Several ancient Egyptian solar ships and boat pits were found in many ancient Egyptian sites. The most famous is the Khufu ship, which is now preserved in the Grand Egyptian Museum. The full-sized ships or boats were buried near ancient Egyptian pyramids or temples at many sites. The history and function of the ships are not precisely known. They are most commonly created as a "solar barge", a ritual vessel to carry the resurrected king with the sun god Ra across the heavens. This is a common theme in the Pyramid Texts, and these buried boats might be a real-life equivalent of solar barges. Similarly, another explanation behind these boats is that they were built for past kings to carry them to the afterlife. Because of these ships' association with the sun, they are often found in an east-west orientation in order to follow the path of the sun.

Many of these boats are found in either a planked form or as a boat-like structure. For example, many of the well-known solar ships like the Khufu ship are found as an intact boat or as boat remains. However, other evidence of ancient Egyptian boats comes from what are known as "boat pits" or "boat graves", which are pits that are in the shape of a boat. These boat pits are often found near pyramids or tombs and are thus assumed to be associated with solar ships. Some examples of these include Niuserre's solar ship and the Djedefre solar ship.

Comparative table of solar ships Name of ship(s)DatingNumberDiscovery siteCurrent siteLength & widthOwnerDiscovery dateCurrent statusCoordinatesKhufu First Solar shipc. 2566 BC1South of Khufu pyramid, GizaGrand Egyptian Museum, Giza long & wideKing Khufu1954 by Kamal el-MallakhShip pit preserved containing the wood of a ship, which was later reconstructedKhufu Second Solar shipc. 2566 BC1South of Khufu pyramid, Giza2nd Solar Ship pit, Khufu pyramid complex, GizaN/AKing Khufu1954 by Kamal el-Mallakh & 2012Ship pit preserved containing wood of ship to be reconstructedHetepheres I Solar Shipc. 2589–2566 BC1Pyramid of Hetepheres (GIa), Khufu pyramid complex, GizaN/AN/AQueen Hetepheres IN/ABoat pit preservedThe Ka Solar Shipc. 2566 BC1Pyramid of the Ka, Khufu pyramid complex, GizaN/AN/AKing Khufu1954Boat pit preservedOther Khufu Solar shipc. 2566 BC3East of Khufu pyramid, GizaN/AN/AKing KhufuN/AShip pits preservedKhentkaus I Solar shipc. 2445 BC2Pyramid of Khentkawes in Giza (LG 100), GizaN/AN/AQueen Khentkaus I1906 by BorchardtShip pits preservedKhafre Solar Shipsc. 2570 BC75 around the Upper temple: 2 on north side & 3 on south; 2 in tunnels of Lower temple; Khafre pyramid complex, GizaN/AN/AKing Khafre1837 by John Perring ?Ship pits preservedNyuserre Ini Solar shipc. 2421 BC1Outside the temple on the south-east corner of Niuserre Sun Temple, Abo Gorab, AbusirBoat pit preservedN/AKing Nyuserre Ini1905Boat pit preservedDen Solar shipc. 2935 BC2Northern area of Mastaba number six, Abu RawashNational Museum of Egyptian Civilization long and wideKing Den2012PreservedDjedefre Solar Shipc. 2575 BC1East side of the pyramid complex of Djedefre, Abu RawashLouvre, France long & ? m wideKing Djedefre, son of Khufu1901Boat pit preserved, beautiful heads carved into the likeness of Djedefre were found hereNeferirkare Solar Shipsc. 2483–2465 BC2North & South sides of Neferirkare pyramid, AbusirMentioned in a papyrusN/AKing Neferirkare Kakai1904? by M. VernerOnly dust remains boat pits preservedNeferefre Solar Shipsc. 2445 BC5Funerary temple of Neferefre, Abu SirN/AN/AKing NeferefreN/ABoat pits preservedPtahshepses Solar Shipsc. 2445–2421 BC2Southern part of the complex of the vizier Ptahshepses, Abu SirN/AN/APtahshepsesN/ABoat pits preservedHor-Aha Solar shipsc. 2775 BC14Between the Shunet ez-Zabib and the Western Mastaba, AbydosN/A long & wideKing Hor-Aha1991Fragile boat remainsKhasekhemwy Solar Shipsc. 2675 BC12Umm el Qa'ab, AbydosN/A long & & deepKhasekhemwy2000 by D O'ConnorFragile boat remainsSenusret III Solar shipsc. 1839 BC6Near the pyramid of Senusret III, DashurOne in Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, USA and one in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, USA; two in The Sharm El-Sheikh Museum & 2 were lost? long & wideKing Senusret III1893 Jacques de MorganWell preservedAmenemhat III Solar shipc. 1814 BC1South perimeter of Amenemhat III pyramid, DashurDecomposed long & King Amenemhat III?Ship pit preservedSaqqarah First dynasty Solar boatsc. 3100–2890 BC3Tomb S 3357, SaqqaraN/AN/AFirst Dynasty of Egypt kings1957 by W. EmoryShip pits preservedKagemni Solar shipsc. 2345 – 2333 BC2Tomb of the vizier Kagemni, SaqqaraN/AN/AVizier KagemniN/AShip pits preservedUnas Solar Shipc. 2345 BC2150 meter from the funeral Temple of Unas Pyramid, SaqqaraN/A44 m long & ? m wideKing Unas?Ship pits preservedTarkhan Solar shipc. 3100–2890 BC?Tarkhan (Egypt) or Kafr AmmarN/AN/AFirst Dynasty of Egypt kings?1913 by Flinders PetrieN/AHelwan Solar shipsc. 3100–2890 BC5Tombs 762 H5, 649 H5, 1502 H2 and 680 H5), HelwanN/AN/AFirst Dynasty of Egypt kings?1940s by Z SaadN/ASenusert I Solar Shipc. 1926 BC1?Pyramid of Senusret I, LishtN/AN/AKing Senusret I?40 timbers preservedAmenemhat I Solar shipc. 1962 BC1Pyramid of Amenemhat I, LishtN/AN/AKing Amenemhat I?N/A

