5,000-Year-Old Ships Found in Egypt

A fleet of royal ships, said to be ancient Egypt’s earliest, has been found buried miles from the Nile, a major discovery that will help penetrate the largely unknown world of Egypt’s first pharoahs.

American and Egyptian archeologists discovered the 12 large wooden boats in September and October at Abydos, an ancient burial ground 280 miles south of Cairo.

Experts said the boats--which are 50 to 60 feet long--are about 5,000 years old.

The boats were found eight miles from the Nile, said David O’Connor, the expedition leader and curator of the Egyptian section at the University of Pennsylvania’s museum.

The boats, buried in pits and covered with mud and plaster, probably never sailed the Nile but were built to serve as magical vehicles to transport dead pharaohs, O’Connor said.