Boat Iconography at the British Museum #2: Pre-Classic

This is the second in a series of posts on ancient boat iconography at the British Museum. The first post looked at ancient Egyptian boat models. (Click any image to enlarge.)

Dating from the second phase of the Naqada culture (3500–3200 BC) in what is now Egypt, this is one of the earliest undoubted images of a boat with a sail from anywhere in the world. The medium-aspect squaresail, hung from a mast stepped far toward the bow, appears to have a boom along the bottom edge. As the mast crosses the sail somewhat off-center, it could conceivably have been a lugsail, although there is no good evidence for the use of lugsails in ancient Egypt, and with the mast so far forward, the boat could only have sailed before the wind in any case, so it was likely used only while traveling upstream on the Nile. No rigging is shown, but this is surely a function of the illustration’s overall paucity of detail, not an indication that none was used. The prow rises vertically very high and the stern is also raised. There is a great deal of rocker and sheer. Just behind the raised stem and beneath the leading edge of the sail is what appears to be a tiny platform: perhaps this was a pilot’s station or a base for a votive image. Aft, vertical posts support a forward-sloping platform, roof, or awning. Rectangular blocks of “waves” all around the boat represent the sea. Here is the British Museum’s record and another photo.

The redware pottery jar stands 58.5cm tall. 

This big (75cm long) model, from a grave in Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, dates to the Akkadian period (2300-2150 BC). It’s made of bitumen mixed with earth and is very similar in form to plank-built boats called taradas used in the Iraqi swamps well into the 20^th century. Taradas and boats made of reeds were both coated with bitumen, which occurs naturally in the area. It’s unclear if the model represents a boat of reeds or planks, but to me it feels more like the former. Grave boats in Ur were originally loaded with containers thought to have held provisions for the afterlife, or possibly as bait to distract evil spirits. British Museum record and photos.

We’ve leapt forward well over a milennium, to 750 BC-600 BC. The vessel depicted on this Bronze Age Cypriot jar has its mast stepped amidships and would have been more capable than the earlier Naqada boat of sailing across or into the wind on the open Mediterranean. The furled sail, of low or medium aspect, has no boom along its bottom edge. Rigging is clearly shown but is hard to interpret. (Guess: the lower, upside-down V represents shrouds; the upper, rightside-up V represents braces.) Both bow and stern turn up abruptly and rise to great heights, with decorative flourishes at their upper ends. There is a large structure in the bow (right side), and a helmsman stands at the stern managing double steering oars or side rudders. Large amphorae, probably containing wine, oil, or fish sauce, constitute the cargo. Just out of the frame to the left side, a crewman defacates over the stern, making this probably the world’s earliest depiction of shipboard sanitary arrangements. The Nautical Archaeology Society uses this image (minus the biological function) as its logo. More about this item in this article from the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. British Museum record and photos.

Three terracotta ship models from tombs on Cyprus. Top and middle: 600BC-500BC. Bottom: 750 BC-475 BC. With no suggestion of a rig, they appear to be rowing galleys, probably warships, judging by the rams on two of them. Although they’re similar, they all differ slightly in the forms of the ram or prow, the upper extensions of the stem and sternpost, and decoration. All three have oculi and are 16-17cm long. British Museum records and photos: top, middle, bottom.

The starboard sides of the Cypriot galley models.

This terracotta merchant ship from Cyprus (600-500 BC) has a mast step amidship in the bottom, and the vessel was surely rigged with a square sail. The ends of the posts have fishtail-like shapes. The broken parts of the hull aft (right) may have been the location of steering oars. Where the sides bend inward at the top probably represents a bulwark, not a tumblehome hull shape. Forward is a cross-beam that probably served as catheads for anchor handling. British Museum record and photos.

This more elaborate merchant ship model is also from Cyprus (750-500BC) and also has a mast step amidships. There are several cross-beams and an elaborate sterncastle and poop deck, with structures to secure steering oars or side-rudders. As this was a sailing merchant ships, the rows of holes on both sides do not represent oar ports, and they are too low and too numerous to be fastening points for shrouds. I believe they are scuppers that would have been located at deck level, at the bottom of the bulwarks. British Museum record and photos.

