historical boat and ship replicas

conference-proceedings on the scientific perspectives

and the limits of boat and ship replicas
Torgelow 2007
edited by Maik-Jens Springmann and Horst Wernicke
Steffen Verlag
Maritime Kulturgeschichte von Bodden- und Haffgewassern des Ostseeraumes
BuildingHatshepsut'sPuntShip:
ScienceandShipReconstruction
Cheryl\1\1<l rd, Couser & Tom Vosmer
' M ilriettc, 1877,pp. 229-231.
1 For example: f:aulkuer, 1940,
liP. 79; u mdstriim, 1970, Pl'.
122-127; Wachsmmln, 1998,
pp. 1829.
Harll ami Fat/oi' lei!, 2007.
Steffy, 1994, IIP- 42-59.
s McGrail, 2001, pp. 6-7.
fi g. I
Detail from oneofthe
Egypti..l ll shi jY.' Mr iving at
Punt.
11ll'rodllct iol1
Since the first substantia l publi cation, ill 1877,I
ofreliefsfeaturingsailingshipsfromc. 1482 13CE
at Hatshepsut's funerary monument at
Deir el Sahari, Egyptologists, arcllaeo]ogi sls,
nilV,l] archittOctsandmanyothershavespeculat-
ed aboutthe deshnation, size,ch<l1acteris-
tics, and the accuracy of the relief repre8enta-
Fi veshi ps, pictured in each of two regis-
ters, areshown arriving and depart.ing from a
locabon caJ led Punt - "God's Land". Produce
including frankincense, myrrh, il.'opmd skins,
ivvry, gold, baboons, da nCing d warvcs, giraffe
tails and oth('r exotica is shown 1x:inr, loaded
onboord vessels.
Most Egyptologists agree that Punt was found
on the African coos l of the southern Red Sea,
where these species ME' accessible and histori-
call yattestedast!""deitemsin im(lges and wri t-
ing onEgypti an rvya lmonuments (rom atleast
the Fifth Dynasty (King SJhme), c.2480 BCE to
Islamkand even modern times. Until recently,
despite the enti ci ng realism of the low-relief
images (Fig. 1), the lac k ofany direct physical
evidencefrom seagoing vesselsmZlde itdifficult
to test hypoLhesesabou t tltchllology,capac-
ityand capability ina ri gorousway.
Today,withnewdata fromexcavationsconduct-
ed at Wadi Cawasis by the UnivC:'rsity of
Naples/Boslon Uni\'ersity team underthedirec-
tion of Rodolfo Fattovich and Kathryn Bard,Sit
is possibl e to base a reconstructi on o.f a Plint
shiponscientificfowldal ions.
Therole of experiment;}1 a rdlaeology,shi p replj-
cas andshiprt'Conslructions within the field of
maritime isboth widely
and widely debated. Ewn rur relati vely
vessels, where substantial hull remains may
exist, as in the case of the Kyreni a sh.ip ' dil ting
from c.290 BCE, signifi cant interprernti on and
interpolation me required to upper
hull works, riggi ng, numberoi crew and other
criti cal components of <, working vessel. Wit h
fUllding arranged by Sombrero and Co.., a
French documenlMY production comp.my, we
havedesigned it 20 m-Iong ship to besailedon
theRedSea.Unlikemanyofthe shipsdiscussed
atthe conference, itsconstructi on i"notdirectly
sponsored bya museum,butthevesselwill find
i1 homeina mUf;el1nl and will beexhibited in 21
number of museum displays afte r completing
itsSil iJing tri als.
Whenwei11\.ls t relyondocuml.' nt<1ry andiceno-
graphic I:'vidence without direct physic ..1ev i-
dence, itis important to which
tinll:; mOly ondmay notbespecihcaUyaddressed
by the reconsh1.1cri on. Following Me Crail,'our
efforts<In' to:
"123
1. Keep clear aims. [n other words, be sure to
undeTstandhowdataused ttlcreateade'>ign are
related to thehypotheses orquestions askedof
the experiment and to the observed data.
Circular Z1rgulT,ents a:opear frequently, but
rarely meei with success in the scientific com-
munity.
2. Maintaina rigorousapproach.Thereare lit-
erally thousands of d<,cisions to be macc, a.nd
knowing '..vhy and howeach choice is made is
crucial to being able to assess the outcome of
replica <lnd rcconslTuction cxperirncuts.
