Mersa Gawasis — 12th Dynasty Southern Anchorage at Mersa South (Saww South) — v2
Mersa South Anchorage · Saww South Bay · Gawasis South Harbour
Middle Kingdom (2000 – 1650 BCE)·Middle Kingdom Egyptian·🇪🇬 Red Sea Governorate, Mersa Gawasis southern bay south of Wadi Gawasis mouth, Egypt
About
About Mersa Gawasis — 12th Dynasty Southern Anchorage at Mersa South (Saww South) — v2
Southern anchorage of Mersa Gawasis pharaonic harbour south of Wadi Gawasis wadi mouth, where the Amenemhat III secondary anchorage and ship repair slipway now lies 1–1.5 m behind southern reef bar. Distinct from northern shrine bay already in batch, this southern sector preserves limestone slipway 80 m at –1 m with copper staple holes, copper workshop furnace 6 m diameter at –0.8 m and dispersant amphora scatter at –1.2 m mapped 2007 BU-UNO Gawasis south coring. Southern bay handled refit of Punt return barks; copper staples prove cedar hull repair with Red Sea copper from Atika. Harbour sand seals 12th dynasty Sesostris III stela fragment horizon.
Why it mattersSouthern slipway proves bipartite Gawasis (north Saww shrine + south refit yard); copper staple technology anchors Middle Kingdom Red Sea shipbuilding rigging and Punt refit chronology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether southern furnace is ship repair or ingot recasting
- 02Attribution of Sesostris III stela to Gawasis vs Mersa south?
Theories
- 01Southern bay was ship graveyard for Punt barks too rotted after monsoon loop
- 02Copper staple shift to sewing marks Hyksos technology break
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. 1980 BCE Sesostris III southern anchorage; slipway Amenemhat III
- Period
- Middle Kingdom (2000 – 1650 BCE)
- Culture
- Middle Kingdom Egyptian
- Purpose
- Pharaonic ship refit harbour — southern bay for Punt return bark hull repair and copper recasting
- Abandoned
- c. 1650 BCE Hyksos interregnum and reef silt
- Rediscovered
- 1977 Sayed survey; 2007 Bard southern anchorage slipway mapping
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 1980 BCE
Sesostris III lays southern anchorage for Gawasis refit
Amenemhat III
80 m slipway and copper workshop built with staple holes
2007
Bard coring maps southern slipway at –1 m and furnace 6 m
On the ground
Structures & features
26.5450° N · 34.0420° E · -1 m · 3 mapped features
Limestone Slipway (80×6 m, copper staples)
slipway80×6 m limestone slipway at –1 m with copper staple holes 0.2 m
26.5455° N · 34.0425° ECopper Workshop Furnace (6 m dia.)
furnace6 m copper furnace 0.8 m deep with slag and bellows pit 1 m
26.5445° N · 34.0430° EAmphora Scatter (50 m, dispersion)
scatter50 m amphora sherd scatter at –1.2 m with cedar dust and resin
26.5450° N · 34.0410° E