Boats

Without the Boats that the Builders utilised to navigate the River Nile, none of Egypt’s buildings would have been created

Boats of the Deities: The Barque

There were two forms of Boat or Barque for the Deities: a floating full-size Boat and a Sacred Barque which was a miniaturised form to hold the Statue of the Deity. The first is a Religious Artefact of the Deities which allowed their physical form in the guise of a cult statue to move around during Festivals and for other religious reasons, the second was an actual vessel which carried the deceased Pharaoh on the journey from being a Human Royal to being a Deity

Royal Ceremonial Solar Boats

These Boats are believed to have had 2 uses: as a Funerary Barge to carry Pharaoh after death to their Mortuary Complex. Especially for use at Giza where the Great Channel of Memphis tributary of the Nile River was designed to lead to the Harbour Areas which then served Pharaoh’s Mortuary Complex. When the Pharaoh’s changed their Funerary routine from one of a great visual display to a more hidden and secretive affair in the Valley of the Kings and Queens, then Solar Boats were used figuratively in a miniaturised form. Their second purpose was for Pharaoh’s use in the Afterlife as a Ceremonial Boat which would carry the revitalised Pharaoh with Sun God Ra across the sky, hence the name Solar Boat

Royal Ceremonial Boats at Abydos

At Shunet es-Zebib, Abydos, an ancient Necropolis, there are the remains of 14 Royal Egyptian Ceremonial boats which are known to be the oldest ‘planked’ boat that has been discovered in Egypt to date. The Boats seem to have held a ritual significance for the Pharaoh and the Pharaoh’s use in the afterlife, as all the Sterns are pointed towards the River Nile. These Ceremonial Boats used “unpegged joints” allowing Egyptian boats to be easily disassembled, transported long distances through the desert and then re-assembled