A Freighter of the 6th Dynasty - 2200 BC

A Freighter of the late Sixth Dynasty (ca 2200 B.C.)The vessel pictured here was the common bulk-cargo carrier of the Nile in late Old Kingdom times. In its capacious open bunker on deck, grain could be carried loose or cattle could be stalled. A few pairs of oars on the foredeck served to manoeuvre the ship into shore or to supplement the current when the ship was travelling downstream; the usual wide square sail, spread to the prevailing north wind, would carry it upstream against the current. A pair of rudder stanchions, now permanently fixed, supported a single steering oar, hung to port or to starboard as the ship's course dictated.