TAA i.3.1.23

                                                 6.

These produce what is virtually a keel over more than half 

of the length of the vessel, a very important development 

from the normal keel-less boats of the Nile Valley. It should 

be noted, however, that nearly all this keel is out of the 

water and so, apparently, useless.

          The bow-piece is cut off straight at its forward end 

at an angle of about 45^o and so is the stern-piece, but the/<while> 

former/<both> usually shows at its/<their> forward lower edge<s> a curious but 

unexplained notch which is quite unmistakable. These added 

stern and bow pieces – with the notch – can be found in many

<?> of the frescoes of the XVIII Dynasty, Tomb of Payemrê B.C.1501, 

Tomb of Huy, etc., but do not appear at any other period.

          In the matter of the added bow and stern pieces of this 

form it is worth noting that they appear in Egypt only during 

the XVIII Dynasty and are then never seen again on the Nile.

Somewhat similarly, over the greater part of the delta of the 

Ganges, spoon-shaped boats without added bow or stern are 

normal, yet there is one small area, near Patna, in which 

vessels with added bow and stern pieces are commonly met with.

          It appears in general that with further knowledge it ought 

to be possible to date an Egyptian ship<->model with accuracy 

from the shapes of its bow and stern <–> provided that the model 

represents a type of boat in ordinary use and not a pseudo-

archaic type made for ceremonial purposes.

          As examples, the models found in the Beni Hassan Tombs 

of the XI and XII Dynasties have flat round bows, sterns slightly 

pointed and curled up so as to form an attachment for the 

single steering<->paddle and the bottom of each hull exaggerated 

in depth and flattened off so as to form a convenient stand 

for the model. All these features are entirely absent from 

the boat<->models and frescoes of the XVIII Dynasty.

          Another point of interest in these barge models is that 

two out of the eight show the "deck-beams" projecting at each 

side, in the fashion of the large ships of Queen Hatshepur/<s>ut