Abstract
Cheryl Ward recently proposed that the breaking down of Egyptian vessels evolved from the need to transport ships from the Nile to the Red Sea. Analysis of the Abydos BG 10 boat and other data suggest that boat-wrights instead built vessels in this manner, with many standardised elements, primarily to conserve timber. An evaluation of the data supports the traditional interpretation that timber was indeed scarce in Ancient Egypt. Scarcity of timber and the centralisation of Egyptian society produced boat-wrights who were more innovative than boat-wrights of other ancient societies, as is evident in the construction of the symbolic BG 10 boat.
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