About 150 years ago, archaeologists uncovered spectacular images of an ancient journey on the walls of the Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s funerary temple at Deir el Bahri. Five ships sail south and then north, heavily loaded with cargoes that include frankincense plants and resin, as well as apes in the rigging, back to Egypt and the pharaoh boasts no one made such a voyage in 450 years. She exaggerated a bit, as recent work at the ancient port of Saww has shown, but the meticulous portrayal of the ships and the people who crewed them helped me to lead a team that designed, built, and once again sailed a pharaoh’s ship on the Red Sea.

Cheryl Ward is an independent researcher associated with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. She was previously the Director of the Center for Archaeology and Anthropology at Coastal Carolina University.  She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University, and an M.S. in Bioarchaeology from the University of London’s Institute of Archaeology.  Professor Ward specializes in maritime archaeology, ancient Egyptian ships, and archaeobotany.  She has done fieldwork in Turkey (Uluburun and Cilicia), Egypt (Sadana Island, Lisht, Abydos, Wadi Gawasis), and in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, Red Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Indian Ocean.  Her recent publications include “Pharonic ship remains at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis” (International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 39.1, 2010).

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