Nile shipwreck proves Herodotus was right

Herodotus described the Egyptian vessels as rows of bricks. The design used a series of joints in the hull.
Apparently researchers are looking at over 70 different wrecks, but this was the first example of a boat matching his description.

I love discoveries of this kind. To me, they give an awesome glimpse in how similar we are today to the minds of 2500 years ago. The way we all try to process what we see and discover as we go about life. I find it amazing to see how a mind like Herodotus's tried to describe something like this.

In fragment 2.96 of Herodotus' Histories, published around 450 BCE, the Ancient Greek historian - who was writing about his trip to Egypt - describes a type of Nile cargo boat called a baris. According to his portrayal, it was constructed like brickwork, lined with papyrus, and with a rudder that passed through a hole in the keel. This steering system had been seen in representations and models through the Pharaonic period - but we had no firm archaeological evidence of its existence until now.

SCIENCE ALERT

I like seeing ancient technologies uncovered and how they differ with modern or familiar technologies. It sparks my mind to imagining a rich and alien looking civilization so much different than that's been shown in media.

a reply to: LoneCloudHopper2

In the mainstream media they portrayed the ancient civilizations and their designs as simple designs or like the pyramids tombs but we know its much more complex then what they portrayed.

Which means they should pay more attention to what ancients say about things instead of automatically saying they are stories. So many truths out there that are not believed.

For instance.

His stories about the pharaohs are almost entirely hearsay, and should be taken with a fairly hefty pinch of salt, but they are entertaining. He claims that a priest read him a kings list which listed three hundred and thirty kings.

Of those, eighteen were Ethiopian and one was a woman named Nitocris. Modern chronologies generally list only five Ethiopian Pharaohs, and what about Queen Regents such as Mereneith and the Female Pharaohs Sobekneferu and Hatshepsut?

www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk...