Land_of_punt

See also Puntland.

The Land of Punt, also called "Pwenet"Ian Shaw & Paul Nicholson, The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, British Museum Press, London. 1995, p.231. by the ancient Egyptians, at times synonymous with Ta netjer, the \'land of the god\' Breasted 1906-07, p. 433, vol. 1., was a fabled site in eastern Africa and "was the source of many exotic products, such as gold, aromatic resins, African blackwood, ebony, ivory, slaves and wild animals" Shaw & Nicholson, op. cit., p.231. Information about Punt has been found in ancient Egyptian records of trade missions to this region.

Contents 1 Egyptian expeditions 2 Geographic location 3 "Ta netjer" 4 Notes 5 References 6 Older literature 7 See also 8 External links 8.1 News reports on Wadi Gawasis excavations

Egyptian expeditions

The earliest recorded Egyptian expedition to Punt was organized by Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty (25th century BC). Breasted 1906-07, p. 161, vol. 1. Subsequently, in the reign of Mentuhotep III (around 1950 BC), an officer named Hannu organized one or more voyages to Punt, but it is uncertain whether he took part personally in these expeditions. Breasted 1906-07, p. 427-433, vol. 1.

Queen Ati of Punt depicted in Hatshepsut\'s funerary temple in Egypt

The most famous ancient Egyptian expedition to Punt was conducted during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut in the 15th century BC to obtain myrrh. A report of that voyage survives on a relief in Hatshepsut\'s funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri. Nehsi, mentioned in the inscriptions, is thought by some to have been the leader of the expedition. According to the relief, Punt was ruled at that time by King Parahu and Queen Ati Breasted 1906-07, p. 246-295, vol. 1.. Several of Hatshepsut\'s successors, including Thutmoses III, also organized expeditions to Punt.

Geographic location

Ancient Egyptian texts are consistent in connecting the location of Punt with the Red Sea, but scholars have not agreed upon its precise location. Modern academic consensus places Punt in the area of northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, or the southeastern Beja lands of Sudan.Edward J. Keall, Possible connections in antiquity between the Red Sea coast of Yemen and the Horn of Africa in Trade and Travel in the Red Sea Region. Proceedings of Red Sea Project I Held in the British Museum by the Society for Arabian Studies Monogrpahs No. 2. Oxford: England, Archaeopress, October 2002, p.53.

The most likely location of Punt according to Kenneth Kitchen is the region of northern Ethiopia/Eritrea and east-north-east Sudan.Kitchen 1993, p. 41 The presence of teff in 4th dynasty pyramid bricks of the Dashur Pyramid supports this theory, as teff only grows in the Eritrean Highlands and Ethiopian highlands. Modern attempts to classify the flora and fauna from Punt also suggests that Punt may have been located in this region.Shaw & Nicholson, op. cit., p.231 Myrrh trees from Hatshepsut\'s trading expedition to Punt are shown being loaded onto Egyptian ships in the second terrace of her funerary temple at Deir El Bahari.Shaw & Nicholson, op. cit., p.232 Evidence that these trees were "replanted in the temple of Deir El-Bahri" is suggested "from the surviving traces of tree-pits" found here.Shaw & Nicholson, op. cit., p.232

Some argue that Punt was as far away as Puntland, a region of Somalia that adopted this name in the 20th century. Frankincense and myrrh, which were imported by the Egyptians from Punt, are still found in abundance in this region. In his translation of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, G.W.B. Huntingford went so far as to claim that the name "Punt" lay behind the name of "Opone," a coastal marketplace located south of Cape Guardafui, and identified both Punt and Opone with Hafun.

It was once thought that the frankincense and other goods the ancient Egyptians obtained in Punt suggested that it was located on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, or even Bahrain or India. The presence of African animals in the Deir El Bahari reliefs, as well as the presence of incense-producing trees in Africa have discounted these theories.^{[citation needed]}

"Ta netjer"

The ancient Egyptians also called Punt Ta netjer, meaning "God\'s Land". This designation did not mean that Punt was considered a "Holy Land" by the Egyptians; rather, it was used to refer to regions of the Sun God, i.e. regions located in the direction of the sunrise. Breasted 1906-07, p. 658, vol. II. These eastern regions were blessed with precious products, like incense, used in temples. The term was used not only in reference to Punt, located southeast of Egypt, but also in reference to regions of Asia east and northeast of Egypt, such as Lebanon, which was the source of wood for temples.Breasted 1906-07, p. 451,773,820,888, vol. II.