3. Usenwthodsthat arebOtl1 authenlicandlog-
icaL That is.. select technologies that reflect the
s(-!afaring times and econf)n1)f!S we set'K to
replicate rather than what 'seems natural', a
phrase that almost always suggests a modern
approachtoanarklentproblem.
4. Test decisions dnd models using modem
techniques,f0rex.ample: computermodellingof
the hull and. its characteristics. This enabled. us
to examine a number of slightly different hull
forms in a short space oftime, something thaJ
would hilVC been ilchieved by the ancients
through bullform refinementovera numberof
years.
Physicale-ddenceanddesign background
Tn tht' caseofilifin"ffile ourprimaryaim
is to create a full-sized. recnnstructinn of d
pharaonic Punt ship in tf) tet;t its sailing
abilities and to evaluate hull teclmologies with
respecttofastenings, watertightnessanddisas-
sembly."Tbe designis basedondetaj]s from 22
ancient Egypl"ian full-siL.ed craft,'.<;eagoing ship
timbers, ship models, and images of seagoing
ships, especially those from Hatshepsut's mor-
tuary templeotDeird Boh'1fi. AncientEgyptian
bOllis builtfor USf' 00 the i'Jile dale (TOm c.3GOO
to c.500 l:K"E/ but it is only recently that the
remai.ns ofseafilri.ng shipshavebeen identified
atGav,!3sis andfurthernorthatAynSoukhnaon
the[{ed Sea.'
Because cOTlstnlCl"ion techniques used tu build
river vessels differ significantly from those oj"
later seagoingcraft, manyschol-
<'IrS assumed Egyptian seafaring ships
would more dosely reBect Mediterranean-type
construction techniques,'O specifically mortise-
and-tenonfastenings locked with pegs. Instead,
discoveries at (;awasi" prnve that Egyptian.
design and con.struction lec],niques, relying (\1'.
thick planks, frameJess h:.!lls and puire<i,
uo:oegged, deep mortise-ond-tenon joints were
successful both on the Nile and at sca.
n
Our
intention is to test thc performance of a fu11-
sizedcraftbu.ill to thesespedfkations.
Becausemostof the timbersse(:'m to be ill con-
texts dated to ::he very lote Middle Kingdom
(MK),Secund lnlcnncdic:dc Period or(arly New
Kingdom{NK),we feel confident thattheypro-
vide information pertinent to the de'>ign of a
Shlpnol;)terthem H;)tsh(-!psut's time.SirnilaritiC's
infasteningpatterns,timbershape,construction
styles and tool kits are identifiable beh\eeo
Gmvasis finds arKt the MI< cedar ceremonial
boats frnm Dashur (c.1850 BeE) rtnd l"he disas-
sembled MK working boat timbers ot Lisht
(c.1950BeE).Wedrewheavilyonthesefindsin
eSlablisbing hull form, selecting construc-
tion technology and ideniifying appropriate
moterialsfor thereconstnlCtion.
Basisforthehullfonn
Min, bke the J:econstructed trireme 01ympias.
11
.
will bea fluating hypothesis, ralhr thana repli-
ca, because there are no ancient Red Sea ship-
wrecksavailableto study. Neitheraretheresur-
viving river-craft from ttl(' New Kingdom to
compare to earlier vessels nor precise dates
available for individuol ship components from
Gawasis. Like Olympia'>, l\i1in's designreliedall
il. rangeofevidence from a broad chronological
period, in our case, covering ObN\t 35(1 p.'MS.
Forthedesisnoftheriggingandlnforlfiillionon
construction practices, iconic and model evi-
denn:, was used lo supplement physical data
fromexcavations.
FroHl our revjew of these detil.iis ond existing
archaeological evidencE', WE' then approached
the PuntreliefofHatshepsut from a metrologi-
calperspective.\Ve wereabletodothisbecause
the Cawilsis finds included il nurnbe.ofidenti-
fiable ship components that are directly and
indirectly represented in the relief images,
enabling, for the first hme, comparisons
betweenphysicalremainsandartisticrepresen-
totionofsimilarcomponents.
, line /il}(" a slMCC
bet,<'f(ll p,,ctS alld "145
kill'
! VViird, 20i)(i.
