In January we posted about the Jewel of Muscat a replica of a 9th-century sailing ship modelled on a famous Tang Treasure ship.  Recently Nova broadcast a documentary on far older ships from the region, Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s ships, dating from 1479 BCE.   Pharaoh Hatshepsut was the only female pharoah and she is said to have launched a fabled expedition on great trading ships to a far-away land known as Punt.  The expedition is recorded in bas relief on her  funeral temple.  A team of archeologists and Egyptian boat builders have built a replica of one of these ships and sailed it in the open waters of the Red Sea.   It is a fascinating documentary. Click here to read more – Building Pharoah’s Ship,  or here to watch the video on-line.

Thank to Bowsprite for pointing out the documentary to us.