Going Down The Memory Lane - Egyptian Funerary Model Boats
When the view of some excellent Wooden model boats carry you back down the memory lane in history, the first image that comes across your mind is that of the ancient Egypt. The Egyptian Funerary Model of wooden boat was the first model of a ship used by human beings. This is perhaps the only model that has survived the time and age. The Egyptian funeral practice had the common aspect of using highly accurate and detailed sycamore wood ship models. It also included the crew intended to transport the soul of the deceased to the afterlife.
The Egyptian wooden model ships are almost 5000 years old. But they were so well preserved that they had not lost the glaze and shining. Most of these models have crew positioned almost accurately as they would have been in the real ships. These models are highly educative in the sense that they make you realize the real job of the crews in a ship or boat including their dress and how they would have rowed the ship or boat. Modern navigation owes a lot to its Egyptian predecessors.
While most of the Model boats manufactured during the Egyptian era are made of simple wood, they have very little difference from the modern sophisticated boats often made of materials like rubber and fiber. Many intricate tricks of ship and boat making have been the gift of the Egyptian society to us. Most of the leading museums of the world therefore preserve the Egyptian boat and ship models for display.
