Land of Punt

See also Puntland.

The Land of Punt, also called "Ta Netjer" by the ancient Egyptians, or "God's Land", was a fabled and exotic site in eastern Africa. We only know about it via ancient Egyptian records.

History

The oldest known expedition to Punt was organized by Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty (25th century BC). Around 1950 BC, in the reign of Mentuhotep III, an officer named Hennu made one or more voyages to Punt. A very famous expedition was conducted by Nehsi for Queen Hatshepsut in the 15th century BC to obtain myrrh; a report of that voyage survives on a relief in Hatshepsut's funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri. At the time, Punt was ruled by Queen Ati. Several of her successors, including Thutmoses III, also organized expeditions to Punt.

Punt's location

The precise location of the land of Punt has been a subject of debate. Ancient Egyptian texts are consistent about connecting the location of Punt with the Red Sea, narrowing the possibilities for Punt's geographic location. These records indicate Punt's location to be found south of Nubia, but exactly what modern territory it corresponds to is disputed. Historians generally agree on eastern Africa, possibly near what is now the coast of Sudan or Eritrea (as is suggested by archaeological evidence). Some argue Punt was as far away as Puntland, Somalia. There are also archeological findings (some written epigraphs) about Land of Punt in this region.

In his translation of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, G.W.B. Huntingford went so far as to claim that the name "Punt" lay behind the name of "Opone," a coastal marketplace located south of Cape Guardafui, and identified both Punt and Opone with Hafun. In the late 1990s part of Somalia declared itself the independent republic of Puntland. It was once thought that the frankincense and other goods the ancient Egyptians boasted of obtaining in Punt suggest a location on the southern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, but the presence of African animals rules this notion out, as well as the realisation that incense-producing trees also occur in Africa. In the past, places still farther afield have been mentioned, Bahrain and India but currently these candidates have largely been dropped in favor of ones located near by in Africa.

The ancient Egyptians called Punt also "Ta netjer", "God's Land". This does not mean that Punt somehow was a "Holy Land" for the Egyptians. For the term refered to all the regions of the Sun God, namely the regions towards sun rise (BAR II par. 658). It was used for easter regions that were blessed with precious products used in temples, like incense. This meant that the term was not only used as a nickname for Punt, in the SE, but also for the regions in Asia to the E and NE, notably for the area of Lebanon, which was the source of wood for temples (see BAR II, par. 451, 773, 820, 888; III par. 434).

References

BAR stands for: J.H. Breasted, "Ancient Records of Egypt", 5 vols.,1906-7
Bradbury, Louise. 1988. "Reflections on Travelling to 'God's Land' and Punt in the Middle Kingdom." Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 25:127–156.
Fattovich, Rodolfo. 1991. "The Problem of Punt in the Light of the Recent Field Work in the Eastern Sudan". In Akten des vierten internationalen Ägyptologen Kongresses, München 1985, edited by Sylvia Schoske. Vol. 4 of 4 vols. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. 257–272
———. 1993. "Punt: The Archaeological Perspective". In Sesto congresso internazionale de egittologia: Atti, edited by Gian Maria Zaccone, and Tomaso Ricardi di Netro. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Torino: Italgas. 399–405
Herzog, Rolf. 1968. Punt. Abhandlungen des Deutsches Archäologischen Instituts Kairo, Ägyptische Reihe 6. Glückstadt: Verlag J. J. Augustin
Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson. 1971. "Punt and How to Get There." Orientalia 40 (new series):184–207.
———. 1993. "The Land of Punt". In The Archaeology of Africa: Foods, Metals, Towns, edited by Thurston Shaw, Paul Sinclair, Bassey Andah, and Alex Okpoko. One World Archaeology 20. London and New York: Routledge. 587–608
Meeks, Dimitri. 2003. "Locating Punt". In Mysterious Lands, edited by David B. O'Connor, and Stephen G. J. Quirke. Encounters with ancient Egypt 5. London: Institute of Archaeology, University College London, and University College London Press. 53–80. ISBN 1-84472-004-7
Paice, Patricia. 1992. "The Punt Relief, the Pithom Stela, and the Periplus of the Erythean Sea". In Contacts Between Cultures: Selected Papers from the 33rd International Congress of Asian and North African Studies, Toronto, August 15–25, 1990. Volume 1: West Asia and North Africa, edited by Amir Harrak. Lewiston, Queenston, and Lampeter: The Edwin Mellon Press. 227–235

Older literature

Johannes Dumichen, Die Flotte einer ägyptischen Königin, (Leipzig, 1868)
Müller, Asien und Europa, (Leipzig, 1893)
Adolf Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, (London, 1894)
Édouard Naville, "Deir-el-Bahri," in Egypt Exploration Fund, Memoirs XII, XIII, XIV, and XIX, (London, 1894 et seq)
J. H. Breasted, A History of the Ancient Egyptians, (New York, 1908)

External links

The Wonderful Land of Punt
The Land of Punt with quotes from Breasted (1906) and Petrie (1939)
Queen Hatasu, and Her Expedition to the Land of Punt by Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards (1891).
Deir el-Bahri: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
Hall of Punt at Deir el-Bahri; and Where was Punt? discussion by Dr. Karl H. Leser
Queen of Punt syndrome

News reports on Wadi Gewasis excavations

Archaeologists discover ancient ships in Egypt (Boston University Bridge, 18 March 2005). Excavations at Wadi Gawasis, possibly the ancient Egyptian port Saaw.
Remains of ancient Egyptian seafaring ships discovered (New Scientist, 23 March 2005).
Egyptian sea vessel artifacts discovered at pharaonic port of Mersa Gawasis along Red Sea coast (EurekAlert, 21 April 2005).
University professor finds ancient shipwreck (Boston University Daily Free Press, 27 April 2005).
Ancient Mariners: Caves harbor view of early Egyptian sailors (Science News Online, 7 May 2005).
Sailing to distant lands (Al Ahram, 2 June 2005).
Ancient ship remains are unearthed (Deutsche Press Agentur, 26 Jan 2006).
Archeologists find ancient ship remains (Associated Press, 27 Jan 2006).

Geography of Ancient Egypt