New discovery: Egypt's oldest harbor, collection of papyrus uncovered

Catholic Online ^ | April 16, 2013

[NYer]

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Dating back to the days of the Pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops in the Fourth Dynasty, the harbor dates back 4,500 years. The Great Pyramid of Giza serves as the tomb of Khufu, who died around 2566 B.C.

The harbor was built on the Red Sea shore in the Wadi al-Jarf area, 112 miles south of Suez. The harbor was discovered by a French-Egyptian mission from the French Institute for Archaeological Studies.

The site "predates by more than 1,000 years any other port structure known in the world," according to the mission's director, Pierre Tallet of the University of Paris-Sorbonne.

Egyptian authorities said the archaeologists found a variety of docks, as well as a collection of carved stone anchors.

Considered one of the most important commercial ports of ancient Egypt, the recently discovered harbor is where trips to export copper and other minerals from the Sinai Peninsula were launched.

In addition, the team also unearthed a collection of 40 papyri that detailed the daily lives of ancient Egyptians during the 27th year of Khufu's reign. "These are the oldest papyri ever found in Egypt," Egypt's antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim says. Among the subjects reportedly covered were the arrangements for getting bread and beer to the workers heading out from the port.

One papyrus is said to detail the daily activities of an official named Merrer, who was involved in building the Great Pyramid.

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks for the background links, the exposed blocks I saw sure didn’t look like concrete to me.. interesting.

[SunkenCiv]

My pleasure.

[Cronos]

one thing to note would be the population of the world in 2000 BC was about 25 million

[Cronos]

we underestimate our ancestors. Even without the wheel, they used other ingenious means to move these

[Cronos]

not really, pyramid building ended by the end of the Old Kingdom, so by 1700 BC, before Isaac’s sons moved in. The other buildings would have been built (temples etc)

[Cronos]

not really, pyramid building ended by the end of the Old Kingdom, so by 1700 BC, before Isaac’s sons moved in. The other buildings would have been built (temples etc)

[SunkenCiv]

Au contraire — pyramid building continued right on through pharaonic Egypt, ending during the New Kingdom. The Middle Kingdom pyramids reverted to mudbrick, as the pre-4th mastabas had been constructed, with stone sarcophagi. During the New Kingdom pyramid building was much smaller, both brick and stone. Eventually, beginning with the 25th dynasty (Nubian dynasty of Egypt) the practice moved upriver, where it continued in burial practices until the 4th c AD.

[Cronos]

I did not know that. Thanks for the correction

[SunkenCiv]