16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

65 Zadar, Croatia | 26 September – 1 October 2021 Ziad M. Morsy 1 , Mai Ghanem 1 & Sarah Wagdy 2 1 Centre for maritime archaeology, University of Southampton, UK 2 Alexandria center for maritime archaeology and underwater cultural heritage, Alexandria university, Egypt Stuck on the Nile bank: preliminary results on recording and analysis of the last surviving traditional wooden fishing sailboat and its community The Egyptian riverine cultural heritage has formed the country’s identity for cen- turies. Despite the value and uniqueness of this heritage and its traditions, these traditions do not get the attention of maritime archaeologists/ethnographers as its counterparts in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Coupled with several so- cial, economic, and environmental factors which affected the Egyptian riverine community during the 19 th and 20 th centuries, which led to a drastic decline in the numbers of traditional wooden sailboats on the Nile and the vanishing of 200-year-old traditions. Thus, the need for a rescue project to record the remain- ing fragments of these traditions. This paper will discuss preliminary results of the “Egyptian Traditional Riv- erine Tangible and Intangible Heritage Rescue Project (TradEGY)”, funded by the Honor Frost Foundation. These preliminary results including, the outcomes of the surveys and documentation of the last surviving wooden fishing boat on the Nile, which dates back to the early 20 th century. The paper will also include presentation of one of the oldest Nilotic fishing communities, theirs lives, fishing techniques, and how they preserved their tan- gible and intangible heritage until today. It will include the story of the commu- nity’s life cycle, which was intertwined with their boats and fishing gear, and how these objects were retired and repurposed, insuring its preservation until now. In addition, this paper will discuss how 3D technologies would help interpret and visualize the boat when it was being used.