Ward, 1006, Pi'. 118-129.
tv!. alidcl-Rn2!'i, G. CastEl, fl.
Tallet 20n6, Ayn Soklmn e: ia
i((mgr, Ego))'tc, Afriqueci
Oriente41.'3-6.
AI Ayll S01ikhr/ll r/e<lr SuC"z,
;"rcnr!: di,c(OlJ
ered ship til1lhen 10 em thick
IImi u;; Ie 23W! wide'with
n:orfise-al1d-fenOI1flls/fllm,';s
m:d lashingChiinl1Cb rcused
in arc/iilcclt/l"IliC0n!cxi5 il!
"gillin-ifs' Ihal milY ,iakto
the time11 Saliuy('.
,,, {!tlcker. 1998. pn. 245246;
Pulal:, 1999.
.The iiuthorsarc gr<JIcfui to
Kathryn Hrmi illld Rodo(((1
Fattovi(hji}!" permission to
sllid!! this mateu'al, and JUoufd
l1i5e ilk!' 10 I!umk Ciliatli
Zazzarc, Ralnel" Gcrisch,
/vlo!Ulrtll'd abd e/.Maguidlind
oilier 0/fhi'eXCllv(I-
lion team al Mcrsa/VI/lldi
C(w'IIsis/('1" sharing th("ir
IImi knowledge.
'" .'larrison,
JOOO.
USlng the dimensions of Gawasis steering oar
bJadcs, planks, stanchion, and beam ends as
te:c;ts of the PlUlt relief, we confi rmed the ft.-Iiabil
ity of human Ggure scali ng. Comparing the
spacing of the ends of the crossbeams, iIIustrat
ed un one of the five ships nrriving a l Punt, with
dimensions for GOlwasis dlo'Ck planks led U$ to
on <'Ill overall length for the ship of 20.3
In, with CI hulliengi h of 18.3 m and n maximum
beam of 4.9 m at Ihe Length un deck will
be about 17.8 01 , with a DWL length of 13.4 m.
As reconstructed, Min will displace about 30
tonnes.
The maximum beam and underwate r hull foml,
not visible in the Punt relief's, are predominant
ly based on the MK Oashur bouts from c.1850
'BCE (Fig. 2) as recorded by Ward.
'
! The O')shur
boats reflect proportions visi ble in many models
and ilnages of w<Hercr,lft in ancient Eh'Ypt. In
addition, individual compontmts such as deck
I' Ward, 2UOO.
planks, beams and hull planks demonstrOltc a
continuity of pructke aud proportion across
time and berween river and sea-going vessels.

.:: " . X ::-
,- " '"'

Fig. 2
Profil e and plan for the
A major between the Oashur boats
Dashu[ bOOlt in the rield and the NK runt relief ships is the
Chicago presence of a significant keel plank in the lalle r.
(C Ward d rawing)
Although Egyptian river-boats were built
around a central sl'rake thai protmded sli ghL1y
below the hull planking. it was not substantially
thicker than huU' piilJtks.
By the time of H<1tshepsut, there are multiple
strands of evidence, including a gruup of three
models each aboul 2 m long from the tomb of
ri g. 3 Amenemhet II ('.1425 BCE), to the exis-
80dy li nes for Min ,)! lilt tence of a true keel plank of substantial dimen-
with Dashur hull and
sions that, un like later craft, protruded within
two ver:.ions with incre<lsed
rather than wi.thout the ve$sel be!ow tht: wdter-
(If .,nd with an
line. III rhis case, we Jooked to threedimension-
additional JO cm
.11 ancient ship mode ls and to the constlllcti on of
(P. Couser).
the ,.1300 BCE Uluburun ship, probabJy of
Canaanite ori gin, to supplement h ....odimeu-
sional infonnatiol1 from the Punt relief's.
N(1l1al Arcltitectl/ri
Min of the Desert was designed and analyS4:!d
using the Maxsurf Naval Architecture design
suite from Formiltion Design Systems
(http://www.tormsys.com) ( Fig. 3). Anal ysi.<;
included of static stability as well as esti
mates of [he seakeeping performtlllce and cil lm-
water resistance of vessel.
Using the Dashur boat, (or the profile
views shown in Ihe rl!lief drawings, as a basi s
hull fonn, some adjustments werl! made so as to
improve the vessel's stability. The Dashur boa t
was a ri ver going vessel, requi ring less stability
than a vessel operating in open wdtel' on the Red
Sea.
