Where can I find information about a Egyptian Papyrus boat?

Question

You probably don't know what this is, so you might want to look for images.

Answer 1

Papyrus boats are as you know boats (light weight skiffs)that were made of papyrus on a woodern frame.The boats could be found as actual boats that had a practical use or they could be models of the boats that were used on the Nile and its channels,virtually the same as those used today.
These would be made for placing in tombs or as toys for children.
The Ancient Egyptians firmly believed in that Ra (sun god) travelled the heavens in a boat.To sail through the heavens with Ra in company of the gods of the funerary cycle of Osirus(god of the Underworld)was one of the delights the deceased person could look foward to. Great importance was placed on ensuring that the deceased could do so. As well as the actaul papyrus funerary boats, other ensurences were made.One being, using a clean piece of papyrus a boat would be drawn on it with green ink made of green abut mixed with water.In the boat would be drawn Isis,Thoth,Shu,and Khepera and a representation of the deceased. This papyrus boat picture was fastened to the breast of the deceased,with great care not to let it actually touch the body.Over it when in place, were spoken words of great power.It was believed that only then the deceased's ka or spirit would enter the boat of Ra each day.The boat that Ra travelled in the sky till noon was called an Atet.Another boat, Seket travelled till sundown.So on one side the Atet was drawn and on the other the Seket so the one picture depicted two boats.
This was one was of the delights the deceased could look forward to if he was considered worthy to do so by Ma'at at his judgement after death.
The actual boat was not identified as a god but the figures in it were, with the exception of the deceased .
I am unaware of any other references to the papyrus boat in Egyptian mythology or history,that is not to say there are none.
You can easily find papyrus(now a days made of banana leaves)with the Gods aboard, in the bazaars in Egypt or even on EBay. .For information try checking out the Tour Egypt web site. The official Egyptian Goernment site.Highly recomended.I personally have not been able to find much information except in papers on Egyptian ritual.The information above mainly comes from a paper.its title; Magical pictures and spells etc.Also the well known Coming Forth By Day.
Good Luck with your search!

Answer 2

According to Wiki, you are correct that Egyptian heiroglyphs started about 3,000 BCE. Originally they seem to have been carved in stove or pressed into clay tablets, but later a simplified version was created which was written on papyrus. Sorry but I couldn't find anything about the way messages were actually transmitted. The link below takes you to Wikipedia's article about Egyptian heiroglyphs, and you can follow other links from there, if you wish. "Egyptian hieroglyphs are a writing system used by the Ancient Egyptians, that contained a combination of logographic, alphabetic, and ideographic elements. Hieroglyphs were 'engraved characters' on monuments (such as stelae, temples and tombs). Hieroglyphs emerged from the preliterate artistic traditions of Egypt, circa 4000 BC. The earliest known hieroglyphic inscription was the Narmer Palette, dated to circa 3200 BC. As writing developed and became more widespread among the Egyptian people, simplified glyph forms developed, resulting in the hieratic (priestly) and demotic (popular) scripts. These variants were also more suited than hieroglyphs for use on papyrus."

Answer 3

If you want serious information on ancient Egyptian boats, the best source you can get is Dilwyn Jones's "Boats." It's a small book with lots of illustrations, but yet is still quality information. He mentions papyrus skiffs on pages 9, 30, 36, and 44 and also has pictures of ancient Egyptian models and paintings of this type of boat on those pages (or sometimes the neighboring page). You can pick up the book for a few bucks (for example, here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0292740395/ref=dp_olp_3/104-0240968-2552725 or here: http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qcond=6&qisbn=0292740395&siteID=5Nv03vHgBCI-8F4ViaSBMWtLM8Ysan3jJg ) or get it from a library.

Answer 4

Since I have spent 21 years with someone obsessed with all things Egyptian, I don't need to look up an image to know what it looks like.
Some times I think she is a reincarnated member of one of the Royal Households.

Answer 5

http://www.kingtutshop.com/freeinfo/egyptian-boats.htm