Dig for Pharaoh's Second Boat Underway
June 2011
Archaeologists have begun excavating a boat belonging to Pharaoh Khufu, hidden for some 4,500 years in an underground chamber on the southern side of the Great Pyramid of Giza. A team in Egypt recently lifted 41 limestone slabs weighing around 16 tonnes each and extracted the first fragments of wood, expecting to unearth about 600 pieces of the historic ship in the next couple of months.
According to researchers who closely analysed images taken from inside of the boat pit, the first and second boats of Pharaoh Khufu are sister ships. Both are made from Lebanese cedar and Egyptian acacia trees. According to Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Minister of State for Antiquities: "It is one of the most important archaeological and conservation projects in the world. Conditions are now ideal to remove the stone cover,"
It is believed the boats were not used in the funeral procession that would have carried Pharaoh Khufu's body from his palace at Memphis to his tomb at Giza. Instead, they were symbolic vessels. Excavation is expected to reveal interesting aspects about the ships' construction and overall significance. The Pharaoh's first boat took restorers 13 years and five attempts to piece together. As the second boat is somewhat smaller, it is expected to take about four years to be unearthed and reassembled.
