Mersa Gawasis

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Mersa Gawasis in hieroglyphics
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Saww
S3ww
Sauu
Mersa Gawasis (Egypt)
Mersa Gawasis
Mersa Gawasis
Mersa Gawasis in Egypt

Mersa Gawasis ( ancient Egyptian SAWW ) is a small Egyptian Dau - port on the Red Sea and a former Egyptian port city . The port is located at the mouth of Wadi Gawasis , two kilometers south of the mouth of Wadi Gasus . The city of Safaga is 25 kilometers north and al-Qusair is 50 kilometers south .

The place was in the time of Sesostris I to Sesostris III. ( 12th Dynasty ) used as a port, and served as a landing stage for ship expeditions to Punt . The port was also used as a starting point for trips to the Sinai mines.

etymology

The name is made up of Mersa , which indicates a harbor, and Gawasis , a medieval name for scout boat .

Research history

After an in Wadi Gasus stele found from the 12th dynasty, in a nearby port called SAWW mentioned, began in 1976, the University of Alexandria , led by Abdel Monem AH Sayed , an excavation near the Greco-Roman water station , the locality of the stele . Since no other pharaonic monuments were found, it was concluded that the stele was transported from Saww to the station in Roman times . The search continued further east at the mouth of Mersa Gasus, where no pharaonic remains were found either.

Only two kilometers further south in Mersa Gawasis was a small stele with fragmentary inscriptions that named the cartouche of Sesostris I and the geographical name Bia-n-Punt . 250 meters west of the port was found on the north side of Wadi Gawasis a small shrine , with the name and the titles of the Anchu , Chamberlain of Sesostris I. The shrine and the base consisted of a limestone - anchor , from which the top holes were cut . The name Saww reappeared in the shrine inscriptions , which confirmed the location of the port near Mersa Gawasis.

Another small stele with a limestone anchor as a base was discovered two hundred meters west of the shrine. It contained instructions from Sesostris I to the vizier Antefiqer for a ship to be built for the journey to Bia-Punt . Subsequent excavations in 1977 revealed some pottery shards with hieratic inscriptions. In addition to the content, the origin and destination of the vessels were stated. Among them were a temple of Sesostris II , the name Punt and the name of an official from the time of Sesostris III. on.

The finds showed that Saww could now be clearly identified with Mersa Gawasis and that from here in the Middle Kingdom the ships sailed to Punt and landed again. It was found that the ships - as on the outward journey - were dismantled on their return and transported in individual parts to the Nile Valley . The anchors, weighing around 250 kg, were manufactured in Mersa Gawasis and left in place on return and reused for other purposes (e.g. as a shrine or pedestal).

literature

  • Kathryn A. Bard: Harbor of the Pharaohs to the land of Punt , 2007, ISBN 978-88-95044-11-8 .
  • Abdel Monem AH Sayed: Wadi Gasus in: Kathryn A. Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt , 1999, pp. 866-868.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rainer Hannig: Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian-German: (2800 - 950 BC) . von Zabern, Mainz 2001, ISBN 3-8053-1771-9 , p. 1378.
  2. ^ Sayed: Wadi Gasus in: Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt , 1999, p. 868.
  3. ↑ Gawasis is the plural of Gasus .
  4. ^ Sayed: Wadi Gasus in: Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt , 1999, p. 866.
  5. ↑ Chentchtayver's stele from the 28th year of Amenemhet II , reports of a safe return from Punt.
  6. ↑ In a modified form as Sww .
  7. ↑ Two unfinished anchors were found nearby.
  8. ^ Sayed: Wadi Gasus in: Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt , 1999, pp. 866-868.

Coordinates: 26 ° 33 ′ 26 ″  N , 34 ° 2 ′ 11 ″  E