Notes

References

• Bradbury, Louise (1988), "Reflections on Travelling to \'God\'s Land\' and Punt in the Middle Kingdom", Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 25: 127-156.
• Breasted, John Henry (1906-1907), Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest, collected, edited, and translated, with Commentary, vol. 1-5, University of Chicago Press.
• Fattovich, Rodolfo. 1991. "The Problem of Punt in the Light of the Recent Field Work in the Eastern Sudan". In Akten des vierten internationalen Ägyptologen Kongresses, München 1985, edited by Sylvia Schoske. Vol. 4 of 4 vols. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. 257–272
• ———. 1993. "Punt: The Archaeological Perspective". In Sesto congresso internazionale de egittologia: Atti, edited by Gian Maria Zaccone, and Tomaso Ricardi di Netro. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Torino: Italgas. 399–405
• Herzog, Rolf. 1968. Punt. Abhandlungen des Deutsches Archäologischen Instituts Kairo, Ägyptische Reihe 6. Glückstadt: Verlag J. J. Augustin
• Kitchen, K. A. (1971), "Punt and How to Get There", Orientalia 40: 184-207
• Kitchen, Kenneth A. (1993), "The Land of Punt", in Shaw, Thurstan; Sinclair, Paul & Andah, Bassey et al., The Archaeology of Africa: Foods, Metals, Towns, vol. 20, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 587-608.
• Meeks, Dimitri (2003), "Locating Punt", in O\'Connor, David B. & Quirke, Stephen G. J., Mysterious Lands, Encounters with ancient Egypt, vol. 5, London: Institute of Archaeology, University College London,University College London Press, pp. 53-80, ISBN 1-84472-004-7.
• Paice, Patricia, "The Punt Relief, the Pithom Stela, and the Periplus of the Erythean Sea", in Harrak, Amir, Contacts Between Cultures: Selected Papers from the 33rd International Congress of Asian and North African Studies, Toronto, August 15-25, 1990, vol. 1, Lewiston, Queenston, and Lampeter: The Edwin Mellon Press, pp. 227-235.
• Sweeney, Emmet (2006), Empire of Thebes, ISBN 978-0-87586-479-2.

Older literature

• Johannes Dumichen: Die Flotte einer ägyptischen Königin, Leipzig, 1868
• Wilhelm Max Müller: Asien und Europa nach altägyptischen Denkmälern, Leipzig, 1893
• Adolf Erman: Life in Ancient Egypt, London, 1894
• Édouard Naville: "Deir-el-Bahri" in Egypt Exploration Fund, Memoirs XII, XIII, XIV, and XIX, London, 1894 et seq
• J. H. Breasted: A History of the Ancient Egyptians, New York, 1908

See also

• Ophir
• Puntland

External links

• The Wonderful Land of Punt
• The Land of Punt with quotes from Breasted (1906) and Petrie (1939)
• Queen Hatasu, and Her Expedition to the Land of Punt by Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards (1891).
• Deir el-Bahri: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
• Hall of Punt at Deir el-Bahri; and Where was Punt? discussion by Dr. Karl H. Leser
• Queen of Punt syndrome

News reports on Wadi Gawasis excavations

• Archaeologists discover ancient ships in Egypt (Boston University Bridge, 18 March 2005). Excavations at Wadi Gawasis, possibly the ancient Egyptian port Saaw.
• Remains of ancient Egyptian seafaring ships discovered (New Scientist, 23 March 2005).
• Egyptian sea vessel artifacts discovered at pharaonic port of Mersa Gawasis along Red Sea coast (EurekAlert, 21 April 2005).
• University professor finds ancient shipwreck (Boston University Daily Free Press, 27 April 2005).
• Ancient Mariners: Caves harbor view of early Egyptian sailors (Science News Online, 7 May 2005).
• Sailing to distant lands (Al Ahram, 2 June 2005).
• Ancient ship remains are unearthed (Deutsche Press Agentur, 26 Jan 2006).
• Archeologists find ancient ship remains (Associated Press, 27 Jan 2006).
• 4,000-year-old shipyard unearthed in Egypt (MSNBC, 6 March 2006)

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