Across from Khufu's Great Pyramid, on the Southern side, archaeologists have found a solar boat buried beneath 81 huge slabs of limestone covering the pits which entombed the solar boat.
Interestingly, no nails were used in the construction of the cedar boat, and the planking was assembled through an ingenious system of stitching through holes with ropes of vegetable fibers. When the wood was swollen by water the ropes would tighten and make the boat watertight.
Some of the limestone pits that entombed the Solar Boat
It is widely believed that the boat was buried in the pyramid complex to transport the soul of the Pharaoh to his god, Re. The Pyramid Texts clearly state that at the end of the pharaoh’s life on Earth, his soul would ascend to the heavens in the solar boat to join his father Re. There are arguments about whether this boat was purely symbolic – part of the burial goods – or whether it was actually used in the funeral procession to transport the body of the king by river to his pyramid complex. Wood shavings found nearby lead archaeologists to believe it was built and constructed there on site.
I found the most interesting part of the museum to be the little cotton booties they made each of us wear. The floors of the museum are made of wood, and I suppose they are trying to keep the desert sand from scratching them incessantly. We all looked like smurfs with our blue booties cinched up around our ankles - really attractive!
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