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RECENT EXCAVATIONS at the ANCIENT HARBOR of SAWW MERSA/WADI GAWASIS on the RED SEA Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich

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RECENT EXCAVATIONS at the ANCIENT HARBOR of SAWW MERSA/WADI GAWASIS on the RED SEA Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich recent excavations at the ancient harbor of saww (mersa/wadi gawasis) 33 RECENT EXCAVATIONS AT THE ANCIENT HARBOR OF SAWW MERSA/WADI GAWASIS ON THE RED SEA Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich Boston University and University of Naples “l’Orientale” In the 1970s, Abdel Monem Sayed (University of Unlike the 17 large mud-brick forts that were Alexandria) identified the remains of a Middle built in Nubia during the 12th Dynasty, there is Kingdom harbor, known anciently as Saww, at no evidence of large permanent architecture at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis on the Red Sea, about 22 km Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, and use of the site was south of the modern port of Safaga. Sayed found temporary—for seafaring expeditions. The main 12th Dynasty inscriptions there from a shrine problem for permanent habitation at Saww was a of an official of Senwosret I named Ankhu, and lack of fresh water, which must have been obtained an inscribed stela of the king’s vizier Intef-iker by excavating wells/holes in the wadi. Although (Antefoker).1 The latter text describes ships that the sea could have provided edible protein, and were built in Coptos for an expedition to “Bia- some hunting of (scarce?) desert mammals was Punt” with over 3,700 men. Based on these and possible, emmer wheat and barley for bread and other finds of Sayed’s, re-investigation of the site beer, the staples of ancient Egyptian life, could by the University of Naples “l’Orientale” (UNO) not be grown in the desert environment and had and Boston University (BU) began in 2001 under to be brought from the Nile Valley to supply all the direction of Kathryn Bard and Rodolfo Fat- expeditions. Thus, the difficult environmental tovich. conditions, lack of resources, and logistical com- The harbor of Saww was located near the short- plexities all mitigated against permanent occupa- est overland route from the Nile Valley in Upper tion at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis. Egypt to the Red Sea, from Qift through Wadi Mersa Gawasis is located at the northern end Qena and then Wadi Gasus. Saww was the staging of Wadi Gawasis. Surface remains are found in an point and harbor for pharaonic seafaring expedi- area of ca. 14 ha. Archaeological evidence includes tions to regions in the southern Red Sea (Punt and temporary shelters on top of a fossil coral terrace Bia-Punt) to obtain exotic raw materials. The sea (tent circles and light structures with post holes), route to Punt was an alternative to the river/land ceremonial structures along the sea shore, and routes, and was much less frequently undertaken rock-cut storerooms/man-made caves in the coral because of the complexity of the logistics required terrace. At the foot of the terrace, about 700 m for such expeditions, and the risky nature of long- from the shore line, is a large industrial area. distance voyages to and from the southern Red After the last seafaring expedition from Saww Sea. The rise of the kingdom of Kerma in the late for which there is evidence, in the early New King- third millennium BC (and its eventual control of dom, the western terrace slope became covered the Upper Nile) was probably the major impe- with meters of windblown sand, as the site was tus for the organization of seafaring expeditions abandoned and forgotten. Environmental con- to Punt in the Middle Kingdom, the period to ditions at the site, especially in the caves, have which most of the excavated material at Mersa/ helped preserve unique organic evidence of ship Wadi Gawasis dates. There may also have been timbers and equipment, and the many supplies threats on overland routes across the Eastern needed for these expeditions, and texts from the Desert/Mountains from desert peoples that were site provide more specific information about the belligerent or simply capable of robbing Egyptian expeditions. Thus, at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis there expeditions. is unique and well-preserved archaeological and 1 A.M. Sayed, “Discovery of the Site of the 12th Dynasty Port at Wadi Gawasis on the Red Sea Shore,” RdE 29 (1977), 150-173. 