Adventurers to test ancient Egypt-to-Black Sea route

Source:AFP Published: 2019/7/31 17:33:39

Were the ancient Egyptians able to use reed boats to travel as far as the Black Sea thousands of years ago? 

A group of adventurers believes so, and will try to prove their theory by embarking on a similar journey in reverse.

In mid-August the team of two dozen researchers and volunteers from eight countries will set off from the Bulgarian port of Varna, hoping their Abora IV reed boat will take them the 700 nautical miles through the Bosphorus, the Aegean and the island of Crete. 

The team is specifically seeking to prove a hypothesis lent credence by Herodotus, the expedition's German leader Dominique Goerlitz said. The ancient Greek historian wrote, "Egyptians sailed through the Black Sea to get materials that they could not have from the east Mediterranean."

Goerlitz, 53, and his team say they drew inspiration for the design of the 14-meter boat from ancient rock drawings from upper Egypt and the Caucasus. The construction was carried out with the help of volunteers and two members of the Aymara indigenous community from Bolivia's Lake Titicaca, Fermin Limachi and his son Yuri.

It is no accident that the Abora IV bears a striking resemblance to the famous Ra II reed boat that Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl used in his 1970 attempt to cross the Atlantic - Limachi's father helped build that vessel too.

Large bundles of totora reed were lashed together with ropes to form the main body of the vessel before it was equipped with a wooden mast and two reed compartments for sleeping. In all, 12 tons of totora reed and 2km of rope went into making the boat, which will have two sails, measuring 62 square meters and 40 square meters, Fermin said.

"The main question of all is whether this boat is able to cross the difficult island shelves of the Aegean Sea," Goerlitz said.

Reaching the Cyclades islands and then Crete will be crucial for proving his initial hypothesis, he added, as the Minoan civilization which flourished there from 2,700 to 1,200 BC was long proven to have traded with Egypt.

Posted in: MID-EAST

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