"World's Most Important Ships"

Khufu ship, 2,500 BC

Dating from 2,500 BC, this boat was found in a pit at Giza in Egypt where it had been dismantled as a grave offering for the Pharaoh Khufu. Measuring 141 feet (43m) long and 16 feet (5m) wide, it is known as a ‘solar barge’, a ritual vessel to carry the king and later his embalmed body. Built of Lebanon cedar, it seems to have been propelled by oars as there is no room for sails. Discovered in 1954, the ship was painstakingly reconstructed and will be back on display at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza when it opens in November 2022. 






Roman author Suetonius described a ship built by the Emperor Caligula in the 1st century AD as having 'jewels, space for baths and galleries, and containing vines and fruit'. He was probably describing one of the ships discovered in Lake Nemi 17 miles (30km) south of Rome, Italy. In 1895, an investigation began and two ships were discovered, each measuring 230 feet (70m) by 66 feet (20m) and propelled by oars. In 1927, Italian dictator Mussolini ordered the lake drained and the ships were photographed. Sadly the vessels were destroyed by fire during the Second World War.




In 1880 this Viking-era ship was discovered in Gokstad burial mound near Sandefjord in Norway. At 75 feet (23m) long and 16 feet (5m) wide, the vessel was clinker-built of overlapping oak boards and could carry 32 oarsmen with a total crew of 70. Built at the height of the Vikings' power, the ship had a 1,184 square feet (110sqm) sail and a single mast that could be lowered. The burial site also contained the body of a man in his forties and other artifacts including three more small boats. The boat and surviving items are usually on show at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, however the site is being rebuilt and is set to reopen in 2025.



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