The ancient Greek thinker Herodotus, who is often called the father of history, is considered by someone to be a liar: too little is known about him and too much detailed information on completely different issues he gives in his History. There is an opinion that Herodotus never even left the borders of his native country. However, the Russian Egyptologist Alexander Belov, who participated in the study of an ancient Egyptian river ship that sank not so far from Alexandria, found that Herodotus showed himself to be a real scientist, attentive to the smallest details, in describing shipbuilding technologies.
The ship graveyard, found in the Mediterranean near Alexandria, has allowed scientists to explore ancient shipbuilding technologies more deeply.
The famous "History" of Herodotus, which tells about the ancient Greek wars, along the way reveals a lot of useful information about the culture of the countries - opponents of Ancient Greece. In particular, book 2, "Euterpa", describes the life of the ancient Egyptians, their religious customs, geography, the fauna of the country and especially the Nile, as well as ships that plowed its waters. About the latter in the "History" it is said that the Nile river ships ("baris") were made of short boards, the wood for which was taken from acacia, and the only ship's rudder passed through the keel, that is, it worked on the axial principle. But, unfortunately, there are not so many opportunities for modern scientists to verify the truth of what the greatest minds of their time allegedly documented thousands of years ago. However, Fortune, (or maybe some other patrons of good luck and wisdom) sometimes still lifts the veil of history.
So, during the expedition of 2009-2011, organized by the European Institute of Underwater Archeology (IEASM), France, off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, 25 kilometers from Alexandria on the site of the sunken ancient Egyptian city of Heraklion (Tonis), more than sixty ships dating from the 6th-2nd centuries were discovered BC. The ships are river barges, the design of which is very similar to the "baris" described by Herodotus (History, 2.96). Apparently, the ships were deliberately sunk to block access to the port in difficult times. The ship, which received the number 17 during research, was sailing in the 5th – 4th centuries BC. At the same time, its structure, in particular the design of the ship's rudder, is close to that of the ships depicted on the bas-reliefs and preserved in the models of the Middle Kingdom - an earlier era in the development of Ancient Egypt. During the period of the New Kingdom, the state as a whole was in a flourishing stage: the Egyptians were already building warships using new technologies for that time, which can be seen on the oldest depiction of a naval battle on the walls of the temple of Ramses III in Medinet Abu. However, by the end of this era, after the reign of the 18th dynasty of the pharaohs, the Egyptians did not advance so quickly in their technical development, although they had close contacts with various maritime powers, including the Phoenicians, who were not the last shipbuilders. Ship 17, which, according to scientists, was built already in the period of the Late Kingdom, turned out to be too traditional, if not ancient, for its era.which can be seen in the oldest depiction of a naval battle on the walls of the temple of Ramses III in Medinet Abu. However, by the end of this era, after the reign of the 18th dynasty of the pharaohs, the Egyptians did not advance so quickly in their technical development, although they had close contacts with various maritime powers, including the Phoenicians, who were not the last shipbuilders. Ship 17, which, according to scientists, was built already in the period of the Late Kingdom, turned out to be too traditional, if not ancient, for its era.which can be seen in the oldest depiction of a naval battle on the walls of the temple of Ramses III in Medinet Abu. However, by the end of this era, after the reign of the 18th dynasty of the pharaohs, the Egyptians did not advance so quickly in their technical development, although they had close contacts with various maritime powers, including the Phoenicians, who were not the last shipbuilders. Ship 17, which, according to scientists, was built already in the period of the Late Kingdom, turned out to be too traditional, if not ancient, for its era.according to scientists, it was built already in the period of the Late Kingdom, and it turned out to be too traditional, if not ancient, for its era.according to scientists, it was built already in the period of the Late Kingdom, and it turned out to be too traditional, if not ancient, for its era.
Diagram of an ancient Egyptian river vessel that plowed the Nile in the 6th – 2nd centuries BC.
It was found on the territory assigned for research to the European Institute of Underwater Archeology, however, Alexander Belov, an employee of the Center for Egyptological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is studying the ship in detail. In an interview with a reporter, he commented on the technological backwardness of the find: “Indeed, already in the 18th dynasty, Phoenician shipbuilders worked in Memphis among the Egyptians, and it seems that the Egyptians partially adopted their technologies. But this applies primarily to sea vessels, not river ones. Riverboats were also traditional in Greco-Roman times. So here it is necessary to distinguish between the newest military and naval vessels and river ones, which continued to be built “the old fashioned way”."
A special technical solution (mine) has never before been recorded in Egyptian shipbuilding either on models or in the design of famous ancient Egyptian ships. One could learn about him only from the "History" of Herodotus.
