Khufu Boat History

In the 1950s a tour guide was taking a visitor, King Saud, from Saudi Arabia for a tour around the pyramids, when he suggested that an area around the base of the pyramids get clear of sand so the people could get a ground level of them. The chief of antiquities inspector of Giza, Zaki Nour, agreed and ordered an archeological team to uncover the are to see if there is anything of interest. While digging, the team found large limestone slabs set into the ground with mortar around them, meaning the slabs were not just a setting but had also been sealed. One of the slabs was broken and underneath and a large pit had been opened up and the workers caught site of an oar. Sealed in the pit for more than 4500 years was a well preserved dismantled boat that had been buried with King Khufu. The boat was in a total of 1224 pieces, which were laid carefully within the pit. The …show more content…
It resembles papyrus boats of Ancient Egypt. (footnotes) Papyri boats were used for ceremonies and used to travel to sacred places which would add to a reason that the boat was used for Khufu’s burial ceremony. It was also held together with wood and rope instead of metal. Metal was still a rare and expensive material. By building completely out of wood shows that the boat may have been rushed and they did not have the time to gather the better resources for the king. There were also twelve oars found with the ship. These oars were all carved from the same piece of wood, but it is unknown where ten of the twelve oars would be fixed. There are two oars that have spots on the back for steering, but other than that the others do not have a place. (Footnote) This suggest that the boat may not have been used for sailing at all. On the deck of the boat stands a roofed windowless deck house. (footnote) The deckhouse is thirty feet long, with a seven-foot-long inner chamber where Khufu would either be placed in or perhaps even seek shelter in the