Reed boats were probably the first vessels to sail on the river. Any type of reed could be used to construct simple boats, but that generally used was the papyrus. Cyperus Papyrus, to give it its full name, can reach a height of five metres, and each stem can measure 15 cm in diameter at its base. Papyrus no longer grows in Egypt because of climate changes, but in the earliest periods it was found along the length of the river, although by the New Kingdom it grew only in the Delta (Landstrom 1970). Papyrus reeds are pliable but not particularly durable (unless they remain dry). Paintings and models depicting papyrus craft show the papyrus green in color, indicating that fresh reeds, rather than dried reeds were used, although this may simply be an artistic convention. Fresh or dried, papyrus has a limited life as a boat-building material. This probably means that few, if any, large vessels were constructed, when the labor required is weighed against the working life of the completed craft and if we bear in mind that papyrus is not particularly durable (Landstrom 1970).
The triangular shape of papyrus stems means that, when tied tightly together, they form a compact and strong bundle. Papyrus boats are essentially rafts made from cut reeds, tied together with rope into bundles. The tapered bundles were then tied together, and the bow and stern were raised upwards, often at right angles to the
Figure 20.2 Models of reed boats from the tomb of Meketre. Middle Kingdom. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Photograph Robert Partridge. Courtesy the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Water, giving these vessels their distinctive shape. Clay models dating to the Badarian Culture (c.5500-4000 bc) and painted pottery from the Amratian/Naqada I Period (c.4000-3500 bc) depict boats that are presumed to be papyrus, but later painted pottery from the Naqada II Period (c.3500-3000 bc) clearly represents vessels with upswept bows and sterns and shows the individual papyrus bundles and built-up sides. Early, very stylized, drawings of boats show their distinctive shape and often what are presumed to be oars along the sides. The artists show a series of lines that start at water level, not from the deck as would be expected if oars were being represented, and show far more ‘‘oars’’ than would probably have been practical. These lines might be the artists’ way of showing ripples on the water or the reflection of the boat. However, other representations do seem to indicate more clearly that boats were propelled by men with oars or paddles.
Two large steering oars are often shown at the stern of the vessels, but boats could also be steered by a single oar on one side or mounted in the centre of the stern. A cabin, to protect passengers, crew, or cargo, is often shown amidships, and some drawings depict a simple mast and a sail, but the details are invariably unclear. Other drawings appear to show branches from a palm tree (or a whole tree) at the bows. The reasons why such features are shown in these early drawings are obscure and open to various interpretations, but clearly they were regarded as important by the artists. Some representations show a mask or decoration at the bows. Others show a tasselshaped object, hanging beneath the bows; these objects have variously been interpreted as anchors, fenders (most likely), or even weights attached to a line, used to establish the depth of water - a necessary task when navigating a river full of constantly shifting sand - and mud-banks.
Tomb scenes from the Old Kingdom portray the making of papyrus boats (although they are always shown virtually completed). The boat builders are represented cutting the papyrus reeds and then tightening the ropes on the hull. The high bow and stern of papyrus boats are held in place by a rope secured to the hull to help keep the shape and prevent the heavier ends of the vessel from sagging in the water, which would make steering difficult. The bow is always pulled into a vertical position, whilst the stern is pulled inwards from the vertical towards the bow. This typical shape is seen in papyriform boats for the next three-thousand years. A maximum overall length of 17 m for reed boats is generally assumed from later evidence and artistic representations. This would have allowed ten or twelve oars per side, with a gap of about a meter between each rower. Masts could be one piece of timber or bi-pod (a double mast, like an ‘‘A’’-shaped ladder). This type of mast, seen in many later models, would have been easier to fix to the flimsy and flexible hull than a single mast.
With the introduction ofwood as a building material, the use ofpapyrus appears to have been discontinued for major vessels but probably continued to be used by fishermen and hunters as small reed boats were easy to make, and the raw material was readily available. Middle Kingdom models from the tomb of Meketre show papyrus boats towing a fishing net between them. The boats are painted green and the ropes holding the papyrus bundles together are clearly shown. Small papyrus boats and rafts are depicted in the tombs of the nobles at Thebes which date to the New Kingdom. Such small rafts could easily support the weight of one or two people. The decks were reinforced with wooden planks, which can be seen in paintings. These rafts were used as floating platforms when fishing or hunting wildfowl in the marshes. They were probably reasonably stable in such a situation, where they were used in relatively shallow water, and they appear in representations throughout the Pharaonic period, used by rich and poor alike. Plutarch, writing at the end of Egypt’s long history, describes Isis as using a papyrus raft when searching for the body Osiris; he claimed that the Egyptians believed that papyrus rafts were never attacked by crocodiles, a real danger on the river. If true, this might be another reason why they remained popular.
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