Arid conditions at the Wadi al-Jarf site in Egypt helped preserve the ancient Merer papyri, which were discovered there by a French-led team of archaeologists.Located on the Egyptian coast of the Red Sea, Wadi al-Jarf is a quiet, unassuming place today. Dry desert sands and placid blue water stretch out as far as the eye can see; across the water one can spy the Sinai Peninsula. This seeming tranquility masks the busy hub it once was more than 4,000 years ago.
It wasn’t until 2008 that work at the site resumed. French Egyptologist Pierre Tallet led a series of excavations that definitively identified Wadi al-Jarf as an important port that dated back some 4,500 years to the reign of Khufu and the building of the Great Pyramid. Tallet’s teams revealed that Wadi al-Jarf was a vibrant economic hub at the center of the trade in materials used to build the pyramids, some 150 miles away.
From the harbor, called “The Bush” by the ancient Egyptians, the pharaoh’s ships would sail across the Red Sea to the copper-rich Sinai Peninsula. Copper was the hardest metal then available, and the Egyptians needed it to cut the stones for their pharaoh’s massive pyramid. When Egyptian ships returned to port, they were loaded with copper. Between voyages, the ships were stored in the limestone chambers.: The Pyramids of Giza are among the greatest engineering marvels in history.
Merer’s team consisted of some 200 workers who traveled across Egypt and were responsible for carrying out all tasks related to the construction of the Great Pyramid. Among the most interesting were the limestone blocks used for the pyramid’s cladding. Merer recorded in great detail how the team retrieved them from the quarries of Tura and brought them by boat to Giza.
Tura, laden with stone blocks, to Akhet-Khufu ; spends the night in She-Khufu . Day 27: Embark at She-Khufu, sail to Akhet-Khufu laden with stones, spend the night at Akhet-Khufu.Mentioned in Merer’s diary, Ankhhaf was a royal architect and half brother of Khufu. This 4,500-year-old bust of Ankhhaf was found in his tomb.Day 28: Set sail from Akhet-Khufu in the morning; navigate up the river towards south Tura.
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