Not iconography, but an example of an important type of cargo carried by Cypriot ships. This is a 37 kg copper ingot, dated to about 1200 BC. It’s thought that the distinctive "ox hide" shape made them easier to carry. Copper was the primary metal required for the establishment of the Bronze Age. British Museum record and photo.

Boat Iconography at the British Museum #1: Egypt

When it comes to studying the earliest watercraft, direct archaeological evidence, in the form of artefactual boats and ships, is extremely rare and fragmentary. In contrast, the iconography of ancient boats -- in the form of models, relief carvings, images on pottery, etc. -- is relatively abundant, and often well-preserved. If you read enough nautical history or archaeology, you'll come across a number of oft-used images that provide some of our best clues about the design and construction of early watercraft. Although subject to differing interpretations, these mostly well-known examples of boat iconography are crucial to current understandings of such fundamentals as when sails were first used, how Egyptians built reed, and then wooden, boats, and what Greek and Roman galleys looked like. Interpretation of fragmentary shipwrecks can be greatly hampered by a lack of relevant iconography.

On a visit to London in January, I realized for the first time how so many of these "iconic examples of iconography" are held in the British Museum. It was like walking into a well-illustrated textbook, and a thrill to see these classic examples up close and in 3D. There are too many to include in a single post, so I'll begin with the Egyptian boat models, all of which are from funerary contexts. Later posts will examine examples from other areas and cultures. Photos were taken through display case glass, so image quality is poor, for which I apologize.

From tomb 56 at the necropolis of Asyut, the burial of Hetepnebi, a local official, 1st Intermediate Period, about 2090 BC. I'm unsure if this represents a papyrus raft or a plank-built boat. Two masts are present (possibly used as towing posts?). Aboard are the owner, a pilot, six oarsmen, who I believe are kneeling, and five soldiers, who stand. Shields and staves are stacked amidships. Paddles and a steering oar have been lost. (Click any image to enlarge.)

From the same tomb: crews of two papyrus rafts. The raft on the left is a replica of the original, which disintegrated. Unlike the oared craft above, these are propelled by forward-facing paddlers, who work from a crouching posture. A pilot originally stood at the bow, and a figure of the owner at the stern.

The museum's online catalog search isn't working and the display signage only indicates that this and the next model are from a tomb from "the end of the Old Kingdom to the mid Twelfth Dynasty", which is roughly 2181 BC to 2000 BC. This model appears to represent a wooden boat, propelled with 8 oarsman, with a pilot in the bow and a helmsman astern. The oarsmen wear a skirt-like garment that covers their legs, making it difficult to say if they crouch or kneel. The model once included a mast, sail, and rigging as well.

Apparently found with the previous model, this one is set up strictly for sail, although two of the crew were apparently using poles (lost) as well. Three other crew manage the rigging, and again there's a pilot forward and a helmsman aft. The owner sits with boxes of cargo beneath the decorated canopy. The rudder arrangement is interesting. The upper end of the stock rests on a post forward of and high above the helmsman; the lower end, just above the blade, rests on top of the transom. A tiller (lost) extended down from the stock between these two pivot points. The significance of the grid-like lines painted on the deck of this and all of the models below is unclear. Did they represent removable deck panels? Perhaps thwarts and a longitudinal strength member?

This funerary boat (12th Dynasty, about 1850, from Thebes) carries the deceased owner's mummy. attended by a mourner, a priest, and provisions for the afterlife. The boat represented was probably wooden, but the upturned ends are reminiscent of papyrus rafts, a design holdover from the older, more "traditional" technology. Twin quarter-rudders are supported at the upper end by an A-frame that is topped by a carved falcon head, and managed by a single helmsman who has two tillers to manage. 

This top view of the previous model shows a painted grid pattern on the deck, similar to the previous two models.

12th Dynasty, about 1985-1795 BC, provenance unknown. With the crew sitting on boxes and posed for rowing, and the boat is rigged for sail, the deceased's soul will be able to travel both upstream and down. 

The same model as in the previous photo.  The square-profile squaresail rig has a yard with multiple lifts and a boom with multiple halyards.The rudder has lifting tackle to raise it in shallow water or for beaching.