Giza Necropolis

Khufu

A total of seven boat pits have been located within the area surrounding the Great Pyramid. Whereas five of them are directly near the Great Pyramid, the other two are near the pyramid of Hetepheres and the pyramid of Ka, respectively."Khufu boat pits". egyptphoto.ncf.ca. Retrieved 2018-02-24.

Khufu First Solar ship The Khufu ship is an intact full-size vessel from ancient Egypt that was sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC. It was thus identified as the world's oldest intact ship and has been described as "a masterpiece of woodcraft" that could sail today if put into water. The Khufu ship is one of the oldest, largest, and best-preserved vessels from antiquity. It measures long and wide.

The ship was one of two rediscovered in 1954 by Kamal el-Mallakh – undisturbed since it was sealed into a pit carved out of the Giza bedrock. It was excavated in pieces and took years for the boat to be reassembled, primarily by the Egyptian Department of Antiquities' chief restorer, Ahmed Youssef Moustafa, who learned ancient Egyptian boat-building practices for the project.Jenkins, Nancy (1980). The Boat Beneath the Pyramid (PDF).

The ship was housed in the Giza Solar Boat Museum, which was created specifically for the ship and was meant to aid its preservation. However, the Khufu ship was moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum in August 2021.

Khufu Second Solar ship Along with the First Khufu Solar ship, a second one was discovered nearby. However, there wasn't much effort to examine it until 1987. In 1987, researchers from the Antiquities Authority and the American Geographical Society created a project meant to photograph the inside of the second boat pit without harming its contents. They elected to hire Bob Morse, a drilling engineering specialist, to design the drill to prevent harmful elements, like humidity, from entering the boat pit."First Phase of extracting, restoring Second Khufu Ship completed". EgyptToday. 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2024-2-26.

