Abydos boats

[1] They are located alongside the massive mudbrick structure known as Shunet El Zebib, attributed to the 2nd Dynasty Pharaoh Khasekhemwy.

[2] Lines of mudbrick uncovered by blowing sand were first noticed in 1988 at a site a mile away from the royal tombs in Abydos.

The outline of each grave was in the shape of a boat, and the surface of each was covered with mud plaster and whitewash.

Because of the fragility of the boat remains, almost no excavation was done initially as the situation had to be carefully studied for future conservation.

[5] Lebanon cedar was used for the poles and beams of the Umm el-Qa'ab tombs and had already been imported earlier; pigment residues hinted at bright colors.

[10] Umm el-Qa'ab is a royal necropolis that is about one mile from the Abydos boat graves where early pharaohs were entombed.

[13] The Abydos boat graves were adjacent to a massive funerary enclosure for the late Dynasty II (ca.

However, these boat graves were established earlier than late in Dynasty II, perhaps for the afterlife journeys of Hor-Aha, the first king (ca.

Six boat graves were found at Saqqara by Walter Bryan Emery and four of these finds were published.

There are 19 elite tombs where 1st Dynasty funeral boat burials have been discovered that resemble those at Abydos, but little published information is available.