Talking Pyramids » boat

Friday Photo: Khufu’s Boat Pit

Vincent — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:52:10 +0000

Beside the pyramid of Khufu there are five boat pits. Actually seven pits have been found but two of these belong to the queens’ pyramids being located between satellite pyramids GI-b & GI-c. The two most well known boat pits are on the south side of the pyramid while two more are located in a similar arrangement on the east side of the pyramid. The last pit is located on the north side of the pyramid’s causeway.

Boat pit on the east side of Khufu's pyramid

Here are the other boat pits around Khufu’s pyamid:

Khufu's Boat pits

Video of Khufu’s Second Boat Pit:

Khufu's boat pit. Photo: Guy Flaneur.

View a video taken of Khufu’s second boat pit on the south side:
Video of Khufu’s Second boat pit

Podcast of the Khufu Boats:
An interview by Rossella Lorenzi with maritime archaeologist Cheryl Ward and SCA chief Dr. Zahi Hawass on the subject of Khufu’s boats.
Archaeorama Podcast: Khufu’s Boats

Books to download on the Khufu boats:
The Boat Beneath the Pyramid. King Cheops Royal Ship, by Nancy Jenkins, 198
The Cheops Boat, Part 1, by Mohammed Zaki Nour, Zaky Iskander, Mohammad Salah Osman, Ahmad Youssof Moustafa, Cairo, 1960.
Books on Khufu’s first boat

You can also download the journal, “Funerary Boats and Boat Pits of the Old Kingdom.” Abusir and Saqqara in the Year 2001 by Hartwig Altenmuller.
The Boat Beneath the Pyramid

Photo of Unas Boat Pit:
Other pyramids also have boat and a previous ‘Friday Photo’ featured the boat pit of Unas photographed from a similar angle.
Unas Boat Pit

Today’s Friday Photo is by Derek Meyer. Some rights reserved.

The Boat Beneath the Pyramid

Vincent — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:35:31 +0000

There are few new additions to that great web resource Giza Archives that readers will be interested in. Two of these relate to the solar boat of Khufu and the pit in which it was found in 1954.

Inside the Boat Museum, located on the south side of Khufu's pyramid. Photo by Guy Flaneur.

The Boat Beneath the Pyramid. King Cheops Royal Ship, by Nancy Jenkins, 1980.

“More than a quarter of a century ago a young Egyptian archaeologist, clearing a site just south of the Great Pyramid at Giza, broke through a massive slab of limestone to reveal a vault beneath his feet. For the first time in 4,500 years the sun’s rays were shining down on the timbers of a great papyriform ship, built for a king and then dismantled and buried here at the height of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. Astonishingly well preserved, it was by far the most ancient vessel ever to come to light.

Nancy Jenkins is the first to tell the full story of this Royal Ship — its discovery, excavation and reconstruction. She tells also who built it and why, how it has survived intact for so long, and what connection it may have had with the age-old Egyptian myth of the Sun-god, eternally journeying cross the heavens in his Reed Float. But this is also a story of modern Egypt and of one man in particular, Ahmed Youssef Moustafa, Chief Restorer of the Department of Antiquities, who almost single-handedly put back together the 1,223 pieces of .the ship. Working with a giant jigsaw puzzle—though a puzzle without a picture on the box—Ahmed Youssef devoted fourteen years to the immense task of reconstruction.

The triumphant result is not only an aesthetic masterpiece to rival the Great Pyramid but also a vital source of information about the design and construction of ancient ships and a tribute to one of the greatest periods in the history of civilization.”

Download the PDF (41.6 MB)

Khufu's boat and the pit in which is was found. Photo by Guy Flaneur.

The Cheops Boat, Part 1, by Mohammed Zaki Nour, Zaky Iskander, Mohammad Salah Osman, Ahmad Youssof Moustafa, Cairo, 1960.

Contents:

A Preliminary Report on the Newly Discovered Boat at Giza
Report on the Engineering Works in the Newly Discovered Boat
The Scientific Study and Conservation of the Objects and Materials Found in the Discovery in the Wooden Boat at Giza
The Lifting up of the Wooden Parts of the Giza Boat

The book contains several old photographs of the excavation as well as some diagrams showing the inscriptions that were found on the peices of wood and side of the pit.

Download the PDF (88.8 MB)

Thanks to the Egyptologist’s Electronic Forum and Michael Tilgner who notified the EEF of these and more new additions to the Giza Archive.

