A New Type of Construction Evidenced by Ship 17 of Thonis-Heracleion

Abstract

Ship 17 is the first of 63 vessels from the submerged city of Thonis‐Heracleion in Egypt to have been excavated. The peculiar constructional features of this ship, which dates to the Late Period (722–332 BC), allow us to argue for a previously undocumented type of construction that finds parallels in Herodotus' description of a Nilotic freighter known as a baris (History, 2.96, c.450 BC). The aim of this article is to outline the main characteristics and the possible sequence of construction of Ship 17.

The Depositional Contexts of the Ships from Thonis-Heracleion, Egypt

“…The hull was made of sturdy, short lengths of acacia wood laid in a characteristic ‘courses of bricks’ pattern. Multiple runs of planks were fastened together using very long tenon‐ribs; for example, on the starboard side of the vessel a transversal section revealed that a single 1.99m long tenon passed through 11 strakes (Belov, ; : 197, fig. 10a).…”

“…Richards, : 155–156) and floated into position adjacent to a small island with a jetty on the northern side of the Central Basin. It was then staked into position using 14 long wooden piles, which were driven up to 3m into the clays of the harbour bottom (Belov, : fig. 2, Fig.…”

Did Ancient Egyptian Ships have Keels? The evidence of Thonis‐Heracleion Ship 17

“…The excavation of Ship 17 of Thonis‐Heracleion was carried out by the Institut Européen d'Archéologie Sous‐Marine (IEASM) directed by F. Goddio in 2009–2011 (Belov, : 314, fig. 1).…”

“…In the majority of cases, the joint is situated in the lower third of the thickness of the keel but sometimes it can be found in its middle. The tongues are usually slightly trapezoidal in section (Belov, : 317, fig. 6).…”

“…The planking is attached to the keel by long tenon‐ribs passing through the keel and through four to five strakes of each board (Belov, : 316–320, 323, fig. 16).…”