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The ropes found in Cave 5 at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, an ancient Egyptian harbor on the Red Sea, are associated with the maritime expeditions of the Twelfth Dynasty. Various aspects of the cordage from Cave 5 were already published in this journal (2008). Here we present microscopic analysis and reexamination of the source of the plant material used for...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... specimens of twelve artifacts made of fibrous plants from the ancient Egyptian collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) were examined to validate the accuracy of our identification method. Two artifacts from the MFA collection were thick ropes which appeared to be similar to the ropes in Cave 5. One rope was from Deir el-Bahri ( fig. 3), dating to the New Kingdom, and the second rope was from Deir el-Bersha ( fig. 4), dating to the Middle Kingdom. 7 The rope from Cave 5 is very thick, made of three strands, each with multiple interior yarns, indi- cating it was constructed from plant stems or culms rather than leaves ( fig. 5). 8 The most prominent features examined ...
Context 2
... in the longitudinal section of the ropes from Cave 5 is different from other Cyprus species, e.g., C. rotundus, C. schimperianus and C. alopecuroides which were also used in the an- cient Egypt. The anatomical features of rope specimens from Cave 5 are significantly different from the cellular patterns of reeds, e.g., Phragmities australis ( figs. 13, 14) or Arundo donax ( fig. 15). The longitudinal thin section of the culm of reed species is characterized by uniformed rows of very long, narrow, sinuous cells, each bounded by round or crescent-shaped suberized cells or silica cells at either end. No obvious banding patterns or stomata are visible. The cellular patterns of grasses (D. ...
Context 3
... examination of the rope samples from Cave 5 and from two ropes from the ancient Egyptian MFA collection has shown the characteristic anatomical features and cell patterning of papy- rus (C. papyrus). The ropes in Cave 5 at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis are visibly very similar ( figs. 1 and 2) to the thick rope from Deir el-Bersha ( fig. 3) and to the thinner rope from Deir el-Bahri ( fig. 4) in the ancient Egyptian collection in the ...
Citations
... This wall continues beyond the limit of our excavations. 139 Veldmeijer et al., 2008; Borojevic and Mountain, 2011. 140 Ward, 2012, 221; Creasman and Doyle, 2010. ...
In this article I relate the Heit el-Ghurab (HeG, Wall of the Crow) 4th Dynasty settlement site to the idea that long-term pyramid towns did not originate in temporary workers settlements. Components of the HeG settlement fit attributes of both types of settlement, which Egyptologists infer from texts and archaeological information from other sites. During its time, people may have called the HeG the Southern Tjeniu (bank settlement) of the Pyramid, Great is Khafre (§njw rcj Wr ¢a.f Ra). Under this name, the HeG comprised a kind of proto-pyramid city. Its counterpart, the Northern Grg.t (settlement), may have been associated with the Khufu Pyramid. But overall, the HeG settlement fits neither worker’s town nor pyramid town. I review the hypothesis that the HeG belonged to a major Nile port. As such, it serves as a footprint of a formal expeditionary force composed of apr-gangs and crews for either building or seafaring, or both. I hypothesize a possible match between gangs, phyles, and divisions and the Gallery Complex, the central component of the HeG. Certain officials may have administered functions of the HeG during its heyday in the mid to late 4th Dynasty, as reflected in titles they inscribed in their tomb chapels during the early to mid 5th Dynasty. One such official was Nesut- nefer, who held the title Administrator (aD-mr) of the Southern Tjeniu of Khafre. By the time these officials made their chapels, people had abandoned the HeG when the royal house moved to Saqqara and Abusir for building the king’s memorial complex. Those who stayed at Giza settled closer to the riverbank, or near the valley temples in pyramid towns named after the kings and their pyramids.
... A distinctive lithic industry in the harbor area possibly suggests the presence of (so far unknown) coastal people at the site when the Egyptians were camping there ( Bard and Fattovich 2007: 211). Most supplies for the expeditions, including pottery, seeds of emmer wheat and barley, timber, and papyrus ropes for the ships ( Borojevic and Mountain 2011), were carried from the Nile Valley across the eastern desert by means of donkey caravans. Two main systems of routes could have been used to get to Mersa/Wadi Gawasis from the Qena bend region. ...
The capabilities of the ancient Egyptians to navigate in the Red Sea during the Bronze Age and to practice a maritime trade with the region of Punt-from where aromatic gums, ivory, ebony, and other prized, exotic materials were imported-have been debated by scholars for many decades (e.g., Espinel 2011, Meeks 1997). In the mid-1970s Egyptian Egyptologist Abdel Moneim Al-Haleem Sayed provided crucial evidence to support the hypothesis of ancient Egyptian maritime trade in the Red Sea by identifying the coastal site at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, about 23 km south of the modern town of Safaga, with the Middle Kingdom harbor of Saww, from where seafaring expeditions were sent to Punt. The identification of this harbor site was based on the occurrence of inscribed ostraca and stelae recording seafaring expeditions to Punt, several limestone anchors, and well preserved timber and structures associated with the stelae (Sayed 1977; Frost 1979). Sayed's discoveries, however, have been questioned by some scholars, who refused the possibility of Egyptian navigation in the Red Sea in the 3rd-2nd millennia b.c.e. (Nibbi 1981; Vandersleyen 1996).
As one of the oldest materials used by human, many evidences show that ropes are closely related to human evolution. Due to perishability, few ropes remain intact after thousands of years. Even if there are few intact ropes found, most of them are collected in museums. Therefore, ropes may be “the most remarkable invention of human.” One piece of fiber is of no use. But when these fibers are spun into yarns, yarns are twisted into strands, and strands are woven into ropes, such a trivial thing will become strong and flexible, creating unlimited possibilities.
This book introduces the surgical suture techniques in orthopaedics. These techniques have been recognized as a crucial part for wound care and surgery-related prognosis. Training of fellows on suture techniques is of great importance. This book provides a standard tutorial on how to be proficient in surgical suture performance. The history and basic concepts are introduced. Important issues when considering suture methods, including site infections, suturing materials, room setups, cosmetics and drainage are also discussed fully. Different types of suture techniques applying to orthopaedic surgeries are presented with illustrations.
The author strives to implement the principle that orthopaedic theory should be connected with clinical practice, highlight the application of theoretical knowledge, strengthen the pertinence and practicality of suture techniques, and reflect domestic and international development trends to the greatest extend.
This article surveys the so-called “Workers Town” at the 4th Dynasty, Old Kingdom, Heit el-Ghurab (HeG) settlement site at the Giza Pyramids, Egypt, in relation to information from Old Kingdom texts, art, and archaeology with the goal of learning more about the status of its inhabitants in the organization of labor for the building of the anomalously gigantic pyramids of the 4th Dynasty. In the first part I ask: Do indicators of an abundance of meat, the presence of hunted game, and Levantine “luxury” imports suggest good treatment of common workers, or does this material hint that the occupants enjoyed a higher status than common workers and that the HeG hosted functions other than a barracks for workers? In the second part I pivot to a related question: If, for building the Giza pyramids, central authorities required extremely large numbers of people of a lesser status than the HeG occupants, did they use foreign captives or native corvée?