Ancient Egyptian Architecture

Vincent — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:22 +0000

Egyptologist Bob Brier is to teach a course entitled “Ancient Egyptian Architecture” at the University of Louisville. The course will cover architectural aspects of the construction of the ancient Egyptian pyramids. Apparently enrollment for the course has already exceeded the maximum number of students that was scheduled for the course.

I wonder if he’ll be discussing Jean-Pierre Houdin’s Internal Spiral Ramp theory?

“I think it’s a great class and a great opportunity,” said Mary Yates, a graduate fine art student enrolled in Brier’s class. She also stated that the class offered “more information than I ever dreamed.”

Classmate Cassandra Kincheloe agreed with Yates, describing Brier’s incorporation of philosophy and religion in the curriculum as interesting and enthralling. Brier hopes to foster in his pupils the same appreciation he had as a college student for Egyptian culture and architecture.

Brier’s own fascination with Egyptology actually sprung from an injury he sustained playing basketball. While recovering from an injury to his ACL, Brier read a textbook about hieroglyphics that someone had given him.

Next year Brier will be involved in constructing a full-scale replica of the solar boat that was found unassembled in a pit beside the Great Pyramid in 1954. He is to give a lecture about this project on February 12 called “The Boat Beneath the Pyramid: Cheops Solar Barque.”

Stay tuned to Talking Pyramids for more news on that in the coming months.

Read the full story: Scholar brings Egypt to campus

Egyptian Pyramids Entry Prices for 2009

Vincent — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:47:30 +0000

One of the main functions of Talking Pyramids is to provide up-to-date information on the Egyptian pyramids. Last year Zahi Hawass announced that he wanted all Egyptian pyramids to open to the public by 2009 though I do not think this is the case. Although I try to keep the entry prices up to date on the Pyramid Fields pages, it is very difficult to get confirmation on which pyramids are open and which are closed. If anyone has any information on the entry prices of pyramids I have missed please contact me and let me know.

The following list contains the latest prices that I have been able to confirm by speaking with people who have recently returned from Egypt. These prices are not necessarily fixed for the whole year, however, and may change throughout the year.

Abu Roash: Open
Djedefre’s Pyramid: open

Giza Plateau: 60 L.E. Open to the public: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Khufu’s Pyamid: 100 L.E.
Khafre’s Pyramid: 30 L.E.
Menkaure: 25 L.E.
Solar Boat Museum: 50 L.E.

Sound & Light Show: 60 L.E.
Three shows a day.
Winter: 6:30 pm, 7:30pm, 8:30 pm
Summer: 8:30pm, 9:30pm, 10:30pm

Zawiyet el-Aryan: Open
Khaba: closed
Nebka: closed

Abu Sir: 20 L.E.
Sahure: sometimes open
Niuserre: closed
Neferirkare: closed
Neferefre: closed

Saqqara: 60 L.E. (includes several tombs, Teti’s pyramid & the funerary temple of Djoser)
Sesheshet: closed
Teti: Free having paid to enter Saqqara
Userkaf: closed
Djoser: closed
Djoser funerary Temple: Free having paid to enter Saqqara
Unas: closed
Sekhemkhet: closed
New Tombs: 30 L.E.

South Saqqara:
Pepi I: ?
Djedkare-Isesi: ?
Merenre: ?
Ibi: ?
Pepi II: ?
Shepseskaf: ?
Khendjer: ?

Dashur: 30 L.E. (inludes entry to the Red and Bent pyramids)
Sneferu (Red): Free having paid to enter Dashur (all chambers are accessible)
Sneferu (Bent): Free having paid to enter Dashur (all chambers are closed)
Amenemhet II: closed
Amenemhet III: closed
Senusret III: closed

Mazghuna:
Amenemhet IV: closed
Sobekneferu: closed

Lisht:
Amenemhet I: closed
Senusret I: closed

Meidum:
Sneferu: 35 L.E.

Faiyum:
Senusret II: 35 L.E.
Amenemhet III: 35 L.E.

Other Sources:
Egyptian Monuments: Su Bayfield’s website contains lots of good information on travelling to the pyramids & other Travel Tips.

Dr Zahi Hawass: The Official Website of Dr Hazwass has just been revamped and contains good information on the latest happenings in Egypt.

