Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This ancient Egyptian model boat was created around 4,000 years ago to carry its owner on an eternal journey on the rivers of the afterlife. Placed in the tomb of a wealthy Egyptian as a funerary offering, it was intended to help the deceased navigate the world beyond.
In this film, we chart the course of this remarkable vessel from the tombs at Meir to the British Museum in 1894, before continuing its extraordinary journey to Museums and galleries around the world.
After four thousand years, this little craft has travelled farther than anyone could have imagined. Weathering empires, crossing oceans, and circumnavigating the globe many times over. Join us as we navigate just one small stretch of its endless voyage from London to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum in Mumbai India.
00:00 - 00:37 Introduction
00:37 - 03:37 Journey one - (that is actually the second journey) Meir to London
03:37 - 03:52 Journeys around the world
03:53 - 05:09 Journey two - (that is actualy the first journey) The journey in the afterlife
05:10 - 07:10 Packing for the journey
07:10 - 08:04 Flying to Mumbai
08:04 - 08:46 Unpacking and initial checks.
08:47 - 09:48 Cross referencing the condition reports.
09:48 - 10 :58 Displaying the boat in the new gallery
Photos and line drawings of walls in the tombs of Wekhhotep III and Pepyankh the Black at Meir, Courtesy of The Australian Centre for Egyptology. N. Kanawati and L. Evans, The Cemetery of Meir. Volume II: The Tomb of Pepyankh the Black. The Australian Centre for Egyptology: Reports 34. Aris and Phillips Ltd., 2014, pls. 31a, 31b, 83; N. Kanawati and G. Barker, The Cemetery of Meir. Volume V: The Tomb of Wekhhotep III. The Australian Centre for Egyptology: Reports 45. Abercromby Press, 2022, pl. 2
This ancient Egyptian model boat was created around 4,000 years ago to carry its owner on an eternal journey on the rivers of the afterlife. Placed in the tomb of a wealthy Egyptian as a funerary offering, it was intended to help the deceased navigate the world beyond.
In this film, we chart the course of this remarkable vessel from the tombs at Meir to the British Museum in 1894, before continuing its extraordinary journey to Museums and galleries around the world.
After four thousand years, this little craft has travelled farther than anyone could have imagined. Weathering empires, crossing oceans, and circumnavigating the globe many times over. Join us as we navigate just one small stretch of its endless voyage from London to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum in Mumbai India.
00:00 - 00:37 Introduction
00:37 - 03:37 Journey one - (that is actually the second journey) Meir to London
03:37 - 03:52 Journeys around the world
03:53 - 05:09 Journey two - (that is actualy the first journey) The journey in the afterlife
05:10 - 07:10 Packing for the journey
07:10 - 08:04 Flying to Mumbai
08:04 - 08:46 Unpacking and initial checks.
08:47 - 09:48 Cross referencing the condition reports.
09:48 - 10 :58 Displaying the boat in the new gallery
Photos and line drawings of walls in the tombs of Wekhhotep III and Pepyankh the Black at Meir, Courtesy of The Australian Centre for Egyptology. N. Kanawati and L. Evans, The Cemetery of Meir. Volume II: The Tomb of Pepyankh the Black. The Australian Centre for Egyptology: Reports 34. Aris and Phillips Ltd., 2014, pls. 31a, 31b, 83; N. Kanawati and G. Barker, The Cemetery of Meir. Volume V: The Tomb of Wekhhotep III. The Australian Centre for Egyptology: Reports 45. Abercromby Press, 2022, pl. 2
