Diving for Chinese Porcelain in the Red Sea
Excavation of the mid-18th century Sadana Island shipwreck off Egypt's Red Sea coast revealed hundreds of pieces of spectacular Chinese export porcelain among other artifacts. The range of styles incorporates types well known in Middle Eastern markets, particularly pieces found in the collections from Istanbul's Topkapi palace of the Ottoman sultans. With the evidence from Sadana, however, comes new information about dating, mercantile exchange, and trade routes for the period. The Institute of Nautical Archaeology - Egypt conducted the final excavation season at Sadana Island in 1998.

Sailing with the Gods: Ships and Boats in Ancient Egypt
Herodotus and many authors have pointed out that the Nile serves as Egypt's principal highway, and it is easy to understand how the Ancient Egyptians developed ways to use the Nile early in their residence along its banks. Boatbuilding in Egypt goes back at least 7000 years, and boats are associated with the earliest representations of king and state power that exist. Gods had their own vessels, and individuals (even pharaohs) had to have their own real or virtual craft in order to be reunited with the celestial gods after their death. But watercraft also were vital in the construction of monuments to the gods and buildings for living gods and their servants. We are fortunate to have examples of each of these types of vessels preserved in the sands of Egypt; looking at them in a cultural and economic context helps to pinpoint their importance to Ancient Egyptian society as a whole.

Nefertiti's Secret: Late Bronze Age Perfumes
Excavation of the Late Bronze Age Shipwreck at Uluburun, Turkey, by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology furnished the archaeological world with one of the richest finds since the tomb of King Tutankhamen. Studying plant remains from the Uluburun wreck provides an unusual opportunity to examine the raw materials for manufacturing perfumes and exotic delicacies as well as more mundane concerns such as packaging the precious cargoes that derived from Nubia, Egypt, Syria, Mycenaean Greece, and beyond. Combining such studies with textual evidence helps create a vivid portrait of the use of plants in the ancient world, surprisingly often for the same purposes we put them to today.

Sacred Cargo: How to Ship an Obelisk
Drawing on a variety of sources, this lecture explores the origin, meaning, manufacture, and transport of ancient Egyptian obelisks. Quarried at Aswan and shipped to sites between 150 and 550 miles away, obelisks ultimately became so popular that they adorn many of the world's greatest cities today. Although Roman emperors, a pope, and English gentlemen all played their roles, ancient Egyptian methods remain obscure. Cheryl Ward recently joined a group of archaeologists and professional stone workers experimenting with their own ideas about how the Egyptians handled the problems associated with extracting, moving and erecting these granite skewers for a NOVA/WGBH program and provides a behind-the-scenes description of the project.

Classic Scuttlebutt: Sailors' Tales of the Red Sea
For more than 5,000 years, ships crossing the Red Sea have carried sailors who told stories of their own and others' voyages. One of the oldest pieces of literature from Egypt and the first such story written down in all the world is the "Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor," a first-person account of magical serpents and undreamed of treasures. A handbook for peddling wares and surviving the passage to India from the first century AD and diary excerpts from a German scientist who was the first to chart the Red Sea illustrate the scope of travelers' interest in the area.