Shipbuilding in Egypt, historically, is the oldest art of shipbuilding to be known in any detail, and we can follow its development for some 2000 years. The Egyptian fleet played a decisive role not only in the Nile valley but also in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, where the Egyptians maintained regular sea traffic and communications, especially with Lebanon, from which all timber was imported. Pictures of ships in King Sahure's temple are very carefully made and from them a perfect reconstruction of this ship was possible.
