Ancient port from which expeditions to Punt sailed discovered
Get the News by email
Image via Wikipedia
Archaeologists working in Egypt have discovered an ancient harbor at Mersa Gawasis on the coast of the Red Sea.
It’s long been known that the Egyptians traded down the coast of Africa, but the location of their embarkation was unknown. A famous carving at Deir el-Bahari, the temple of female pharaoh Hatshepsut, shows an ocean-going vessel and scenes and a land with thatched huts and exotic items for sale such as ivory and giraffes. Inscriptions identify the land as Punt but don’t mention where it is. Archaeologists have speculated that it was in the Horn of Africa, either in Eritrea or Djibouti, or where the modern unrecognized states of Somaliland or Puntland are today.
Scholars have traditionally been doubtful of the Egyptians’ ability to make long sea voyages. Further excavation at Mersa Gawasis may change this view and open up new possibilities for Egyptian influence on other ancient cultures.
Related posts:
