Unique Discovery Made in Egyptian Necropolis: Archaeologists Uncover a 4,500-Year-Old Funerary Boat Alongside Tomb of Unknown Elite, Who Was Not part of the Royal Family

Czech archaeologists have unearthed an 18 meter (59.1 ft.) long boat near a tomb of an unknown member of the Old Kingdom’s elite class in Abusir (Abu-Sir), Egypt. The boat was found in a good state of preservation and there are hopes that the new discovery will help to increase Egyptologists’ understanding of the purpose of ships in funerary rites and shipbuilding techniques of the Old Kingdom.

The archaeologists are from the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, and have said that the boat is unique and in good condition – many of the boards and pegs have even been found in their original positions. The report on the iFORUM site of Charles University explains that:

“Extraordinarily, the desert sand has preserved the plant fiber battens which covered the planking seams. Some of the ropes that bound the boat together are also still in their original position with all their details intact, which is a unique discovery in the study of ancient Egyptian boats. All these minute details are of the highest importance, since most of the ancient Egyptian boats and ships have survived either in poor state of preservation, or were dismantled in pieces.”

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities told the press that the remains of the ship were found on top of stones, and its orientation, length, and the pottery collected from its interior have led the team to date the boat to the very end of the Third or beginning of the Fourth Dynasty, approximately 2550 BC.