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The River Nile which flows over a large part of Egypt is considered a boon to Egypt. It forms the most suitable means of conveyance throughout Egypt. Construction of boats became mandatory to serve as a means of transport across the Nile. Boats were constructed in various designs depending on their intended purpose.

Primarily boats were made for the purpose of transportation, fishing and leisure activities. Ancient Egyptian boats can also be seen depicted in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and they also played an important role in Egyptian religion and mythology.

Numerous remains of ancient Egyptian boats were found in Abydos and Tarkhan, as archaeologists could not find any in the ancient Kingdom of Egypt. The King Khufu's ship proves to depict a contemporary model exactly like the boat of ancient Egypt. It is a perfect portrayal of the ships designed in the ancient Egyptian period.

Construction styles of the boats from the earliest dynasty were found in many regions of Abydos. Studies of these remains indicate that the boats were constructed with a good plan. With a width of 3 meters, a length of 25 meters and a depth no more than 60 centimeters, they had sufficient place for about 30 people to row. The stern of the boat, as well as the prow had a typical tapering effect through the length of the boat. Archaeological studies clearly show that remarkable paintings were done on the surface of the boats for decoration.

Wood used for building the boat structure happened to decay as time passed by, and therefore a deeper study of type of wood was not possible. Archaeologists assume that in the earliest dynasty of the Egyptian kingdom, wood from the Cedar tree was used to construct boats.

The way that the boats were constructed is quite apparent. The Egyptians would cut out planks of wood which would then be lashed with one another using tools that were fed through specially created mortises. The wooden planks had seams between them and reeds were utilized to caulk them. Unlike modern-day boats the ancient Egyptian boat design did not factor in internal framing. An uncovered boat would seem to be twisted.

Ships and boats of the ancient Egyptian period are drawn in their popular script called hieroglyphics. A lot of such paintings and drawings adorn the walls and even tombs particularly in Medinet Habu and also in Deir el Bahri. Both these places are famous on account of such scripts showing Egyptian boats and ships.

Hieroglyphics have helped Egyptologists to a large degree to understand the boat-making methods of ancient Egypt. The actual remains of boats have helped relatively to a lesser extent. However, the ship-construction methods of the new kingdom are not clearly learned by historians.

The state gave importance to boat and ship construction. Rulers like Pharaoh Snefru promoted this task by supporting them. This enabled them to strengthen the Navy. Boats were also built for fishing and leisure time activities.

Ancient Egyptian clothes were produced from cotton, silk and animal skins. If you want to get more info about ancient Egyptian boat designing please follow the hyperlink.