The powerful symbol of the Barge

The powerful symbol of the Barge

The wooden boat model used to carry the statue of Horus in ancient times was the Barge a large flat boat. Including statues or objects of religious and ritual significance in ancient Egyptian culture The special feature is that the boat has a wide and flat area an elaborate structure and the importance of the Eye of Horus which appears prominently on the hull. A powerful symbol in Egyptian mythology The Temple of Horus at Edfu is an excellent example of the use of this type of boat sometimes imitating papyrus shells The bas-reliefs inside the temple show the boats used in rituals in ancient Egyptian ceremonies The Barge would be beautifully decorated and used to carry the statues of the gods such as Horus from one temple to another and the sacred statues with the Barge in the symbol

Temple of Horus in Edfu, replica of the wooden boat used to carry the statue of Horus / Louvre Museum, Paris

These boats were usually depicted in the shape of a crescent usually with a curved stern, only two oars one bow and a portable altar on the deck mostly made of papyrus used by the pharaoh and priests and were made of wood from Syria and Phoenicia Neshmet the vessel of the gods the sacred boat used in the burial field represented the boat of Osiris called Neshmet transported in this boat up the Nile during the Osiris festival at Abydos The departure from the temple the journey to the tomb the death and resurrection of Osiris sparked the hope of eternal life in the minds of the faithful. Many pharaohs wished to join the many life-size wooden boats near the pyramids and prepared for this journey using wooden boat models in the same manner as Ushabti placing a small coffin on the deck

The Voyage of the Boat of the Gods

The most elaborate sacred boats were built during the reign of Hatshepsut, and three of the boats of the gods of Thebes the boat of Amun the boat of Mut and the boat of Khonsu can be seen in bas-reliefs in the ancient kingdom These barges were used to invoke gods and sacred statues and to transport large and heavy goods in religious ceremonies and celebrations They were good at carrying heavy and large loads They represented protection good health and navigation Models of wooden boats were placed in tombs replacing the large boats in the afterlife helping the deceased to travel on the spiritual path

The main means of communication was the Nile River and the boat quickly became an object in the domain of the power of the gods and the sacred by moving the most secret and inaccessible areas of the Egyptian temple The boats were used in the religious rites of each god and were placed in the so-called rest of the boat In this way both the pharaohs and the nobles and the common people believed that with these boats they could reach Duat the kingdom of the dead among the stars in the Middle Kingdom In the ancient kingdom Khufu was buried with up to five boats in five ditches near his pyramid perhaps in the Valley Temple

Solar barque of Djedhor - Late Period - XXVI - XXXth Dinasty - 380-343 aC - Bronze

This way both the pharaohs the nobles and the common people believed that with these boats one could reach Duat the realm of the dead amidst the stars in the Middle Kingdom In the ancient kingdom Khufu was buried with as many as five boats in five moats near his pyramid perhaps to the Valley Temple bypassing the processional route to the pyramid. Four boats were identified given by the gods of the four directions to the deceased king so that he could reach them This way both the pharaohs the nobles and the common people believed that with these boats one could reach Duat the realm of the dead amidst the stars in the Middle Kingdom

In the ancient kingdom Khufu was buried with as many as five boats in five moats near his pyramid perhaps to the Valley Temple bypassing the processional route to the pyramid Four boats were identified given by the gods of the four directions to the deceased king so that he could reach them Their functions symbolized the journey to the solar boat of Ra. After the final journey Khufu's boats were disassembled and carefully hidden so that they could be used later Other boats were found at Abydos in the tombs of the kings of the ancient kingdom