Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom

Excavations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, Egypt
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-90-04-36850-7
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 96, 236 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 476 g

Reihe: Culture and History of the Ancient Near East

In the 12th Dynasty (ca. 1985-1773 BC) the Egyptian state sent a number of seafaring expeditions to the land of Punt, located somewhere in the southern Red Sea region, in order to bypass control of the upper Nile by the Kerma kingdom. Excavations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis on the Red Sea coast of Egypt from 2001 to 2011 have uncovered evidence of the ancient harbor (Saww) used for these expeditions, including parts of ancient ships, expedition equipment and food – all transported ca. 150 km across the desert from Qift in Upper Egypt to the harbor. This book summarizes the results of these excavations for the organization of these logistically complex expeditions, and evidence at the harbor for the location of Punt.

“[There] is no shortage of analysis relating to the Punt expeditions, much of which is likely to become the new ‘standard’ account of these voyages and of the huge logistical and ideological undertaking they represented. The volume will therefore be of immense value to scholars and students of ancient Egypt, and of ancient seafaring more generally.” - Julian Whitewright, University of Southampton, in: The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 48.2 (2019)

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bard, Kathryn A

Fattovich+, Rodolfo

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Altes Ägypten & Ägyptische Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Geschichte der Schifffahrt

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

1 Egyptian Long-distance Trade, Pharaonic Expeditions and Direct Control of Sources of Raw Materials in Northeast Africa and the Sinai in the Middle Kingdom

Introduction

Mining Turquoise and Copper in the Sinai

The Harbor Site at Ayn Soukhna

Mining Galena at Gebel Zeit

Mining Gold and Quarrying Stone in the Wadi Hammamat

Nubian Resources and Egyptian Occupation

The Harbor at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

2 Archaeological Investigations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

The Pharaonic Harbor at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

Archaeological Investigations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

Evidence of Ships and Cargo Boxes

Sealings, Stelae and Ostraca

Ceramics

Stone Tools

Plant and Animal Remains

Environmental Context of the Harbor Site

Chronology of the Harbor Site

Summary: Archaeological and Geological Investigations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

3 Spatial Use of the Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Harbor in the 12th Dynasty

Overview

The Eastern Terrace

The Harbor

Central Terrace and Western Terrace Top

Western Terrace Slope

Western Terrace Slope, North

Western Terrace Slope, South

Caves 2 and 3

Cave 5

Cave 7 and the Alcove Shrine

Harbor Edge

Production Area

Ramps (slipways?)

Western Terrace, Southern Slope

Beach Area above the Harbor

Stelae Associated with the Gallery-Caves

Spatial Organization of the Harbor of Saww Compared to the Harbors at Ayn Soukhna and Wadi El-Jarf

4 Organization of Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Seafaring Expeditions in the 12th Dynasty: The Textual Evidence

Textual Evidence at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

Stelae

Cargo Box Inscriptions

Sealings and Papyri

Ostraca

Two Wooden Tags

Dates of Known Expeditions Based on Textual Evidence

Translation by Eugene Cruz-Uribe† of the Hieroglyphic Text of the Ankhu Stela (Eastern Jamb, Central Block, and Western Jamb) Found at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis by A.M. Sayed and Recorded in These Articles

5 Organization of Seafaring Expeditions from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis in the 12th Dynasty: Archaeological Evidence at the Harbor

Archaeological Evidence of Seafaring Expeditions at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

Shipbuilding

Ship Technology

Ship Wood

Cargo Boxes

Rope/Ship Rigging

Linen: Ship Sails, Caulking(?), and Clothing

Copper Alloy Strips for Ship Timber Fastenings

Other Expedition Supplies: Clothing, Footwear, Camp Furnishings

Egyptian Ceramics at the Harbor Site

Non-Egyptian Ceramics at the Harbor Site

Shelter for Expedition Members

Food Supplies and Storage, Food Processing and Baking/Cooking

Local Production of Stone Tools

Non-Egyptian Stone Tools at the Harbor Site

Summary

Appendix: Bread Baking Experiments

Ancient Egyptian Bread Making

Evidence of Bread Making at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

Experimenting with Middle Kingdom Bread Making

Conclusions

6 Interpreting Ideology at Saww: Ritual Practices, Memorial Shrines, and Commemorative Stelae

Ceremonial Shrines and Commemorative Stelae at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

Shrines Constructed along the Red Sea Coast

Shrines/Monuments on the Terrace Top Overlooking Wadi Gawasis

The Alcove Shrine along the Western Terrace Slope

Stelae

Stelae in Monumental Structures

Stelae at Mersa Gawasis

Stelae Placed in Niches Carved in the Western Terrace Wall

Use of Stelae at Saww

Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Stelae and the Gods

Archaeology of Ritual and Religion at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

7 The Land of Punt: A View from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

Punt and Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

The Land of Punt: Egyptian Evidence

Location of Punt: Natural Resources (Figure 41)

The Land of Punt: Cultural Evidence (Figure 43)

Punt and Bia-Punt, and the Evidence from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis: Inscriptions

Punt and the Evidence from Mersa/WadiGawasis: Paleoethnobotanical Remains and Lithics

Punt and the Evidence from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis: Exotic Ceramics

Location of Bia-Punt and Punt: Ceramic Evidence at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

8 Long-distance Routes Involved in the Punt Expeditions

Routes from Egypt to Punt/Bia-Punt

The Levant and Maritime Trade with Punt

Land Routes from the Nile Valley to the Red Sea Coast

Sea Route to and from the Southern Red Sea

Land Routes in Punt/Bia-Punt

Maritime Expeditions to Punt/Bia-Punt

9 The 12th Dynasty Punt/Bia-Punt Expeditions from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

References

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Kathryn A. Bard (Ph.D. 1987), is Professor of Archaeology and Professor of Classical Studies at Boston University. She has excavated in Egypt and Ethiopia, and her publications include Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008, 2015).

Rodolfo Fattovich† (Ph.D. 1972), was Professor of Ethiopian Archaeology and Egyptian Archaeology at the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” where he taught 1975-2014. He excavated in Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, and published over 200 articles and other works.