First Posted: Apr 17, 2013 11:36 AM EDT
Archaeologists have uncovered the world's oldest harbor complex. Discovered in Egypt, it could explain why the pharaoh Khufu was able to build one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World--the Great Pyramid of Giza. (Photo : Flickr/David Stanley)
Around 2580 B.C., the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu ruled over one of the greatest kingdoms of the ancient world. Now, archaeologists have uncovered a vast harbor complex, a tool that the pharaoh used to help expand his domain and trade precious minerals with the rest of the Mediterranean world.
The second pharaoh of the 4
th dynasty, Khufu was the son of Sneferu and Queen Hetepheres I. He's best known for having built one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World--the Great Pyramid of Giza. Taking 23 years to complete, this massive structure eventually served as his tomb after he died. Despite this great achievement, though, surprisingly little is known about this pharaoh. In fact, the only statue found of him measures a tiny
three inches in height. The few accounts of his reign, written by the Greek historian Herodotus, characterize the pharaoh as a cruel leader, though it's likely that these papers
were highly biased.
Yet the success of Khufu's reign and his pyramid building could now be attributed to his ability to trade. Dating about 4,500 years old, the harbor predates other port structures by more than 1,000 years. It was constructed on the shores of the Red Sea about 112 miles south of Suez. In all, the archaeologists were able to identify dock structures, anchors of carved stone, storage jars, fragments of rope and pieces of pottery.
While the artifacts are themselves interesting, what have really captured the attention of archaeologists are the papyrus documents that they discovered at the site.
The oldest ever found in Egypt, the 40 documents detail the daily lives of ancient Egyptians during the 27
th year of Khufu's reign.
Some of these documents were more personal than others. One was actually the diary of a port official named Merrer. According to his writing, he helped lead the construction of the Great Pyramid by travelling to the Tura limestone quarry to fetch blocks for the monument.
The findings could allow archaeologists to better understand how the massive pyramid was built and could give insight into Khufu's reign. They could also reveal that, despite Herodotus's claims, the pharaoh wasn't such a bad leader after all.
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Ironically Bert, They were more informed than you appear to be and less into conspiracy theories and delusions. But you've already blamed that on the 'illuminati' in their feeble attempt to logically diffuse your profound insights on ancient history, right?
This is an exciting find! Hats off to those diligent Egyptologists who increase our understanding of our past and what it has taken us all to become this work in progress called being civilized.
The pyramids at Giza were never used as tombs for Khufu or anyone else. Modern interpretation of the pyramids engineering confirms that they could not have been built during Khufu's reign, as the height of technology at that time did not even include the wheel.
...said no scientist ever.
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Don't bring engineers into this.
Actually there are quite a few scientists who don't agree with conventional Egyptologists on the age, purpose and technology found in the great pyramids. You could easily research this yourself before posting ignorant and useless comments.
No, not quite a few, just a few.
They were not tombs. No one is certain who built the Great Pyramid.
I'm not saying it was ancient aliens... but it was ancient aliens
Yup, Aliens came, built pyramids and left. That makes sense
He never mentioned the illuminati and you can't really dispute the fact that no pharaoh has ever been found buried in a pyramid. I understand it's believed that's due to graverobbers but it seems sort of unscientific to suggest with certainty they were built as tombs.
Umm, so the fact that sarcophagi are found in them and documents from OUTSIDE cultures indicate tombs are what they were built for? Or is it just that as a huge structure taking a couple of decades to complete they had NO OTHER DISCERNABLE purpose? Or DOORS/ACCESS? Sure, there isn't a Rosetta Stone that says that is what they were for, but barring some other SCIENTIFIC discovery, the current evidence widely leads most investigators to the tomb/burial/"cult of personality" conclusion.
You ever been IN the pyramids? I have. They are 95% SOLID structures. Egyptians could easily have arrived later, burrowed their ways in and used them for burial chambers.
Really, go there and see Giza. Then see the shitty ones the Egyptians built at Sacchara, which are visible from there and built much later. Makes even smart people wonder.
Its weird that you don't' know when all the pyramids were built. They spanned hundreds of years. The crappy ones you are talking about were some of the first and it makes sense that they wouldn't be as good as Giza since they were before then. I've been to the pyramids and seen the tools used to build them, the quarry the stones were cut from, and the parchment written about what the pyramids are for.
"Big Sale on Pyramid Building Equipment at Harbor Freight"..
The reason no Pharaoh has been found in a pyramid is because they’ve all been looted, or never completed because the Pharaoh died and the new one started his pyramid instead. I know that a more complicated story, such as Aliens, sounds sexy and mysterious. But the sad truth is that most ancient structures have been looted and
vandalized. There is more than enough evidence from ancient text to say that the Pyramids were for Pharaohs. In fact there is even text attributing to the vandalizing and looting of the Pyramids.
It will be interesting to find out what is in the manuscripts.
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