Ancient images uncovered near Egyptian pharaoh's tomb

More than 120 images of ancient Egyptian boats have been discovered adorning the inside of a
building in?Abydos, Egypt. The building dates back more than 3,800 years and was built near the
tomb of pharaoh Senwosret III, archaeologists reported.

The tableau, as the series of images is called, would have looked upon a real wooden boat said Josef
Wegner, a curator at the Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the excavation.
Only a few planks remain of the wooden boat, which would have been constructed at Abydos or
dragged across the desert, Wegner said. In?ancient Egypt, boats were sometimes buried near a
pharaoh's tomb.? [In Photos: Tomb Painting Discovered Near Great Pyramid of Giza]

Etchings and a boat

Archaeologists found that the tableau was incised on the white plaster walls of the building.

The largest images are nearly 5 feet in length and show "large, well-rendered boats depicted with
masts, sails, rigging, deckhouses/cabins, rudders, oars and in some cases rowers," wrote Wegner in
an article published in?the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. Some images are small
and simple, the smallest reaching only about 4 inches in length, wrote Wegner.

An image showing part of the boat tableau, which includes both large and small images. Some of the
larger boats are highly detailed, showing masts, sails, rigging, cabins, rudders and oars.

Josef Wegner

Though 120 boat images survive today, there would have been more incised on the building walls in
ancient times, Wegner wrote. In addition to the boats, the tableau contains incised images of gazelle,
cattle and flowers, he noted.

Near the entranceway of the building -- whose interior is about 68 feet by 13 feet -- archaeologists
discovered more than 145 pottery vessels, many of which are buried with their necks facing toward
the building's entrance. "The vessels are necked, liquid-storage jars, usually termed 'beer jars'
although probably used for storage and transport of a variety of liquids," wrote Wegner in the
journal article.The existence of the building was first noted in a 1904 report by an Egypt Exploration
Fund (EEF) team that worked at Abydos between 1901 and 1903. However, that team didn't have
time to excavate the building and didn't know what was in it; "they came down on the very top of the
boat building. They saw the vault of it but abandoned work," Wegner said.?

Many mysteries

The discoveries leave archaeologists with a series of mysteries that future excavations may help
solve. [7 Amazing Archaeological Discoveries from Egypt]

The archaeologists don't know who drew the tableau or why they created it. "We can't conclusively
answer that on the basis of what's preserved," Wegner told Live Science. However, the researchers
think multiple people created the tableau within a short period of time, he added.