We calculated stabiHty curve!; for the parent and
two modifio?d hull forms (or the same cUsplace-
ment and C!:i lim<l ted vcrlicdl centre of gravity
(EK- 4 " 5)_ _
The differences are subtle but Significant. With
the vessels ballasted to their design waterlines,
the effect of lowering the centre of gravity is
dearl y shown with the angle of vanishing stabil
ity increasing from abl..lut 82 to 94 degrees .
TIle ef(ecl of reducing the beam/draught ratio is
to reduce the initia l stabi li ty sli ghtly (but this is
not necessMily a bad thi ng).
AO)uIVd o;...."" ',"S
10 ,eIIec! III\8pe a l
F<naI a'"""",IoItl/o< , HftsMp$"t'r

<I@pI h lorl\;oOolily
,-
l,ne.. 01
Ow>u<

: : a/MIN
.. .". ,'
__ .
.... "'-- .' j /' -
:. . '. / II .-,.. I 1
- . ,. \.." . ,I I
. '. '. . / ;.' :, / I,
, . .''' , .- ,I
\. .... -.... ' / ,/ II
..c"" '-- ---,-- ______ / --/-# _ _
" .. "'-, -, . ' / //
,......... '- ._.' ,
..:' ....' - " -'" ......
. --t' ... "
-... ::--: -''';:'';'''--
TI1e deeper vessel has If:>SS initial eM (slope at
zero hl.'<.:I) than the parent which will m<l ke the
vesseJ feel less stable. This is actually beneHcial
because it means that the crew will probably be
inclined to push the vessel less hard. Even with
this reduced initial stabili ty, the vessel is weU
within acceptable limits (except for nnglt! of
ded; edge immersion). WheI'C the deeper
has significantly beller stnbili ty is angle!".
of heeL. It is hoped tholt the vesse] will never
reach this level of heel. but if it wen:: to do so, it
is Likely Ih,)t the deeper vessel would fair better
thnn the pnrent beCiltlSt: the effecti ve angle of
vil nishing stabilit y is extended from 68 to 78
degrees.
ongle of deck edge immersion remains
rather Low for both vt!ssd s but there is no way of
overcoming this except by increasing the free-
board. The vessel 's stability is significantly
affected by its vertical centre of gravity. A
change of as little as a few l.-entlmetres can have
d dramatic effect. The heeling moment of the sail
under different sailing rondWons must also be
considered. Fortull<llely these- effects on static
stability are e<l sy to evaluil te and may be used to
<lssess different interpretati ons of archaeological
data, such as placement of cargo and/or ballast.
Other such as the of stability due to
Willer in the bi lges and dynamic stabi lity in
waves can also be using computer-based
models. Such calculations lay a ba!>eline for
dealing wi th stability questions, but raise other
questions immooiatdy.
1. Wha t val ue did the ancients place on their
sai lors, vessels and corgo - wcre losses at sea
acceptable?
2. What kind of ballast might have been u.sed,
if any?
3..How mudl water did the ancients comider
acceptable in the hold?
4. If a certain level of water is in the hold unre-
strained by frnminJ;. how doc'S that affect cargo
Jading?
5. How WilS excess water excluded from the
hull?
The last qut!Stlon ext remely important to our
project as is nu evidence for caulking or
wdterproofing il gents such as pitch or luting on
I
r;
[deg]
plank seams of Irge Egyptian craft. Rivercraft
had over the plank seams, held in place
by lashings, but the re .lre no Lashing channels on
the shipworm-dam"sed tilnbcrs and no traces
of fort'ign mote-rial s on their edgt!s. A full -size
model of pari of the hull stTucture will be used
to test tJ,e wnle-r lightness and structural integri-
ty of the pinal:: seams to help a nswer some of
thSC' questions; this is ano ther vital component
of the reconstruction.
CUIIstmctiOIl Tecilllology
Others have outlined the difficulty in buiJding
andent craft in today's world. Insufficient sup-
plie.c: of appropriote timber, loss of craftsman-
ship skil ls, and uniamiJiarjl y with <lndent meth-
ods create difficulties for those seeking to main-
tain thl:c' logiF. tical and historkal <l uthenridly
required (or testi ng hypotheses in a scientifical
Iy ri gorous manne!. What reli abili ty of scientjfic
observaUon .1nd interpre tation can exist whel\
so much must bt: ink-rred from the arch"eologi
cll i record?
