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Media Assets
2640 BC ship of an early Pharaoh or Prince in Egypt
Media Assets
Carved hedgehog at prow and steering oars aft. Luxury cabin amidships.
Media Assets

Fourth Dynasty Royal Ship

Year: 2670 BC
Category: Ancient
Vessel Type: Merchant Ship
Scale: 1/8" = 1 foot
Overall Length: 77 feet

Passenger ships and royal ships of the 4th Dynasty were under sail and paddle power. The deck planking near the sides of the ship were removed and the paddlers sat on the deck beams. The hedgehog on the prow remains a mystery to scholars. We know nothing of the symbolic importance of the hedgehog in Egypt, and all explanation is pure conjecture. A common thought among Egyptologists is that a live or dead hedgehog was strapped to the prow of ships in the pre-Dynastic era to "dispel the terrors of the river" and that early Dynastic shipbuilders carved a wooden hedgehog on the prow to be in keeping with this idea and to honor the pre-dynastic peoples they had displaced.

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Location and Hours

1775 State Route 39
Sugarcreek, Ohio   44681
(330) 852-6096
Beginning March 1st we will be open Tuesday thru Saturday 10 am to 4 pm. We will be closed on Sunday and Monday.


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