King Khufu's harbour disocovered in Egypt

A French-Egyptian archaeological mission from the French Institute for Archaeological Studies may have discovered the oldest harbour ever found in Egypt, situated on the Red Sea shore at Wadi Al-Jarf area along the Suez-Zaafarana road

The harbour goes back to the reign of the fourth dynasty King Khufu, the owner of the Great Pyramid in Giza Plateau. The harbour is considered one of the most important commercial harbours where trading trips to export copper and other minerals from Sinai were launched.

A collection of vessel anchors carved in stone was also discovered as well as the harbours different docks.

Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that a collection of 40 papyri, showing details of daily life of ancient Egyptians during the 27th year of King Khufu’s reign, was also unearthed during excavation work carried out.

“These are the oldest papyri ever found in Egypt,” asserted Ibrahim.

He also stated that these papyri are very important because it reveals more information on the ancient Egyptians’ daily life, as it includes monthly reports of the number of labours working in the harbour and details of their lives.

The papyri have been transferred to the Suez Museum for study and documentation.

French Egyptologist Pierre Tallet, director of the archaeological mission, pointed out that it is very important to carefully study the information in these papyri because it will introduce plenty of information about this period. The papyri will also show the nature of life that the ancient Egyptians once lived, their rights and duties, which we know little about, Tallet added.

The mission has also succeeded in discovering remains of workers’ houses, which reveals the importance of this harbour and area commercially whether among the different cities of Egypt or abroad, said Adel Hussein, head of the Ancient Egyptian Sector at the Ministry of State for Antiquities.

A collection of 30 caves were also discovered along with the stone blocks used to block their entrances, inscribed with King Khufu’s cartouche written in red ink. Ship ropes and stone tools used to cut ropes and wooden remains were discovered as well.

Battle of Cape Passaro Cannons Discovered Off Coast of Siciliy

Marine archaeologists working on a wreck off the coast of Sicily have discovered five large cannon from a British ship, believed to have sunk in a major battle with Spanish galleons.

The team searching waters near the city of Syracuse said the "exceptional" find dates back to the Battle of Cape Passaro in the early 1700s.

Pictures taken by divers show the cannon were barely covered by sand. The discovery has helped pinpoint the exact location of the famous battle.

The cannon have now been brought to the surface - after 300 years in the deep sea - and cleaned.

According to the archaeologists, they are in such fine condition that - in some places - the barrels still gleam in the light.

The team said they were able to identify the guns using part of an inscription on the handle of a piece of cutlery also discovered nearby.

The letters LONDO were found under what appeared to be a picture of an English rose, clearly indicating the word London - they said.

This and other evidence has convinced the researchers that the cannon came from a British vessel sunk at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718.

The battle involved more than 60 ships and ended in defeat for the Spanish.

At the time, the British were attempting to drive them out of Sicily.

Source: BBC News

USC Archaeologists Teaches Students About Sport Diver Archaeology

Bobby Whiddon/ Bluffton Spotted Archaeologist
Ashley Deming shows the parts of the ship that have been
recovered so far.

University of South Carolina maritime archaeologists are planning to teach students how to dive off the state’s coast and uncover the secrets of an old shipwreck.

Spokeswoman Megan Sexton said Friday’s event in Hilton Head Island featured archaeologist Ashley Deming, who is teaching a sport diver archaeology management course. The course trains licensed scuba divers to become archaeological eyes and ears as they identify and record valuable information about the shipwreck.

Deming is using sections of a wooden vessel that was beached near Harbour Town Golf Links and has a 10-foot portion that is exposed above water. Sexton said the vessel may be from the Civil War era and has not yet been explored by archaeologists.

Source: AP

Related

The Best Schools For Nautical, Maritime, and Underwater Archaeology in the US 

Lost Ships of Rome

Watch the full episode. See more Secrets of the Dead.

Secrets of the Dead: Lost Ships of Rome was a documentary previously shown on PBS. If your area is the Classics or you enjoy marine archaeology, take some time to watch this fascinating show.



Show Highlights:

In 2009 a team of marine archeologists carrying out a sonar survey of the seabed around the remote Italian island of Ventotene made an astonishing discovery. The wrecks of five ancient Roman ships were found in pristine condition, each one fully laden with exotic goods. Remarkably, much of the cargo remained exactly as the ancient Roman crews had loaded it.