Struck Gold! Bizarre Find in the “Land of the God”

Punt, the “Land of the God”, was a name given to a location that represented different regions of the Sun God, where the lands faced the sunrise. Punt not only was known for “producing and exporting gold, aromatic resins, African blackwood, ebony, ivory, slaves and wild animals”, but it was also a site of great trade missions.

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When the Egyptians referred to Punt, located southeast of Egypt, they were also including such regions of East Asia and parts of Northeast Egypt, such as Lebanon, which was the source of wood for temples.

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Interestingly enough, the oldest sea-faring ships were found near Wadi Gawasis along a “sand-covered bluff near the Red Sea by a team led by Florida State University anthropology professor Cheryl Ward. Wadi Gawasis is located about 13 miles south of the modern Egyptian city of Port Safaga.” Wooden planks dated over 4000 years old were found in the man made caves, making them the world’s most ancient ship timbers.

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Archaeological finds included stone anchors, coils of rope, and a stone tablet, of Pharaoh Amenemhat III, who ruled between (c. 1860-1814 BC).

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The most interesting aspect of the find was that according to history, Egyptians were not believed to be sea-worthy, yet history is revealing several trade missions made between the Egyptians and parts of the Punt regions, hence the finding of the wooden planks in nearby caves.

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“They arrived safely at the desert-country of Coptos: they moored in peace, carrying the goods they had brought. They [the goods] were loaded, in traveling overland, upon asses and upon men, being reloaded into vessels at the harbour of Coptos. They [the goods and the Puntites] were sent forward downstream, arriving in festivity, bringing tribute into the royal presence.”

After years of myths and fables about Punt, the historical findings once again revealed the truth, building a empire from a single grain of sand, and bringing forth what we believed as false all these years.