AERA’s 2009 Field Season: Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) field work at Giza for this year can be found on their blog.

Photo of the Week – Unas Boat Pit

Vincent — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:16:21 +0000

This week’s photo of the week is of the boat pit that lies beside the Unas Pyramid’s causeway, or processional ramp.

Unas Boat Pit

One of two, this boat pit is 44m long and is located 150m away from the remains of the funeral temple. Lined with limestone blocks these boat pits are thought to have been simulacra of solar boats.

Hawass Interview: Saqqara, Giza and more

Vincent — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:57:59 +0000

Zahi Hawass in 2003

In a recent interview with Andrew Bayuk, Zahi Hawass has revealed that they have discovered another pyramid at Saqqara. It is claimed that this pyramid belonged to one of the queens of Teti. Other tombs were also found at Saqqara but a formal announcement is yet to be made.

The museum at Saqqara has been upgraded with the addition of a cafeteria. Other restorations occurring at Saqqara were mentioned such as the Serapeum, the South Tomb and of course Djoser’s Step Pyramid.

The recent laser survey of the pyramid has been conducted to record the position and condition of all the stones and will aid greatly in these restoration efforts. The Japanese Team are now collating that data which will also be published on the Supreme Council of Antiquities new website. The restoration work on the Step Pyramid will involve replacing some of the mortar between the stones.

Meanwhile at Giza preparations for the Grand Egyptian Museum continue. The conservation rooms have been completed and construction of the museum itself will begin in October. The Cairo Museum’s basement is being worked on and an ‘Open Museum’ and other renovations are planned.

On the subject of the recently opened solar boat pit Zahi said:

“You know this boat was found in 1954. But since it was found the problem was that in 1987 they opened a hole, the National Geographic came here to drill that hole to see what it looked like in the sealed pit. When they drilled the hole and inserted the camera they found there were insects and water in there. Then I brought the Japanese in 1992, and the Japanese killed the insects and built the museum above that pit. Now we have a project that consists of the following:

1. We did put a camera in there with a TV screen and 8 seats where people can pay 20 LE and they can see, for the first time, what’s underneath the pit, the boat in situ;

2. We will start in this coming year, in a few months from now, the Japanese team will take this boat and restore it, and reconstruct the boat;

3. The existing boat with this second one, we are building in the Grand Museum 2 Museums for the boats.”

When Hawass was asked about the plans to continue exploration of the narrow shafts that run from the Queen’s chamber north and south walls, he replied:

“I meet now with people from Singapore, and scientists from Manchester University, and also from Hong Kong, and we built a kind of a tunnel in the desert, similar to the one in the Great Pyramid, and they made 3 times experiments. And next month we have the final experiment. After that, we’ll choose the team to continue the work….We will hope that it’s the beginning of next year, maximum.”

Currently the pyramid of Menkaure is closed as part of the rotational cleaning system. Soon it will be opened to the public and again and Khafre’s pyramid will close to be cleaned.

Khufu’s pyramid has been removed from the rotational cleaning schedule – since the number of visitors has been reduced to 300 a day, there is no need to close the pyramid for cleaning.

Read the article in full at Guardians

Archaeorama Podcast – Khufu’s Boats

Vincent — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:45:39 +0000

Khufu's boat pit. Photo: Guy Flaneur.

Discovery News has launched a new podcast called Archaeorama. The podcast debuts with “On the Phone”, a series of interviews some of the world’s top archaeologists. The first interview is by Rossella Lorenzi with maritime archaeologist Cheryl Ward and SCA chief Dr. Zahi Hawass on the subject of Khufu’s boats.

“In this first podcast, we talk about a glorious heap of beams and planks buried beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu 4,500 years ago. The ancient wood fragments will soon be excavated and reassembled, Ikea style, into a unique pharaonic boat .

The vessel is the sister ship of a similar boat removed in pieces from another pit in 1954. Painstakingly reconstructed, this ship now stands resurrected in a museum built above the place where it was discovered.

Beautifully engineered, the boats reveal a level of skill that rivals the pyramids themselves. And like the pyramids, they raise many questions: What was their purpose? Was the embalmed Khufu taken to his pyramid in one of these ships? And why were there two boats?

But most of all, why did the ancient Egyptians first build and then disassemble and buried two expensive, full-sized royal ships at the base of the Great Pyramid?”

You can listen to the podcast at the Discovery News website