Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom : Excavations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, Egypt

In the 12th Dynasty the Egyptian state sent seafaring expeditions to the land of Punt from a harbor on the Red Sea. Excavations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis have uncovered well preserved evidence of this harbor and the probable location of Punt. In the 12th Dynasty (ca. 1985-1773 BC) the Egyptian state sent a number of seafaring expeditions to the land of Punt, located somewhere in the southern Red Sea region, in order to bypass control of the upper Nile by the Kerma kingdom. Excavations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis on the Red Sea coast of Egypt from 2001 to 2011 have uncovered evidence of the ancient harbor (Saww) used for these expeditions, including parts of ancient ships, expedition equipment and food - all transported ca. 150 km across the desert from Qift in Upper Egypt to the harbor. This book summarizes the results of these excavations for the organization of these logistically complex expeditions, and evidence at the harbor for the location of Punt. "[There] is no shortage of analysis relating to the Punt expeditions, much of which is likely to become the new 'standard' account of these voyages and of the huge logistical and ideological undertaking they represented. The volume will therefore be of immense value to scholars and students of ancient Egypt, and of ancient seafaring more generally." - Julian Whitewright, University of Southampton, in: The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 48.2 (2019) Contents 8 Preface 12 Acknowledgements 14 List of Illustrations 16 Egyptian Long-distance Trade, Pharaonic Expeditions and Direct Control of Sources of Raw Materials in Northeast Africa and the S 18 Archaeological Investigations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 35 Spatial Use of the Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Harbor in the 12th Dynasty 53 Organization of Mersa/Wadi Gawasis Seafaring Expeditions in the 12th Dynasty: The Textual Evidence 79 Organization of Seafaring Expeditions from Mersa/ Wadi Gawasis in the 12th Dynasty: Archaeological Evidence at the Harbor 107 Bread Baking Experiments 134 Interpreting Ideology at 143 Ritual Practices, Memorial Shrines, and Commemorative Stelae 143 The Land of Punt: A View from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 173 Long-Distance Routes Involved in the Punt Expeditions 193 The 12th Dynasty Punt/Bia-Punt Expeditions from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 209 References 216 Index 244 History,ancient,Egypt,Social Science,archaeology In the 12th Dynasty (ca. 1985-1773 BC) the Egyptian state sent a number of seafaring expeditions to the land of Punt, located somewhere in the southern Red Sea region, in order to bypass control of the upper Nile by the Kerma kingdom. Excavations at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis on the Red Sea coast of Egypt from 2001 to 2011 have uncovered evidence of the ancient harbor ( Saww ) used for these expeditions, including parts of ancient ships, expedition equipment and food - all transported circa 150 km across the desert from Qift in Upper Egypt to the harbor. This book summarizes the results of these excavations for the organization of these logistically complex expeditions, and evidence at the harbor for the location of Punt