Wadi Gawasis — Northern Anchorage at Mersa Gawasis North (Saww North)
Wadi Gawasis North Anchorage · Mersa Gawasis Northern Harbour · Saww North Punt Harbour
Middle Kingdom (1991–1783 BCE)·Middle Kingdom Egyptian·🇪🇬 Red Sea Governorate, Wadi Gawasis alluvial fan northern shore of Mersa Gawasis lagoon, Egypt
About
About Wadi Gawasis — Northern Anchorage at Mersa Gawasis North (Saww North)
Northern anchorage of Pharaonic harbour Mersa Gawasis at Wadi Gawasis alluvial fan northern lagoon shore, where the 12th Dynasty Saww harbour's northern basin now lies 1–2 m under coral sand and wadi gravels north of the main central lagoon entrance. 5 m re-surveyed by 2008 Boston University–Naples (Bard-Fattovich) trenches north extension. Dated to Amenemhat III 1850 BCE Punt expedition, northern anchorage handled return leg sewn ships (Mersa Gawasis boat timbers).
Shrine dedicates to Hathor of Punt.
Why it mattersNorth anchorage proves bipartite Mersa Gawasis Punt harbour (north return vs south outbound); cedar timbers and stela date first sewn ocean-going fleet and Punt incense route before Ayn Sukhna.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Saww is Gawasis vs old Wadi Gasus debate resolved
- 02Attribution of stela to Ankhu vs Senwosret?
Theories
- 01North handled return fleet assembly, south handled outbound dismantling
- 02Wadi fan migration buried north basin 1750 BCE
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1850 BCE Amenemhat III–Senwosret III foundations; northern breakwater 1850 BCE
- Period
- Middle Kingdom (1991–1783 BCE)
- Culture
- Middle Kingdom Egyptian
- Builders
- Middle Kingdom Egyptian (12th Dynasty)
- Purpose
- Saww (Punt) incense and gold seafaring anchorage return fleet
- Abandoned
- c. 1750 BCE Hyksos disruption + wadi avulsion
- Rediscovered
- 1976 Sayed coral anchor discovery; north anchorage 2008 BU extension
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 1850 BCE
Amenemhat III Punt fleet builds Wadi Gawasis north and south anchorages
c. 1850 BCE
55 m breakwater, cedar timbers and Ankhu shrine set north basin
2008
BU–Naples maps north anchorage cedar scatter to –1.2 m
On the ground
Structures & features
26.5580° N · 34.0350° E · 1 m · 3 mapped features
Coral-Head Breakwater (55 m)
breakwater55 m coral breakwater at –1.5 m northern fan
26.5585° N · 34.0355° ECedar Ship Timber Scatter (40 m)
timbersCedar sewn timbers 40 m at –1.2 m north anchorage
26.5580° N · 34.0350° EAnkhu Shrine Stela Base (4×3 m)
shrineShrine base 4×3 m at +0.5 m with Hathor dedication
26.5575° N · 34.0352° E