Fig. 4
SlabiJity (GZ) curves (01
tllrH vertl iOI'l,$ O( Min of the
DtSt'Tt. The deepest option
was for safety and
stability
5
Stabilit y cti lf/!riCi summ<lrY
In theCil seofEgyptianwatercraft,wehavea rel-
" Ward, 2{)()6, pp. 19-23.
<love abu.ndance of wssels from the past tu
examine, andbecause they range from the late
'.' Haldane /Wnrd/, 1992, pp.
fourth10 the mjd-fi n;1millenniumBe!::,itispos-
UJ212 rind 1'1.115-32.
sibletoma kesomereasonablestatementsilboul"
developments in ship building technologies.
Pula/(, 2003.
TIle earliest watercrafl preserwd in E:gypt, flat-
boNomed C<U1OCS, relied on lashing through
channels from jnnl:! r faces to p lank edges to
unitethehul1. "By c. 2550BeEandtheconstruc-
tion of the 43m-l ong Khufu ships, small,
unlockedmortise-and-tenonfasteningsbetwefi'n
plankedgeshad supplementedtheselashings.
Fig. 6
By c.1950 BeE, lashing occuned only (It plank
Shipplank 134,2.93 TIl
ends Clod deep, poired ftl s-
lung,fromGaw,l si.s(upper)
li ndUshlplank6, 1.66m
teningsaretobefoundinjoinedpJ.:mksatUsht;
long(lower) origina ll y from watercraft, these planks had
(byC. Ward) subsequently beenn.-cycled asbu"il ding materi-
c.;:::;.;.;r--;c---m __ ... ... .. "7.;,,;" .. '-
- - I ' '''!..... ._._ .::,.1 <'>"
.. ..-.- .- .
.... ..:... ---.. -..... ......."" .... ...!. ....... _
-.. .-.-.. ...-- :.i' ....'::-.......1
'"-___.. ' I !!!. _.-:: , ' =
'." __ "c,-,_ ".--.
..
'-,- -/
..
._-_.... .-.._-- . - .. -... . --...- .-........
' ''-''\0-__,

, (J:2 i........
... "
u.. ... .....=-.. ,.n ..
g:-",'i.;;.."'l "''""- - ",,''''=,1
...;,.,. :., . ,L . f.!'': ... ..
UshlPlank6
....:-_._- ..._--_._.._... _-- .._--_...__.
." ., "
, . 100 , .. '...--------1
.. ' ._/
. . "j; . ; ". :. <>
" - - - :,'. fj"""T,


,-I
... ........ -: ..... - -
alsoPaired mortise-il nd-tenon joints occuragain
at Gil wasis, but not at DashuI, suggesting that
heavy b:eight vessels and seagoing hulls ffiilde
use of unusual combination ofthick plill1ks
(14-22cm thi ck)anddeepjoints.Theani}'
lion recorded is in the ancient reuseof planks
with pa ired morti ses ilS deck beams in the
Dashurbo<lt displayedas EM 4925 inthe Ca iro
Mu..<:eum andtheCarnegieboal.
Like other ancient ships, Mill depends upon
wood-to-woodfasteningsalong pl.mk edges. A
single ligature channel on Gawasis plank T34
retained narrow copper straps to assist in in
securingitsnarrowendtothe keelplank,buton
the whole, the fastening patterns closely resem-
ble those ofsome Lishttimbers(Fig.6).' !By the
rcpeatedd iscovery of similarpatterns, we infer
ancientsuccessinsolvinga problemevenifour
modemexperience doesnoteasily replicate the
identicalsolution.
