Ship Timber and the Reuse of Wood in Ancient Egypt

Abstract

Reuse of materials in ancient Egypt is neither a new nor novel concept. The ancient Egyptians reused a variety of materials and certainly any resource that had spiritual, ideological, or economic value that was available to them. Yet, reuse of certain raw materials has not been thoroughly examined, notably timber. This manuscript explores the modes, preferences and implications of wood use, specifically reuse, in Egypt’s Pharaonic Period, using ship timber as the illustrative example. This synthesis suggests specific preferences for commodity consumption and conservation existed, revealing cultural and behavioral trends.

Tree Rings and the Chronology of Ancient Egypt

“…The Egyptians valued wood, particularly the imported coniferous woods, sufficiently to prompt its frequent reuse (Creasman 2010a(Creasman , 2010b(Creasman , 2013b. S88 CREASMAN Furthermore, the practice of stockpiling timber, including "old" wood, in Egypt is known from at least as early as the Middle Kingdom (Simpson 1965;Dee et al 2012;Creasman 2013b). During the chronology-building process, a mixture of first-use and reused wood can yield a greater number of annual rings with which to work than might a collection of only first-use timber, permitting the construction of longer site chronologies and floating chronologies.…”

Tree Rings and the Chronology of Ancient Egypt

“…Ghilardi and Boraik 2011;Bernhardt et al 2012;Butzer 2012), human/environment interactions (e.g. Graham et al 2012;Creasman 2013b), and absolute dating (largely through 14 C; e.g. Bronk Dee et al 2010;Quiles et al 2013).…”

“…The Egyptians valued wood, particularly the imported coniferous woods, sufficiently to prompt its frequent reuse (Creasman 2010a(Creasman , 2010b(Creasman , 2013b. Such timber repurposing as the Egyptians practiced will provide dendrochronological efforts with both advantages and challenges.…”

“…Similarly problematic is that we do not know how much time typically passed between the felling of timber in a foreign land (and seasoning, if any), its transport to Egypt, and its eventual use there. S88 CREASMAN Furthermore, the practice of stockpiling timber, including "old" wood, in Egypt is known from at least as early as the Middle Kingdom (Simpson 1965;Dee et al 2012;Creasman 2013b). …”

“…This is especially important for societies, such as pharaonic Egypt, that made intensive use of wood and lack reliable chronologies. Before relying on imported timbers to provide dates for past events in ancient Egypt, we need to develop a much greater understanding of wood-use behaviors, notably reuse and other aspects of the timber economy (Dixon 1974;Deglin 2012;Creasman 2013bCreasman , 2014.…”