Boats

One of the most important trades of ancient Egypt was boat building. The river was their great highway of travel. Boats were, roughly speaking, of three kinds; light skiffs, that could be easily carried from one point to another, and larger ve els for freight, and a grander kind corresponding to the modern *dahabiya*, or house-boat. The former were made of reeds bound tightly together and smeared inside with pitch. Such a boat was Moses' "ark of bulrushes." These, as a rule, were only large enough to contain one or two people. They were punted with a pole, or propelled by a paddle. A papyrus boat was supposed to be a protection against crocodiles. The larger boats were built of wood—probably acacia—the masts were of fir imported from Syria, the sails were occasionally made of papyrus fibre, but probably also of linen (see Ez. xxvii. 7). When the boat was that of a god or of a grandee, these were elaborately ornamented with painting or embroidery. Boats of this kind had spacious cabins gaily decorated. Some of them measured over 100 ft. in length, taking twenty-two rowers a side when coming down stream. The steering gear was of the most primitive kind, consisting merely of one or two enormous oars or paddles. The only sails represented are square. There are many pictures of boats on the tomb and temple walls. (See Barks .)