The Red Sea played a vital role in the life of ancient Egyptians. It was used for maritime expeditions to Sinai, southern Sudan and the Land of pa.wn.wt to obtain products valuable to the Egyptian kings and nobles. Several excavations have been made and documented along the Red Sea. Mersa/Wadi Gawasis was a starting point for the Land of pa.wn.wt, and the extensive use of the site was mainly during the Middle Kingdom period.
Location of Wadi Gawasis
Wadi Gawasis lies at the mouth of Wadi Gawasis, 2 km south of Wadi Gasus, 25 km south of Safaga, and 50 km north of al-Qusair.
Mersa Gawasis
Mersa Gawasis (Ancient Egyptian Saww) is a small harbour on the Red Sea and a former port city. The harbour lies at the mouth of Wadi Gawasis, 2 km south of Wadi Gasus. 25 km south is the town of Safaga, and 50 km north al-Qusair. The place was used as a port in the reigns of Senusret I to Amenemhat IV of the 12th Dynasty and as a loading point for expeditions to Punt. The harbour was also a starting point for journeys to the mines of Sinai.
History of investigation
When a stele from the 12th Dynasty was found in Wadi Gasus, in which a nearby port called Saww was mentioned, the University of Alexandria began an excavation headed by Abdel Monem A.H. Sayed near the Graeco-Roman hydreuma (watering station) where the stele was found. As no other pharaonic monuments were found, it was concluded that the stele had been transported from Saww to the watering station in Roman times. The search continued further east at the mouth of Mersa Gasus, where no pharaonic remains were found.
In the inscriptions, the name Saww (as Sww) appeared again, which is confirmed as the location of the harbour at Mersa Gawasis. Just two kilometres further south of Mersa Gawasis, a small stele was discovered with fragmentary inscriptions of the cartouche of Senusret I and the geographical name Bia-n-punt. Two hundred fifty meters west of the harbour, on the north side of Wadi Gawasis, a small shrine with the name and titles of Ankhu, valet of Senusret I. The shrine had a limestone anchor as a base, cutting out the upper holes.
Two hundred meters west of the shrine, another small stele with a limestone anchor as a base was discovered. It contained an order from Pharaoh Senusret I to the vizier Intefiqer for a ship to travel to Bia-Punt. Subsequent excavations in 1977 recovered some pottery shards with hieratic inscriptions listing the vessels’ content, origin and destination. Among them appeared a temple of Senusret II, the name Punt and the name of an official from the time of Senusret III.
The finds revealed that Saww could now be identified with Mersa Gawasis and that the ships sailed from here to Punt and back to the Middle Kingdom. It was found that the vessel – as on the outward journey – was disassembled on return and transported to the Nile Valley in pieces. The approximately 250 pounds (110 kg) anchors were made in Mersa Gawasis and, on return, were left in place and reused, like a shrine or stela base.
