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  10/05/2010
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Home > Egypt Introduction
Transportation in Ancient Egypt
 

Transportation in Ancient Egypt

Walking :
The major means of getting about was, by foot as the Egyptians used sandals, but when walking long distances,  Men are generally depicted carrying loads on yokes, on their backs or on their shoulders. Women appear to have balanced them on their heads or supported them with their hips.

Ferries :
The canals and shallower river arms could generally be crossed by wading or, if they were too wide and deep, by ferry boat. Fording them was never completely without risk as hippos and crocodiles lived in the lower Nile in those days.
   
Chariots :
They never became a popular means of transportation and served only the elite and the military.

Sledges :
Smaller loads were also often transported by sledge.  Wheeled vehicles were never widely used and for heavy loads they were not strong enough anyway. Giant statues and the like were loaded onto wooden sledges and dragged by large numbers of men
    
Donkeys :
Donkeys were domesticated in prehistoric times and employed extensively for carrying loads and, less commonly, for riding
 
Camels :
But  Camels were introduced into Egypt in larger numbers by the invading Persians in the 5th century BCE. 
 
Shipping :
Rafts, boats and ships were the main means of transportation. Apart from a few exceptions people lived in a narrow stretch of land alongside the Nile, a slow flowing river without major obstacles in the lower regions of the country. Where needed, canals were cut. The absence of animals suited to desert travel  and the speed of travelling on the river depended on the direction of the journey, the strength of the wind and the current, the boat and its crew.