions, rugs and all the comforts of home or palace.



You can see the gangplank on the left in this shot. The gangplank was one place that showed normal wear on the end that rested on the dock. You also get a better look at the oars and decking.



This is the stern (back) of the boat. Isn't it graceful. Egyptians used double oars to steer their boats instead of a rudder.



This is the bow.



Not in too bad of shape for being 4,500 years old. Unlike the cedar forest, this survived for us to marvel at.



This shot of the under side gives you an idea of the size of the planks. You cannot see, because the thickness of the planks conceals the holes, but the rope is threaded through one plank to another. I have read that originally a single (very long) rope was used to tie the entire hull together.



Here she is and the angle of the sun is all wrong. I don't know why the Sphinx is generally referred to as she when the head is supposed to be the head of a man.



This stela is placed between the paws of the Sphinx and tells the story of Tutmoses IV and the Sphinx. The story goes: As a young man (one prince among many) he was out hunting in the desert. He came upon the head of the Sphinx sticking out of the ground (the entire body was buried in the sand) and sat down to rest in the shade of the head. He fell asleep and had a dream. In his dream the Sphinx told him that if he freed the Sphinx from its prison of sand he would become Pharaoh. Prince Tutmoses immediately set a crew of workers to clear away all the sand from around the Sphinx and the rest, as they say, is history (written of course in stone).



It is easy to see in this picture that the head is one kind of rock and the body is another kind. The head is a hard stone and the body is limestone, much softer. The pretty new stones covering the front legs and paws are another attempt to stop the deterioration. The broken nose has not been found. Some pieces of the broken beard were found and shipped off to the British Museum. The face still has some traces of red paint.



A close up shot of the walls surrounding the Sphinx enclosure. Geologists, that see pictures like this, say this type of stone erosion is due to water (lots of water falling from the sky) not wind. Egyptologists disagree because the last time there was large amounts of rain falling on the giza plateau was 10,000 years ago. That is many more years than the 4,500 years they claim is the age of the Sphinx. Neither discipline will admit they might be wrong so the dispute continues.


More later.
Kate