In a Russian museum, at the beginning of the 20th century, an Egyptian text of enormous interest was found, which had gone unnoticed until then. It recounts what happened to a sailor who lost his boat and his crew on an official mission. It is full of fantastic stories that are identifiable with some myths from thousands of years ago, but the most interesting thing is that it specifies facts related to navigation that are of great interest, despite the fact that traditional historiography has hardly taken them into account.
In the past, an Egyptian sailor from Pharaonic times had to navigate the high seas to fulfill a mission and his ship was wrecked. He managed to save himself and reached a magical island. The text recounts the trip, the shipwreck, the events experienced on the lost island and his return to the port from which he left.
The departure
The boat used was quite large and, according to what is said, it was suitable for sea navigation. It was more than 62 meters long by 21 meters wide and had a crew of one hundred and twenty men, who were among the best in the kingdom, capable of foreseeing the most adverse weather conditions: "they watched the sky and the coast, they were braver Like lions, they predicted a gale before it came and a storm before it broke.
At that time, navigation through the Red Sea was, according to the story, the most used means to reach Punt. Today we know that it started from the Nile valley and embarked at the seaport through Mersa Gawasis.
Destiny
The pharaoh sent the ship to Bia, an imprecise place name that refers to lands rich in minerals and stones to build buildings. It is usually identified with Sinai and is also directly related to Punt (which could be located in various areas such as Sudan, Northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Southeast Arabia or Yemen).
The storm and the shipwreck
Already on the high seas, a strong storm occurred, the wind rose and waves of more than four meters were suffered. In a short time the ship sank, the narrator hit the mainmast, grabbed a log and the waves dragged him to the beach of an island. When he woke up he realized that all of his companions had perished. He spent three days alone, during which he made himself a small hut to sleep in. When he went to look for some food he found grapes, all kinds of vegetables and fruits, ripe and green sycamore figs, cucumbers "as if they had been cultivated", fish and ducks. He looked for firewood and with it he lit a fire.
Shortly after, he heard a huge noise, which he attributed to the waves of the sea crashing against the coast, and he noticed tremors, until he realized that a snake of about 15 meters was approaching, which had a beard of more than two, its His body was covered with gold and his eyebrows with lapis lazuli.
At first the snake seemed threatening, but after listening to the castaway he calmed down and even wanted to comfort him. He prophesied that after four months a ship would arrive on the island that would take him to his land. And as the story goes, that's how it happened. The serpent ended up telling him that he was the king of Punt and offered him many gifts for his sovereign, such as monkeys, incense and resins. In return he only asked her to speak well of her.
Brief analysis
The vocabulary used in the text is accessible and the syntax relatively simple, which is why it is called a short story and it is also usually the first literary text that students of the classical Egyptian language encounter. And this is possibly the reason why the scientific world has paid so much attention to this story, although hardly to the maritime facet it offers.
The observation of the sky and the recognition of the coastline of the sea, the description of the outstanding qualities in the crew, the very specific measurements of the ship, as well as making reference to waves of more than four meters in height are circumstances typical of the environment. sailor, which makes us suppose that the author was a navigator or had close knowledge of the circumstances that surrounded him.
The document can be dated to the 12th Dynasty (19th century BC). It was rediscovered in the Saint Petersburg Museum by W. Golénischeff at the beginning of the 20th century, although it is currently in Moscow. It is called "Saint Petersburg 1115", but it is better known as the "Golénischeff papyrus".
This content of the text is closely linked to the expedition that centuries later would be carried out by a female pharaoh, Hatshepsut, of which there are quite detailed wall paintings, in which you can see the products they obtained and also characteristic features of the inhabitants of those regions’ foreigners.
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