Analyse,> ofthe structural integrity ofthe main
hulland the fasteningsaTe ,d...."'ysdifficuJt but
al so very important in experimental construc-
ti on, since if the fastenings me not sufficiently
strong, it is possiblethatthe vessel could break
up. Full-scale testpieces can nssess theslTength
of the joints. Cernal Pulak hasshown tha t tests
of mortise-imd-tenon fastening patterns, in his
case, those of the Hellenistic Kyrenia and Late
Brofl2 Age Uluburun ships, pTovide useful
data. .Henotesthatsheartt:.'Sts resuh inplanks
giving way longbeforethe joints, informing us
notonlyaboutthereliabilityofcertainfastening
patternsand methods, but also aboutthe profi-
ciency of ancient shipwri ghts in oVrbuilding
for sil fety. For the sake of comparison. hull
planksonthe Uluburunship Me less than half
thethicknessofGawasi sp lanksalthoughtenons
arethesamelength.TIle majordifferenceis the
useof pegsto lock the tenon s on either sideof
the plankS<.:am inUlubunmplanks and the use
of paired joi nts in the Egyptian planks from
Gawasis.
Tests of the stIengt h and water ti ghtness of
plank wi.1l provide infonnation
regarding someofthe major aspects of the hul!
but there arestill significantquesti ons relating
10 manyothe rdetails, such as:
whetherornol fxamJng waspresenl,
- howthphoggingtHl$t ins!eneatothebwJl
.mditsexactpttrpQ$f',
how the l"':1ast W0S linked to d,021m:: (there "P2"
four diferenl. Op110t1S presented 011 the Pun!
rdid),etc.
\VHb {'very derision, we "i.-p or
ftOm lhe illtclej,t 50ll::ion to
OUT d problf:lriHustrilt.;d in the
$t'lectJonofbuildingmah:l;ldls"
Materialstind,\Ii7thods
Asnotede"'1':1er. fhe!OtE'stIY:eSOUTcet-:availiJble
today do not providl' the se!ectio;\ of limber
.;1v"iLabk :0 sl:tipwright::; of the pa<;t.
expcrimenlalcmftattempth)balanceava:!ilblJi*
tyand(0s-1, resuJtJ:;gin choke:::: Ihatleadtolam,
inated framE$, n\)rhwth.:nticmethodsoffash'D*
ing or reinfoIremf:'nl, imd even the additionof
modem safety .:qt;ipmertt such as motors.
;v1ateriab:,,(tt'net;':Scntlc;,;;yjmportantto H'Con-
st;:1c::ion dnd rerik"dfosGbothin id2D:ih--
cAtionofuriginal mate!'ialsandinth0idcnrifka-
tinn ot mdtefJ41 sllch as den,,(ty M.d
Yo:mg's mo(iJ.<lus.
Arch.J\:>()logica! cvide;;l'it nnquE's:ionably poir.ts
to Le",).1DOn redat (Cedrus ii}J"niJ ihthe primilry
wood for A1fits subtn2rg-ed hulL It1S not avail-
dbl", for mrllxnerdill haTvesting today in the
quantities f",quired: 100 cubic mt;'ters ;1( plAnks
15-30or.thick,find upto50onwideinlengths
c,f;'m or so with ht'>Jrtwood rurx1:ng through
nee cent;;r of Hie plank. COn5ui!alion \-v\th
forestE'rssuggested thalDo)uglasiir(PSWdols4ga
!11(''14,ir;:,ii) j" the w\lpd with m()st comparable
q".talttie"ofgrai11, Young'smm:tu]Ui"nddnl),ity,
and we located a wood st:?plkrwho can, pro-
Yloe lht' volume of wood with our n.:qu","Sted
,;nt! ChMacicnsti<:s, We c,;n
the Ancient choice of tenon wood Acatltl
I[i{oti;:a (Nilefiend;)) withno;bii1(uJty Alth(mgh
\ve have no arcn<:eolog-iC.ill information for
masts0r spors., _lnciel1t texts suggestccd..lt <-vas
lhe wood of choice bcre 015 welL so again wC'
haveelected to u*'Dour,la.sfjl;ilS a substitutE'.
n'_eClIneI'rnojordCclsizmsrej,1!e:otheriggingof
theship\vltr_a singlesquaT"?S<1i1 :hAI reflf'cts
Punt reliefsdirectl,',," Itssize(about 14m x 6m;
prodttcesA sal! area of..boul 80squarE' tne(Pb,
mntmllt'd by runni.ng rigging illustrated in
models, theH?liefsdraWings and perhapsrerre-
serted mort; dir.;>ctly by \,\)tls of fOpt: f(lund at
GiJWCl$is (Scm, 3.5cr::lz and ltm in diameter),
Textile (ragme:<t!> atGawaslsiJre ':nen
r
and one
ot lee:',t may represent<l torn bit of.';-.ailc1(Jth, so
we will commission i1 linen 1><lil f(;r the voyage
lllal to characteristics of looms,
weave. ar,cI .velght from OrChil o)ogical .;:vi-
denceinEgy-pt. Ropeldf'lltiucation h.3'i notbee:!.
