oldest boats of which anything is now known were built in
Egypt by the people who inhabited that country before the advent of the
Pyramid-builders. It is only within the last few years that these tombs
have been explored and critically examined. They are now supposed to be
of Libyan origin and to date from between 5000 and 6000 B.C. In many of
these tombs vases of pottery have been discovered, on which are painted
rude representations of ships. Some of the latter were of remarkable
size and character. Fig. 2 is taken from one of these vases. It is a
river scene, showing two boats in procession. The pyramid-shaped mounds
in the background represent a row of hills. These boats are evidently of
very large size. One of them has 58 oars, or more probably paddles, on
each side, and two large cabins amidships, connected by a flying bridge,
and with spaces fenced off from the body of the vessel. The steering
was, apparently, effected by means of three large paddles on each side,
and from the prow of one of the boats hangs a weight, which was probably
intended for an anchor. It will be noticed that the two ends of these
vessels, like the Nile boats of the Egyptians proper, were not
waterborne. A great many representations of these boats have now been
discovered. They all have the same leading characteristics, though they
differ very much in size. Amongst other peculiarities they invariably
have an object at the prow resembling two branches of palm issuing from
a stalk, and also a mast carrying an ensign at the after-cabin.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--The oldest known ships. Between 5000 and 6000
B.C.]

Some explorers are of opinion that these illustrations do not represent
boats, but fortifications, or stockades of some sort. If we relied only
on the rude representations painted on the vases, the question might be
a moot one. It has, however, been definitely set at rest by Professor
Flinders Petrie, who, in the year 1899, brought back from Egypt very
large drawings of the same character, taken, not from vases, but from
the tombs themselves. The drawings clearly show that the objects are
boats, and that they were apparently very shallow and flat-bottomed. It
is considered probable that they were employed in over-sea trade as well
as for Nile traffic; for, in the same tombs were found specimens of
pottery of foreign manufacture, some of which have been traced to
Bosnia.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Egyptian boat of the time of the thir