Khufu's Funeral Boat

Giza, Egypt

The magnificent boat is 43.4m (143ft) long, constructed of giant cedar planks from Lebanon. Its planks, some of which are over 100 ft long, were sewn together at their edges, becoming watertight when their rope ties swelled in the water.

The boat had no mast, and studies indicate that its oars would not have been able to propel the vessel. It seems, therefore, that the boat was towed like a barge during the funeral procession. After transporting the king's mummy on its final journey to the West, the boat then magically reappears in the afterlife, this time as the solar barque which carried the resurrected king on his daily journey through the heavens.