34 kathryn a. bard and rodolfo fattovich textual evidence for major seafaring expeditions Cave 1 (with ceramic evidence from the late Old to the southern Red Sea region. Kingdom) was reused and large man-made caves The pottery typology and stratigraphic (Caves 2-7) were cut in the terrace wall at the top sequence at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis point to three of the western slope, with more intense activity different periods of site use: 1) late Old King- there in the later Middle Kingdom. Production dom (6th Dynasty, ca. 2345–2181 BC); 2) Middle areas were located at the base and along the west- Kingdom (later 11th, 12th, and 13th Dynasties, ca. ern slope of the terrace, as well as at the base of 2055–1650 BC); and 3) early New Kingdom (18th the southern slope. Dynasty, ca. 1550–1295 BC).2 Inscribed stelae and Caves 2-7, which were probably carved from ostraca from Mersa/Wadi Gawasis record con- a natural rock shelter, provide evidence from centrated use of the site throughout most of the the end of several 12th Dynasty seafaring expe- 12th Dynasty, during the reigns of Senwosret I ditions. Although the ships returning to Mersa/ (ca. 1956–1911 BC), Senwosret II (ca. 1877–1870 Wadi Gawasis must have been disassembled in BC), Senwosret III (ca. 1870–1831 BC), Amen- another part of the site (the harbor area?), some emhat III (ca. 1831–1786 BC), and Amenemhat large ship timbers were abandoned outside the IV (ca. 1786–1777 BC).3 An inscription from caves, after they had been pried apart. Other ship Wadi Gasus, ca. 1 km to the north of Mersa/Wadi timbers were used to construct a ramp to facili- Gawasis, recording a seafaring expedition during tate moving materials into (and out of?) Cave 2, the reign of Amenemhat II (ca. 1911–1877 BC), while other timbers were placed in the caves for storage. Possibly some ship timbers were carried suggests use of the site during the reign of this back to the Nile Valley. Some timbers were also king as well.4 salvaged by carpenters to remove areas damaged The occurrence of Middle Nubian pottery at by shipworms, as the large amounts of gribble at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, in assemblages dating to the entrances of Caves 2 and 3 demonstrate.7 The the early- to mid-second millennium BC, suggests two steering oar/rudder blades (fig. 1) that were that the harbor was also frequented by peoples found at the entrance to Cave 2, lying on top of a of Nubian cultures (perhaps local Eastern Desert deep deposit of windblown sand, which represents peoples), when the Egyptians were there and/or a long period of abandonment, were associated 5 in their absence. Egyptian bowls with decorations with later evidence of early New Kingdom pot- imitating Nubian motifs also suggest the presence tery8—and were possibly from the famous seafar- 6 of Medjaw soldiers. ing expedition of Queen Hatshepsut’s, described in her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. Wood species of the ship timbers have been Archaeological Evidence of Seafaring identified by Rainer Gerisch as cedar, with some Expeditions of Nile acacia.9 Excavated tongue tenons and dovetail tenons used to join these timbers were In the Middle Kingdom, the entire site, from the also of Nile acacia.10 eastern terrace to the western slope and base, was Sometime during the 12th Dynasty, a huge occupied and used. Small ceremonial structures amount of rope used for rigging was removed were built along the eastern and southern edges from ships after a voyage, carefully coiled, and of the terrace, from the sea shore to inland above left in piles on the floor of Cave 5 (fig. 2). Officers Wadi Gawasis. Shelters were erected on the top of the expedition must have decided to leave it in of the terrace in the western sector of the site. this cave, planning to use it on a future expedi- 2 C. Perlingieri, “Egyptian ceramics,” in K.A. Bard and 5 A. Manzo, “Exotic ceramics,” in Bard and Fattovich, R. Fattovich, eds., Harbor of the Pharaohs to the Land of Punt Harbor, 126-130. (Napoli, 2007), 110-125. Dates used here are based on the 6 Ibid.,131-132. chronology in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, ed. I. 7 C. Ward, “Preliminary analysis of ship timbers,” in Bard Shaw (Oxford, 2000), 480-481. and Fattovich, Harbor, 145. 3 R. Pirelli, “Stela 1,” “Stela 2,” “Stela 5”; E. Mahfouz, 8 C. Zazzaro, “Ship blades,” in Bard and Fattovich, “Stelae 6, 7, 8,” in Bard and Fattovich, Harbor, 217-225; Harbor, 150-153. Fattovich and Bard, eds., “Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 2006-2007,” 9 R. Gerisch, “Ship timber and parts, cargo boxes,” in (http://www.archaeogate.org, 2007); A.M. Sayed, “Wadi Bard and Fattovich, Harbor, 185-188; Fattovich and Bard, Gasus,” in Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, “Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 2006-2007.” ed. K.A. Bard (London, 1999), 867-868. 10 Gerisch, “Ship timber and parts, cargo boxes,” 186-187. 4 Sayed, “Wadi Gasus,” 866-867..
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