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Land Transport
Most traveling in Egypt was undertaken by river,
but other means were needed to convey the traveler overland from the
river to his destination or to cross the long distances covered by
expeditions to the mines or to Nubia.
Donkey The donkey had many uses: These animals were used for threshing corn and for transporting sheaves and were generally regarded as beasts of burden. Nobles in particular, however, did not like to ride them; in an Old Kingdom tomb there is a scene showing two donkeys supporting a sedan chair on their backs accompanied by two runners. One walks ahead of the donkey to clear the way while the other follows behind to drive the donkey and fan his master as he sits in the chair. Sometimes, a litter was carried on the shoulders of twelve or more servants; it had a seat with a canopy over it and was accompanied by men walking alongside with long fans and a servant carrying a water skin for the owner to refresh himself. Another variation of the litter had no canopy, but a servant accompanied it protecting the master with a large sun shield or umbrella. None of the tomb scenes show men riding donkeys, but one example of a donkey saddle has been discovered. Most ordinary people, however, apparently preferred to walk. . The Litter The litter or carrying chair was used in the Old and Middle Kingdoms to transport kings, nobles, and the statues of gods. The solid wooden wheel existed from the Old Kingdom, but it was too heavy for regular transport use over rough ground surfaces and was only employed on fourwheel carriages, which sometimes carried coffins or the god’s sacred bark during his festival procession. From the New Kingdom on, the litter was apparently no longer used for general travel, although it was retained for ceremonial occasions such as transporting gods’ statues. .
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Horse and Chariot
The horse and spoked wheel were introduced to Egypt from Asia during the Hyksos Period. Horses and war chariots had been brought into the Near East by the Aryans but were probably not used in Egypt until the end of the Hyksos reign. Horses were not usually ridden by Egyptian kings or nobility but were employed to draw light, two-wheeled chariots constructed of wood, leather, and metal that held two persons—the charioteer and the passenger. The horse and chariot were most often used for warfare (there was a chariotry division in the army from the time of Tuthmosis III) and for transporting the royal family and nobles. Scouts and dispatch riders traveled on horseback, and there are some literary references indicating that the king and his nobles also used horses for riding, although the upper classes are never shown riding their horses and this was secondary to the horses’ chariotry function. The Egyptians greatly valued their horses, which always remained the exclusive possession of royalty and the highest courtiers. At first, horses were undoubtedly rare in Egypt, but gifts from other rulers ensured that the Egyptian studs flourished during the New Kingdom, and herds were bred and reared in the Delta. Horses were trained to go into battle; stallions were used rather than mares, and highspirited horses were especially prized. The great households all had their own stables and staff, but mules were sometimes preferred for drawing carriages around the owner’s estate because they were easier to manage. The Egyptians owned rich equipment for their horses. Decorative plumes placed on horses’ heads were fixed into small shapes representing lions, all the metal parts of the chariot and tackle were gilded, and the straps of the harness and leather used on the frame of the chariot were often colored purple. Two types of carriage were introduced from Palestine that became popular in the New Kingdom. The merkabot had two wheels made of wood and metal, each of which had four or six spokes; the body of the carriage, borne by the axle, consisted of a floor and wooden front and sides. The simple harness had a broad strap that passed around the chests of the two horses and was fastened to the chariot. The Egyptians had reins to guide the horses, and from Dynasty 19 onward blinders were in use. Although horses were never deified because they arrived in Egypt long after the pantheon had been established, they were nevertheless regarded as divine creatures closely associated with the king. The merkabot, used for warfare and for traveling overland or hunting in the desert, was light and adaptable and thus became popular with the upper classes. The other carriage introduced from Palestine was the ox drawn wagon; this was used to carry baggage and particularly to transport provisions to the mines. The donkey, however, remained the most popular beast of burden in ancient Egypt; the camel is never mentioned or depicted in Egyptian sources until the Greek Period when it was first introduced to the country. .
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Transport of Stone
and Statuary The transportation of huge obelisks, colossal statuary, and large blocks of stone from the quarries to their final locations was an important function. Special barges were used in dry docks on the banks of the Nile, and when the inundation came these were lifted by the water and pushed along the river to their ultimate destination by a series of tugboats. It was still necessary, however, to move these huge burdens overland from the riverbank to the building site. Although some of these stone blocks were enormous, the Egyptians had only simple methods and equipment to move them. Sometimes wooden sledges on rollers drawn by oxen were used for transporting moderate-size stones along the road, but more often men were employed to pull the stones and statues. In the Old Kingdom Egyptian peasants were conscripted for this labor, but in later times they were mainly replaced by large numbers of prisoners of war and slaves. In Ramesside times people referred to as the Habiru were employed to drag the stones for royal buildings. These workers were included in the great expedition sent by Ramesses IV to the Wadi Hammamat. Placed under three trusted commanders, the expedition had military officers, administrators, priests, stonemasons, painters, and engravers as well as 5,000 soldiers, 800 mercenaries, and 2,000 slaves. Altogether the expedition numbered some 8,400 persons and was accompanied by ten ox drawn wagons to carry the food provisions. .
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A MOVING EXPEDITION
A Middle Kingdom scene shows how a great
alabaster statue (about 20 feet high) representing the governor of
the Hare nome was moved to his local temple or tomb. The statue
rested on a large wooden sledge to which it was fastened by a very
strong rope; pieces of leather were placed between the statue and
the rope at key points to prevent the rope from chafing the stone.
Four long ropes harnessed 172 men to pull this load; the overseer
stood on the knee of the statue clapping his hands and issuing
commands to his workforce. Another man offered incense to the
statue, and a third performed the very important function of pouring
milk on the ground in front of the sledge so that it would move more
easily over the ground. Other men carried extra containers of milk,
and the overseers with their sticks accompanied the procession to
ensure that the momentum was continued. Relatives of the governor
walked at the back of the group, and the procession was met and
greeted by groups of men carrying branches who accompanied their
leaders; these were the governor’s subjects and their presence here
indicates the importance of this event for the community.
Transportation of this colossus had obviously been difficult and
hazardous, not least because the ground was uneven, and the
inscriptions relates that the governor had ordered stonemasons and
stonecutters to supervise young men and boys in leveling and
preparing the route for the statue. It is evident that the Egyptians
used water transport whenever possible, but when they had to travel
overland, other means of transport were available. To move massive
blocks of stone or to send expeditions over long distances, they
utilized only simple equipment but had the benefits of excellent
organization and a large labor force. By the nature of its
geography, however, Egypt always remained a country where it was
difficult to travel around, and people probably usually remained
near their own homes unless they embarked on pilgrimages to
festivals held around the country or to the sacred city of Abydos to
ensure their own resurrection.
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Land Transport
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