Ompiett'ci, but 'N2 arlO iitkmpling to USt; l:wJfo
gf<:SS hand-laidinOrr\;)J)Of!. tnt!b;,slSofilsover-
\vhelmmg in t:'ml"irrudion projects CIs"'-
wherQ in ancient fgypt and the gross
lOf;icd s::niliJrities between th{' Gi1WdS1S
dudidentified h;Ma b"Td"iS scunples. Ihvean:::- r.ot
ubk to obtClin Cl ':it1Fply of11<1lf" grass, v.:e "\-vUl
use ht'mpcordageas ltsphysical propertiesa:e
DW:'Jt "imila;' PbyO'ical prope-rl'if's IhE'f f;)Y<:;, in"
ourgtlldf;'S1::\ !"'\ah\L)i:ting;::gou;- uf h.
milteri,.,1s selectionand 10 thewayi.n whkh the
rnaterialswill beuS<?(L
\Vith respect to(onstrudkm methods
i
th("f ,.re
projects that Z1ttcmpt :,1 (E'plicate the andent
ptoCes.3 with<lHci('n! h)Ois.
Even tho.: best- of th0SP, as a.t Rosk:.lde where
extensi.ve hull n?muins, archaeoJogiUlI
lion dt.d l?x!X'rierJ', oiind sl"irniific teSlJng hove
pmd"Jceo the world's replicas,
relyonjJ1t0f0Dtialrepr(ldi..H:EonofBndt'n! to"l"
wielded by modem sbjpbuddt>l"s who h4vt'
develo;;ed th";l- ownrhythmsandprO.;;III.-"\-'$ thtlt
Indy(JT I)1dy notbesimiklf ofthetenH,w
cenfurr Viking!'," E:sewhcre, such as on
Kyrmiareplica, buildersbeganv<lith hand lU(lI$
<lnd "traJifinnal" methods, but quickly i1hifted
to replicating j';v; results with power t()01s, a
pro-..'ess thatccrt:tin:y t;.p C'vltting mortis-
es by h'ithoat Ine Y ilr5 and deCildcs of
expeneno;the<!J!dcnt shipbuilderswould h,1ve
acquired.
;"11N .villbe r.uJJt in Oman under,hedirection
ofTom\';y,mcrbyshipouildersWht1 h.:rveextf'n"
sivc expcrience it' using handhd,,.;d i\d7,c'),
druts, ;;:hISf'b and pull saws simjl,u to iU1Cient
EgY'ptian 0xarnples .1<; well as modern b;,md
SJ'i'iS unci cranes"
ThedOC\lm Tltation ofthep;:""ocess byamaritime
archaf'ologlst tlnd stress teshn;; of dHfrC'nt
metnoo!'is alsoa partofOUT pn*cL
Again, we turn to rigorous documlmtation and
scientificlestiJ'lg toensurelha tourdataare rele-
va nt to howtheseancientvessels
\verebuiltandScliled.
OurparticularsituationjsevenmalecompHcat-
l.-d beca usewe must'build the shipasifit wele
10 be disassembled and reassembled after a
145km hikeacross the DesertofEgypt.
COllcllJs101l
Our experimental craft exactl y that - an
experiment in tht.: design, construction and
operationof an ancienttypeofship(-halsuccess-
full y made voyages of over 1800 miles some
3500toSOOO yea rs ago. We lntend to test itsper-
(onnance, its mane uverabili ty and response to
diffe.rent saili ng conditions and esp!':"dally the
waterti ghtnessandstrength ofitshull.Wealso
intendto examinetheeffects ofsubmefSing the
hull in the wa rm watersofthe Red Seaon a 425
km voyage from near MerSc) Gaw3sis to Port
Sudan,scheduledfortheSC<lsonofsteadywlnds
from the norlhwest. Our expectation thatsci -
enti fk study of a rchaeologic<ll evidence will
have brought us to a position of reasonable
securityof inrerpretation, but the reality we all
mustfaceis that Wt! mus tdocumentourinSCClI-
riliesandlenullusassumption.,; aswell.
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