Ancient Egyptian Shipwreck Proves Herodotus was Right

Known as the grandfather of history, Herodotus was ancient Greek scholar wrote at length about the ancient world, including details of the Great Pyramid’s construction, however the accuracy or truth in his writings has long been debated. Today the experts rarely take his words at face value.

In one of his books, he dedicated 23 lines to a type of Egyptian boat known as a baris, after he watched one being constructed some time around 450 BC. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen before, being a long barge with one rudder that passed through a hole in the keel, with a mast made of acacia wood and sails made from papyrus.


Such a boat had never been discovered by archaeologists and many doubted the accuracy of the claims, but 19 years ago in the year 2000, the ancient, sunken port of Thonis-Heracleion was discovered by a team led by Franck Goddio, which contained the remains of more than 70 sunken boats, which dated to between the 8th and 2nd centuries. 


Amazingly, one of the boats that has only just been examined perfectly matches the description by Herodotus – the baris has finally been discovered and Herodotus has been proved correct

Matt Sibson
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