Ship Modelers Association

The typical vessel used during the reign of Pharaoh Sahure over 4500 years ago in Egyptian history was about 70 feet in length with a beam of about 25 feet and a depth of 6 feet. A bipod mast was typical with a square sail. The displacement, armament (if any) and complement are unknown.

During this time Egypt’s expanding interests in trade goods such as ebony, incense such as Myrrh and frankincense (used in their religious rituals), gold, copper and other useful metals inspired the ancient Egyptians to build suitable ships for navigation of the open sea. They traded with Lebanon for cedar and traveled the length of the Red Sea to the Kingdom of Punt, which is modern day Ethiopia and Somalia for ebony, ivory and aromatic resins.

Ship builders of that era did not use pegs (treenails) or metal fastenings, but relied on rope to keep their ships assembled. Planks and the superstructure were tightly tied and bound together.

Historical records and Egyptian art show that Pharaoh Sahure the second king of the 5th Dynasty established an ancient Egyptian navy and sent a fleet to Punt and traded with cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean. His pyramid illustrated his naval fleet and recorded his military career consisting mostly of campaigns against the Libyans in the western desert.

The squadron sent by Pharaoh Sahure to harry the Phoenician coast may have consisted
of armed merchant ships rather than dedicated warships. The ships had neither keel nor
frame – a strong rope stretched above the deck helped to maintain rigidity; other ropes
and line secured the sides of the ship.

The best source for accurate information on the early Egyptian ships is SHIPS OF THE
PHARAOHS by Bjorn Landstrom. Not only is the best information is this book, but
there are also a number of plans of different Egyptian ships from different periods. Two
of the finest scratch built models of Egyptian ships I have ever seen were built by
members of the SMA years ago – Jack Elem and Bob Saddoris – both having used
Landsrom’s book as their source. The book is no longer in print, but copies can still be
obtained for those who really want a copy. Check out abebooks.com or your local
library.

For those who may not want to try scratch building a model, but would still like to build
a fairly accurate model of an Egyptian ship, AMATI makes a kit entitled “Egyptian
Transport” which cost $120.00 according to Model Expo’s latest catalog.