A 4,500-year-old wooden vessel was discovered near the Abusir pyramids, just south of Cairo, that could shed a tremendous amount of light on ancient shipbuilding in Egypt. Discovered by Czech archaeologists, this ancient funerary boat was said to have belonged to an extremely prominent member of society due to the choice burial location. The director of the team issued a statement describing the unusual discovery of this type of craftwork, primarily due to the fact that during this period, such elaborate structures were only reserved for those who typically belonged to the royal family. The 59-foot boat was found while the Czech team was clearing a mastaba or ancient tomb made at the Abusir South cemetery. Based on the pottery and the length of the boat indicated that it could have come from the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth dynasty. Amazingly, the sands from the desert had preserved the plant fibers used as battens in the planking seams of the wooden makeup of the boat.

The Egyptians believed that life continued even after death. In order to complete that journey to the heavens and the afterlife, the individual needed a boat to take them. In most cases, the person would be buried with a model of the vessel, however, more wealthy as well as royal members of the Egyptian court featured full-sized boats. While there have been very few surviving vessels, due to their importance, there are many images available to study. The discovery of this boat will give physical insight into how ships were built and into the nature of death rituals of ancient Egypt.