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Ancient Egyptian boats discovered
Thursday, March 31, 2005 Posted: 10:30 AM EST (1530 GMT)
CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) -- Archaeologists have found the remains of boats used by ancient Egyptians for trading trips, the culture minister said in comments published on Wednesday.
The boats were discovered in caves in a pharaonic harbor on Egypt's Red Sea coast around 482 km (300 miles) southeast of Cairo, Farouk Hosni said in comments carried by Egypt's state MENA news agency.
They were used to transport goods to and from the Land of Punt, he said. The Land of Punt, mentioned in ancient Egyptian writings, is thought by most archaeologists to be the coast of the Horn of Africa.
"Excavations discovered a group of sail and mast ropes, wooden ship beams and thin planks made of cedars, imported from northern Syria," MENA quoted Zahi Hawas, chairman of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, as saying.
Hawas said a team from Boston University in the United States working with an Italian team had made the discovery.
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