Abydos boats
archaeological site in Egypt
The Abydos boats are the remnants of a group of ancient royal Egyptian ceremonial boats found at an archaeological site in Abydos, Egypt. Discovered in 1991, excavation of the Abydos boats began in 2000 at which time fourteen boats were identified. They are located alongside the massive mudbrick structure known as Shunet El Zebib, attributed to the 2nd Dynasty Pharaoh Khasekhemwy. Shunet El Zebib is one of several such "enclosure wall" constructions at this site dating back to the Early Dynastic Period, and is located nearly one mile from the royal cemetery of Umm El Qa'ab.
Discovery
The University of Pennsylvania Museum and Yale University Expedition carried out the excavation of the Abydos boats. Lines of mudbrick uncovered by blowing sand were first noticed in 1988 at a site a mile away from the royal tombs in Abydos. These brick remains were first thought to be just walls. However, it was later determined that they were the boundaries for more than a dozen ship burials from an early dynasty. Each ship grave had its own brick boundary walls. The outline of each grave was in the shape of a boat, and the surface of each was covered with mud plaster and whitewash.
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