May 26 marks 67th anniversary of discovering Khufu’s Solar Ships by Kamal el-Malakh

CAIRO – 26 May 2021: May 26 marks the 67th anniversary of the discovery of the Khufu’s Solar Ships by the archaeologist and journalist Kamal el-Malakh.

The discovery was made on May 26, 1954 inside two roofed pits at the base of the southern Pyramid of Khufu [Cheops], at the bottom of one of them was a dismantled vessel beautifully carved of cedar wood. The boat consisted of 1224 parts that were all found. 

Funeral boats were used to transport the king's mummy to visit the holy sites of the God Osiris, including Abydos in the south and Boto in the north.

This is in addition to the fact that this type of boat was also used to transport the body of the king from his palace of residence to the cemetery where his pyramid is located.

Named the Solar Boat and the Ship of Khufu, it was known that such funerary ships sail to restore life for the deceased king from the holy places where the ships of the gods reside. 

Egyptian myths say that sunrises on the far eastern shore; that’s when Ra appears from the water and is greeted by a band of monkeys. 

After that, Ra, the Sun God, rides in his day ship, which sails him across the sky until evening, when he moves from his day ship to the night ship that waits for him in the underworld.