event · evt_gawasis_middle_kingdom_harbour_use
Middle Kingdom use of Mersa/Wadi Gawasis
Egyptian expeditions used a temporary Red Sea harbour equipped with ship timbers, anchors, storage and imported ceramics.
What is the evidence?
observation
Egyptian expeditions used a temporary Red Sea harbour equipped with ship timbers, anchors, storage and imported ceramics.Review and provenance
Specialist reviewer: not recorded. Review date: not recorded.
Dataset workflow: proposed. This is separate from specialist review.
Confidence describes the stated assessment; it does not certify expert approval. How review works.
Chronology
Dating intervals may describe uncertainty or phases; their width alone does not establish event duration.
2055 BCE–1650 BCE
Precision: period range
Chronology model: Mersa/Wadi Gawasis occupation sequence
highExcavation places the harbour's main use in the Middle Kingdom, approximately 2055–1650 BCE, before the primary interval.
- supports · provides archaeological observation
Mersa/Wadi Gawasis and Ancient Egyptian Maritime Trade in the Red Sea — Kathryn A. Bard, Rodolfo Fattovich (2015)Provides direct harbour evidence and chronology.
Locator: pp. 4–11; harbour facilities, ship equipment and imported ceramics
Interpretation and caveats
The harbour establishes seaborne expedition capability as a direct antecedent. It does not prove the itinerary of later New Kingdom voyages or a permanent port network.
Event context
Classification
Event type: maritime harbour use
Evidence layer: archaeological
Timeline role: cross regional context
People and places
Locations: Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, Levant and Egypt context zone, Bab el-Mandeb and southern Red Sea interaction zone
Why it matters to the timeline
The antecedent is outside 1600–800 BCE but materially explains the maritime capacity underlying later Egyptian Punt expeditions.
Research notes
- Provides direct harbour evidence and chronology. Role: provides archaeological observation. Locator: pp. 4–11; harbour facilities, ship equipment and imported ceramics.
Evidence and sources
- supports · provides archaeological observation
Mersa/Wadi Gawasis and Ancient Egyptian Maritime Trade in the Red Sea — Kathryn A. Bard, Rodolfo Fattovich (2015)Provides direct harbour evidence and chronology.
Locator: pp. 4–11; harbour facilities, ship equipment and imported ceramics
Referenced records
- Bab el-Mandeb and southern Red Sea interaction zone · entity
- Levant and Egypt context zone · entity
- Mersa/Wadi Gawasis · entity
- Date assertion for evt_gawasis_middle_kingdom_harbour_use · date assertion