Friday, 27 July 2012

A Pharaoh’s 5, 000 year-old boat unearthed

Pharaonic solar boat estimated as 5,000-year-old has been unearthed by French archaeologists in Abu Rawash, West of Cairo, Egypt, the country’s antiquities ministry said few days ago.

Egypt’s Antiquities Minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, said the date of the boat “goes back to the era of Pharaoh Den, one of the First Dynasty kings."

The pharaohs, according to legends, held a belief that solar boats buried close to their grave would offer another life after death.

It’s six-metre (19.6 feet) long and 1.5-metre wide and “in good condition," Ibrahim added.

About 58 years ago, 1954 precisely, an Egyptian archaeologist discovered what was described as Pharaoh Khufu's solar ship, a 43-metre made of cedar at a Giza pyramid. About 4, 500 year-old vessel, it’s currently on display near the pyramid.

However, the new discovery is undergoing renovation before it is put on display in a museum.

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