Il Porto più antico del Mondo (per ora)

La notizia è di ADNKronos ed è di quelle che danno un certo brivido. Mi era sfuggita per via di una breve vacanza, dalla quale sono - purtroppo - ritornato troppo presto. 

Fino a quando i soliti burloni (nostrani e stranieri) non provvederanno a 'scoprirne' uno più antico, tutto nostro e magari (perché no?) pieno di orgogliose valenze identitarie, sembra che - per il momento, almeno - questo del Mar Rosso ne abbia proprio tutte le caratteristiche. 

Lascio ad ognuno l'iniziativa di elaborare il significato che la scoperta riveste circa la sede della nascita e lo sviluppo posteriore della navigazione commerciale intensiva, con tutto ciò che concerne le scienze marinare e le tecnologie ad esse correlate...

Cairo, 11 April (AKI) –

A team of archaeologists in Egypt has unearthed what is believed to be the world's most ancient harbour and precious hieroglyphic papyri dating to the third millennium BC, the government said on Thursday.

"The port of Wadi el-Jarf located on the Red Sea. 180 kilometres south of Suez dates to around 2,600 BC and the reign of King Khufu," Egypt's minister for antiquities Mohammed Ibrahim said in a statement.

It is considered one of the most important ancient Egyptian ports because it was used to transport copper and other minerals from the Sinai peninsula, Ibrahim noted.

"The papyri, which provide detailed accounts of daily life and traditions at the time of the Old Kindgom, are considered the oldest ever found," Ibrahim stated.

The papyri are currently being studied by experts at the Suez Museum, he said.

"The team of French and Egyptian archaeologists working on the dig also discovered stone anchors at Wadi el-Jarf that were marked with ropes used to tie the ships inside the port," he said.

A collection of stone tools used for cutting ropes and some wooden remains and ropes were also discovered at the site as well as the remains of houses for ancient port workers and 30 caves whose entrances were closed with stone blocks bearing inscriptions of King Khufu.

The pharoah King Khufu is credited with building the Great Pyramid of Giza in Middle Egypt, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

TRADUZIONE (PARZIALE) DELLA NOTIZIA D'AGENZIA DA PARTE DEL SITO "ARCHEOGATE".

Scoperto sul Mar Rosso il più antico porto del mondo

Redazione Archaeogate, 17-04-2013

   

Un team franco-egiziano ha scoperto un antico porto egiziano a Wadi el-Jarf, 180 km a sud di Suez. Lo scalo risale a 4.500 anni fa, all'epoca del faraone della quarta dinastia che costruì la grande piramide di Giza. Gli scavi hanno portato in luce quello che il più vecchio papiro (foto) mai rinvenuto a oggi in Egitto

Il papiro, datato al 27mo anno del regno di Cheope (2595 a.C. - 2570 a.C.), contiene informazioni sul numero dei lavoratori impegnati nello scalo e preziose informazioni sulla vita quotidiana. Secondo le prime ipotesi degli archeologi il porto sarebbe servito come punto di approdo per trasferire il rame dal Sinai, alle valle del Nilo.

More:

Archaeologists have stumbled upon what is thought to be the world's oldest port. The harbour, discovered on the Red Sea coast, is believed to date back 4,500 years, to the days of the Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) in the Fourth Dynasty.

Part of the port at Wadi el-Jarf. Egyptian authorities said the archaeologists found a variety of docks, as well as a collection of carved stone anchors [Credit: British Museum]

Teams believe it was once of one of the most important commercial ports of ancient Egypt, and would have been used for the export copper and other minerals from the Sinai Peninsula.

Alongside it were pieces of ancient papyri, which include fascinating details about the daily lives of ancient Egyptians.

Egyptian authorities said the archaeologists found a variety of docks, as well as a collection of carved stone anchors [Credit: British Museum]

Egyptian authorities said the archaeologists found a variety of docks, as well as a collection of carved stone anchors, NBC reports.

The harbour, which was built on the Red Sea shore in the Wadi al-Jarf area, 112 miles south of Suez, was discovered by a team  from the French Institute for Archaeological Studies.

The harbour is thought to be 1,000 years older than any other port structure in the world [Credit: British Museum]

It is thought to be 1,000 years older than any other port structure in the world.

The team also discovered a collection of 40 papyri offering a fascinating insight into the daily lives of ancient Egyptians during the 27th year of Pharoah Khufu's reign. Khufu died around 2566 B.C.

It includes details of the arrangements for getting bread and beer to the workers heading out from the port.

Pieces of worked wood, oar, tenons, pieces of wooden boxes, ropes found at Wadi el-Jarf [Credit: British Museum]

Egypt's antiquities minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said they were are the oldest papyri ever found in Egypt.

He said one ancient papyrus tells of the activities of an official named Merrer, who was involved in building the Great Pyramid of Giza, the tomb of Khufu.

Hieroglyphic papyrus detailing the arrangements for getting bread and beer to the workers heading out from the port [Credit: EPA]

'He mainly reported about his many trips to the Turah limestone quarry to fetch block for the building of the pyramid.

'Although we will not learn anything new about the construction of the Cheops monument, this diary provides for the first time an insight on this matter.'

Author: Amanda Williams | Source: Mail Online [April 16, 2013]