One of the curious structural elements of the vessel 17, just embodying the ancient technology of river shipbuilding, is the steering wheel. The rudders of the modern type, completely adjacent to the hull of the ship, began to be made only in the Early Middle Ages. Until then, the so-called Latin (paired) rudders or (most ancient) steering oars were used. Latin rudders were attached to both sides of the vessel, but they already had two attachment points to the hull, in contrast to the steering oars. At the same time, in the keel of ship 17, two consecutive holes of practically the same diameter were found. Thanks to the analysis of the structure, it can be concluded that we are talking about the idea of axial rudder shafts. This type of rudder differs from the Latin one in that it is fastened along the longitudinal axis of the vessel, but at the same time it also has two points of support, like the Latin one (usually the hull and the vertical support). An axial rudder is more typical for river vessels, while it began to be used a very long time ago: for example, in Ancient Egypt such a design was found as early as the third millennium BC. Ancient axial rudders are known not only in Egypt, but also in other regions of the world, for example, in China. However, this technical solution (mine) has never before been recorded in Egyptian shipbuilding either on models or in the design of famous ancient Egyptian ships. This information cannot be obtained from 2D reliefs depicting ships. So this completely new discovery can only be compared with the description of Herodotus, what is the special value of his information. Half of the researchers did not believe him that the rudder passed through the keel, and his words were interpreted in their own way.in ancient Egypt, such a design was found as early as the third millennium BC. Ancient axial rudders are known not only in Egypt, but also in other regions of the world, for example, in China. However, this technical solution (mine) has never before been recorded in Egyptian shipbuilding either on models or in the design of famous ancient Egyptian ships. This information cannot be obtained from 2D reliefs depicting ships. So this completely new discovery can only be compared with the description of Herodotus, what is the special value of his information. Half of the researchers did not believe him that the rudder passed through the keel, and his words were interpreted in their own way.in ancient Egypt, such a design was found as early as the third millennium BC. Ancient axial rudders are known not only in Egypt, but also in other regions of the world, for example, in China. However, this technical solution (mine) has never before been recorded in Egyptian shipbuilding either on models or in the design of famous ancient Egyptian ships. This information cannot be obtained from 2D reliefs depicting ships. So this completely new discovery can only be compared with the description of Herodotus, what is the special value of his information. Half of the researchers did not believe him that the rudder passed through the keel, and his words were interpreted in their own way. However, this technical solution (mine) has never before been recorded in Egyptian shipbuilding either on models or in the design of famous ancient Egyptian ships. This information cannot be obtained from 2D reliefs depicting ships. So this completely new discovery can only be compared with the description of Herodotus, what is the special value of his information. Half of the researchers did not believe him that the rudder passed through the keel, and his words were interpreted in their own way. However, this technical solution (mine) has never before been recorded in Egyptian shipbuilding either on models or in the design of famous ancient Egyptian ships. This information cannot be obtained from 2D reliefs depicting ships. So this completely new discovery can only be compared with the description of Herodotus, what is the special value of his information. Half of the researchers did not believe him that the rudder passed through the keel, and his words were interpreted in their own way. Half of the researchers did not believe him that the rudder passed through the keel, and his words were interpreted in their own way. Half of the researchers did not believe him that the rudder passed through the keel, and his words were interpreted in their own way.
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The ship graveyard, found in the Mediterranean near Alexandria, has allowed scientists to explore ancient shipbuilding technologies more deeply.
“The most important information given by ship No. 17 is that in the Late Period (664–332 BC) the Egyptians continued to build their river vessels according to ancient traditions,” notes Alexander Belov. - Egyptian shipbuilding has a number of unique features inherent only to it, and many of them are reflected in the found ship. This primarily applies to timber for construction. The ship is made of acacia - this is a very hard and capricious breed, nowhere except in Egypt was it used massively for shipbuilding. Then - the crescent shape of the body and the use of very short boards (on average, only 2 meters long). The axial rudder is found in Egypt since the 6th dynasty of the Old Kingdom and is also used on this ship, which dates back to the beginning of the 5th - middle of the 4th century BC. The technical solution of the rudder shaft itself is very original,and this is the first such find. In general, we can say that we have an ancient technology, but improved, apparently, only at the end of the New Kingdom. This design is paralleled in the modern “overhead” handlebar.
Thus, the find of the Egyptologists confirms the breadth of knowledge of Herodotus and serves as proof that the great historian saw with his own eyes what he described in his fundamental work, which did not lose value after almost one and a half thousand years.