Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

1 Egyptian Long-distance Trade, Pharaonic Expeditions and Direct Control of Sources of Raw Materials in Northeast Africa and the Sinai in the Middle Kingdom

 Introduction

 Mining Turquoise and Copper in the Sinai

 The Harbor Site at Ayn Soukhna

 Mining Galena at Gebel Zeit

 Mining Gold and Quarrying Stone in the Wadi Hammamat

 Nubian Resources and Egyptian Occupation

 The Harbor at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis



2 Archaeological Investigations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 The Pharaonic Harbor at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 Archaeological Investigations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 Evidence of Ships and Cargo Boxes

 Sealings, Stelae and Ostraca

 Ceramics

 Stone Tools

 Plant and Animal Remains

 Environmental Context of the Harbor Site

 Chronology of the Harbor Site

 Summary: Archaeological and Geological Investigations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

3 Spatial Use of the Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Harbor in the 12th Dynasty

 Overview

 The Eastern Terrace

 The Harbor

 Central Terrace and Western Terrace Top

 Western Terrace Slope

 Western Terrace Slope, North

 Western Terrace Slope, South

 Caves 2 and 3

 Cave 5

 Cave 7 and the Alcove Shrine

 Harbor Edge

 Production Area

 Ramps (slipways?)

 Western Terrace, Southern Slope

 Beach Area above the Harbor

 Stelae Associated with the Gallery-Caves

 Spatial Organization of the Harbor of Saww Compared to the Harbors at Ayn Soukhna and Wadi El-Jarf

4 Organization of Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Seafaring Expeditions in the 12th Dynasty: The Textual Evidence

 Textual Evidence at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 Stelae

 Cargo Box Inscriptions

 Sealings and Papyri

 Ostraca

 Two Wooden Tags

 Dates of Known Expeditions Based on Textual Evidence

 Translation by Eugene Cruz-Uribe† of the Hieroglyphic Text of the Ankhu Stela (Eastern Jamb, Central Block, and Western Jamb) Found at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis by A.M. Sayed and Recorded in These Articles

5 Organization of Seafaring Expeditions from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis in the 12th Dynasty: Archaeological Evidence at the Harbor

 Archaeological Evidence of Seafaring Expeditions at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 Shipbuilding

 Ship Technology

 Ship Wood

 Cargo Boxes

 Rope/Ship Rigging

 Linen: Ship Sails, Caulking(?), and Clothing

 Copper Alloy Strips for Ship Timber Fastenings

 Other Expedition Supplies: Clothing, Footwear, Camp Furnishings

 Egyptian Ceramics at the Harbor Site

 Non-Egyptian Ceramics at the Harbor Site

 Shelter for Expedition Members

 Food Supplies and Storage, Food Processing and Baking/Cooking

 Local Production of Stone Tools

 Non-Egyptian Stone Tools at the Harbor Site

 Summary

Appendix: Bread Baking Experiments

 Ancient Egyptian Bread Making

 Evidence of Bread Making at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 Experimenting with Middle Kingdom Bread Making

 Conclusions



6 Interpreting Ideology at Saww: Ritual Practices, Memorial Shrines, and Commemorative Stelae

 Ceremonial Shrines and Commemorative Stelae at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 Shrines Constructed along the Red Sea Coast

 Shrines/Monuments on the Terrace Top Overlooking Wadi Gawasis

 The Alcove Shrine along the Western Terrace Slope

 Stelae

 Stelae in Monumental Structures

 Stelae at Mersa Gawasis

 Stelae Placed in Niches Carved in the Western Terrace Wall

 Use of Stelae at Saww

 Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Stelae and the Gods

 Archaeology of Ritual and Religion at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

7 The Land of Punt: A View from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 Punt and Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

 The Land of Punt: Egyptian Evidence

 Location of Punt: Natural Resources (Figure 41)

 The Land of Punt: Cultural Evidence (Figure 43)

 Punt and Bia-Punt, and the Evidence from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis: Inscriptions

 Punt and the Evidence from Mersa/WadiGawasis: Paleoethnobotanical Remains and Lithics

 Punt and the Evidence from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis: Exotic Ceramics

 Location of Bia-Punt and Punt: Ceramic Evidence at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

8 Long-distance Routes Involved in the Punt Expeditions

 Routes from Egypt to Punt/Bia-Punt

 The Levant and Maritime Trade with Punt

 Land Routes from the Nile Valley to the Red Sea Coast

 Sea Route to and from the Southern Red Sea

 Land Routes in Punt/Bia-Punt

 Maritime Expeditions to Punt/Bia-Punt

9 The 12th Dynasty Punt/Bia-Punt Expeditions from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis

References

Index

About the Author

Kathryn A. Bard (Ph.D. 1987), is Professor of Archaeology and Professor of Classical Studies at Boston University. She has excavated in Egypt and Ethiopia, and her publications include Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008, 2015).

Rodolfo Fattovich† (Ph.D. 1972), was Professor of Ethiopian Archaeology and Egyptian Archaeology at the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” where he taught 1975-2014. He excavated in Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, and published over 200 articles and other works.

Reviews

“[There] is no shortage of analysis relating to the Punt expeditions, much of which is likely to become the new ‘standard’ account of these voyages and of the huge logistical and ideological undertaking they represented. The volume will therefore be of immense value to scholars and students of ancient Egypt, and of ancient seafaring more generally.” - Julian Whitewright, University of Southampton, in: The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 48.2 (2019)