Building
Pharaoh’s Ship - a documentary film about experimental archaeology - was shown
on US television (PBS) in 2010. It is an episode of the long-running program
NOVA, which focuses on the history of science and technology (season 37,
episode 10). Here is some basic information about it:
** Directed by
Stephane Begoin
** Produced by
Valerie Abita and Patrick Villeneuve
** Written by
Julia Cort
** Narrated by
Craig Sechler
** Run time: 53
minutes
Several experts
were involved in this program. Here are their names:
** Kathryn Bard –
Boston University
** David Vann –
author and sailing expert
** Tom Vosmer –
maritime archaeologist
** Cheryl Ward –
Coastal Carolina University
** The Lahma
family – an Egyptian family of shipbuilders
The experts meet in
Egypt. The project is to build a modern replica of an ancient ship that can
actually sail the open sea. In this film we see the experts as they try to
complete the project. There are several stages:
# 1. Study ancient
monuments with reliefs of ships – and study archaeological remains of ancient
ships – in order to collect as much evidence as possible
# 2. Build a ship
# 3. Construct a
mast and a sail
# 4. Put
everything together
# 5. Test the ship
in the water
Not everything
goes according to plan. Sometimes there is a setback, but when this happens,
they sit back, think for a moment, and then they try something else.
At first, the ship
was built without caulking. But when the ship was put into the water, they
could see that this could not work: the ship was going to sink. To solve this
problem they decided that caulking (with linen and bee’s wax) was necessary.
Once this process was completed, the ship was watertight. The problem had been
solved.
Without revealing
too much I can tell you that the experts and the family of shipbuilders manage
to build a modern replica of an ancient ship that can sail the open sea. When
they test the top speed of the ship, the result is seven knots or thirteen km
per hour, which is quite good.
Building
Pharaoh’s Ship is an interesting program. We follow the experts as they are
working on solutions to the practical problems. We also follow them as the ship
is tested on the waters of the Red Sea.
What do reviewers
say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 70 per cent, which corresponds
to three and a half stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this average rating is too
low. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves
a rating of five stars.
If you are
interested in the history of the ancient world - in particular the history of
science and technology – this program is definitely something for you.
PS. Building
Pharaoh’s Chariot is a somewhat similar program that was released by NOVA in
2013.
*****
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