The excavation of the second solar boat of Khufu was started in 1992 as a joint effort between an Egyptian-Japanese team. It was finished in 2021. The ship will be reconstructed and displayed in the Grand Egyptian Museum, which was created to house the first solar boat of Khufu and the second solar boat of Khufu. Sakuji Yoshimura, a Waseda University professor who is leading the restoration project with Egypt's Antiquities Council, said that scientists discovered that one of the cover stones of the boat pit is inscribed with Khufu's name.

Hetepheres Solar ship Associated with and found near the Pyramid of Hetepheres I.

Ka Solar Ship Associated with and found near the Pyramid of Ka.

Khafre Solar ships

Khafre's pyramid has five pits that once contained funeral boats, with a deep cleft in a rock suggesting the possibility of an unfinished sixth boat. These boats are all made of stone. There are two boats on the north side of the pyramid and two boats on the south side. Both rows of the boats are oriented east-west. The western boat of the two boats in the north is covered by white limestone and a cabin. These characteristics are shared by the western boat of the two boats in the south. These characteristics suggest that these two boats were the Night-boats of Ra, which are the mythological boats that Ra would have embarked on during the nighttime. In contrast, the other two boats lacked a cabin, and are thus categorized as Solar-boats of Ra. The two solar boats, known as the Northern-Day Boat and the Southern-Day Boat, lack the sharply incurved stern post that is popular in later iterations of solar boats and pictures like the Pyramid Texts and Palermo stone.Hassan, Selim (1946). Excavations at Giza: The Solar Boats of Khafra, their Origin and Development, together with the Mythology of the Universe which they are supposed to traverse, Vol VI - Part 1, 1934-1935. Cairo: Government Press. pp. 58–59. The fifth boat is located south of the pyramid, but is perpendicular to the pyramid instead of parallel.

The Southern-Night Boat The Southern-Night Boat is very well preserved. It contains a large cabin and all of the roofing slabs were intact when it was discovered. The boat also carried in it part of a limestone sphinx, two plates of redware, and a green basalt roller which was used for moving heavy objects. It measures 25 meters long, 3.7 meters wide, and 7.5 meters deep.

The Southern-Day Boat The Southern-Day Boat lies just 11 meters away from the Southern-Night Boat and resembles it very closely, though it lacks a cabin and is smaller. The boat carried a lot of fragments of royal statues of diorite and alabaster. It measures 22 meters long, 3.9 meters wide, and 6 meters deep.Hassan, Selim (1946). Excavations at Giza: The Solar Boats of Khafra, their Origin and Development, together with the Mythology of the Universe which they are supposed to traverse, Vol VI - Part 1, 1934-1935. Cairo: Government Press. pp. 60-61.

The Northern-Night Boat The Northern-Night boat is much like the Southern-Night Boat in that it was covered with slabs of limestone, though the cabin that is present is closer to the stern than its Southern counterpart. It contained a large drop-shaped bead of blue faience, a redware incense burner, a redware flask, an alabaster model vase, a shell, some blocks of dressed limestone, a fragment of an alabaster plate, a large redware pot, and ox bones. The ship measures 27.5 meters long, 3.6 meters wide, and 7 meters deep.Hassan, Selim (1946). Excavations at Giza: The Solar Boats of Khafra, their Origin and Development, together with the Mythology of the Universe which they are supposed to traverse, Vol VI - Part 1, 1934-1935. Cairo: Government Press. pp. 62-63.

The Northern-Day Boat The Northern-Day Boat is the worst preserved of Khafre's Solar Ships. It lacks many details because of this, but it is still reminiscent of the Southern-Day Boat when compared. It contained ox bones, a redware incense burner, an alabaster statue upper head piece, a dark green pottery dish, and several fragments of alabaster. It measures 23.5 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 5 meters deep.Hassan, Selim (1946). Excavations at Giza: The Solar Boats of Khafra, their Origin and Development, together with the Mythology of the Universe which they are supposed to traverse, Vol VI - Part 1, 1934-1935. Cairo: Government Press. pp. 63-64.

The Southern "North-South" Solar Boat