Speakers

Prof Hiromasa   KUROKOCHI
Professor, Higashi Nippon International University

Biography:

Hiromasa Kurokochi is a Professor at Higashi Nippon International University and NPO Institute of the Solar Boat, as well as a Researcher at the Institute of Egyptology, Waseda University. He holds a PhD in Ancient Egyptian Ship Building from the Department of Architecture, School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University. He was a Professor at the Faculty of World Heritage, Cyber University (2011/2012). His several publications about Ancient Egyptian Ship Building included Measurement of the Deck beam of Dahshur Boat (EM4925) in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo: A Study on the Planning of Wooden Boats in Ancient Egypt Part III, published in 2005 by Summaries of Technical Papers of Annual Meeting, History and Theory of Architecture, in addition to Shipbuilding Plan of the First Boat of King Khufu and Dimension of the Boat published in 2004 in The Journal of Egyptian Studies.

Abstract:

Outline of the Khufu Second Boat Project and the Structure of the Boat

This abstract introduces, in brief, the Khufu Second Boat Project from the beginning to the present, and the structure of this boat we identified until now comparing with the Khufu First Boat in the conference “Maritime and Underwater Archaeology” celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Central Department of Underwater Antiquities that will be held in Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 31 October – 2 November 2016.

The preliminary survey on the Khufu Second Boat started in 1987. At the beginning, the Japanese Team, led by Dr. Prof. Sakuji Yoshimura investigated inside the pit with electromagnetic radar. Then a camera was inserted inside the pit and took photographs of the wooden pieces. Samples of the pieces and the air were collected, analyzed and found that the wooden pieces were deteriorated and the environment was not suitable for preserving them. We concluded that we had to extract them from the pit, conserve them and if possible reassemble them into the ship.

In 2008, the Khufu Second Boat Project started by the joint team of Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Egypt, and Waseda University, Japan. We pitched a large tent warehouse on the working area, and a smaller tent for covering the pit, and a laboratory for conservation work in it (2009–2011). Temperature and humidity inside the small tent and the laboratory were controlled by air conditioners and humidifiers to be suitable for the wooden pieces.

In 2010, we excavated the pyramid surrounding wall over the cover stones of the pit and removed 36 rows of cover stones out of 40. After opening the pit, in 2012, we collected sample wooden pieces and carried out detailed scientific analyses for investigating the condition of the wood and the suitable method of conservation. From 2013, we started extraction, conservation, taking measurements, photographing and transportation of the wooden pieces. Until now, end–July 2016, we have completed extraction of 715 wooden pieces, conservation of 647, measuring of 380, taking photo and transportation of 404 wooden pieces. The Khufu First Boat has about 1200 wooden pieces.

As per the structure of the Second Boat, we made drawings of the wooden pieces of the deckhouse and the deck until now. In the presentation, the presenter will show some examples of our drawings and compare them with some data of the First Boat. The deckhouse is almost the same as those in the First Boat. The dimension of the Second Boat, as a whole, was supposedly almost the same as that of the First Boat. The papyrus formed stern post is also visible in the pit. The pieces of the canopy with a roof in the foredeck were also identified. Those were some of the examples we found, and we consider the basic structure, shape and dimension of the Second Boat similar to the First Boat.

On the other hand, there are some important differences between the First Boat and the Second Boat, which will be identified in the near future and reported in detail.

This project has been funded with the grants from the following Insitutions:

• Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd, Japan (2013)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (2013)
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA, 2013)
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2014)