The unassembled components of the Khufu-1 ship, dated to the mid-3rd millennium BC were found in 1954 just south of the Khufu pyramid in Egypt. It has two mid-sheer planks, one on each side: 23 m long, and a maximum of 40 cm wide and 14... more
The unassembled components of the Khufu-1 ship, dated to the mid-3rd millennium BC were found in
1954 just south of the Khufu pyramid in Egypt. It has two mid-sheer planks, one on each side: 23 m long,
and a maximum of 40 cm wide and 14 cm thick. These planks were made from the cedar of Lebanon
(Cedrus libani) imported from Lebanon, 320 Nautical Miles (600 km) away, along the eastern coast of
the Mediterranean. According to scholars who studied this ship, the ship planks, which were curved in
three dimensions, to fit the hull, were produced from the cedar trunk by carving, not by bending.
Given that cedar wood was imported and expensive in Egypt, the choice of the carving technique was
unexpected, and above all, would yield a plank weaker than one twisted and bent from a straight
timber. The two production techniques (carving and bending) were compared, and it was found that
bending was superior, and in fact, was demonstrated to be the actual method of shaping the planks
of the Khufu-1 ship.
1954 just south of the Khufu pyramid in Egypt. It has two mid-sheer planks, one on each side: 23 m long,
and a maximum of 40 cm wide and 14 cm thick. These planks were made from the cedar of Lebanon
(Cedrus libani) imported from Lebanon, 320 Nautical Miles (600 km) away, along the eastern coast of
the Mediterranean. According to scholars who studied this ship, the ship planks, which were curved in
three dimensions, to fit the hull, were produced from the cedar trunk by carving, not by bending.
Given that cedar wood was imported and expensive in Egypt, the choice of the carving technique was
unexpected, and above all, would yield a plank weaker than one twisted and bent from a straight
timber. The two production techniques (carving and bending) were compared, and it was found that
bending was superior, and in fact, was demonstrated to be the actual method of shaping the planks
of the Khufu-1 ship.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Char-bending is a term used in marine archaeology literature to describe the process of shaping long hull components (planks, wales, stringers) by bending them over open fire, from Antiquity, up to modern times. Experiments were done on... more
Char-bending is a term used in marine archaeology literature to describe the process of shaping long hull components (planks, wales, stringers) by bending them over open fire, from Antiquity, up to modern times. Experiments were done on planks of two wood species with different cross-sections. The planks were heated over open fire while monitoring the internal temperature and charred layer thickness on the side of the plank facing the heat source. The results show that in order to reach the temperature inside the wood required for it to become pliable, the formation of a charred layer, an undesirable by-product, is unavoidable. It is explained why char-bending, in almost all cases, occurs on the concave side of the plank.