Everything about Land Of Punt totally explained
» See also Puntland.
The
Land of Punt, also called "Pwenet" by the
ancient Egyptians, at times synonymous with
Ta netjer, the 'land of the god', was a fabled site in the
Horn of Africa and "was the source of many exotic products, such as gold, aromatic resins, African blackwood, ebony, ivory, slaves and wild animals" Information about Punt has been found in ancient Egyptian records of trade missions to this region.
Egyptian expeditions
The earliest recorded Egyptian expedition to Punt was organized by
Pharaoh Sahure of the
Fifth Dynasty (25th century BC). Subsequently, in the reign of
Mentuhotep III (around
1950 BC), an officer named
Hannu organized one or more voyages to Punt, but it's uncertain whether he took part personally in these expeditions.
The most famous ancient Egyptian expedition to Punt was conducted during the reign of
Queen Hatshepsut in the
15th century BC to obtain
myrrh. A report of that voyage survives on a
relief in Hatshepsut's funerary
temple at
Deir el-Bahri.
Nehsi, mentioned in the inscriptions, is thought by some to have been the leader of the expedition. According to the relief, Punt was ruled at that time by King Parahu and Queen Ati . Several of Hatshepsut's successors, including
Thutmoses III, also organized expeditions to Punt.
Geographic location
Ancient
Egyptian texts are consistent in connecting the location of Punt with the
Red Sea, but scholars have not agreed upon its precise location. Modern academic consensus places Punt in the area of
Eritrea, northern
Ethiopia, or the southeastern
Beja lands of
Sudan.
The most likely location of Punt, according to Kenneth Kitchen, is Eritrea, northern Ethiopia and east-north-east Sudan. The presence of
teff in 4th dynasty pyramid bricks of the
Dashur Pyramid supports this theory, as teff only grows in the
Eritrean Highlands and
Ethiopian highlands. Modern attempts to classify the flora and fauna from Punt also suggests that Punt may have been located in this region.
Myrrh trees from
Hatshepsut's trading expedition to Punt are shown being loaded onto Egyptian ships in the second terrace of her funerary temple at Deir El Bahari. Evidence that these trees were "replanted in the temple of Deir El-Bahri" is suggested "from the surviving traces of tree-pits" found here.
Some argue that Punt was as far away as
Puntland, a region of
Somalia that adopted this name in the 20th century.
Frankincense and
myrrh, which were imported by the Egyptians from Punt, are still found in abundance in this region. In his translation of the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, G.W.B. Huntingford claimed that the name
Punt lay behind the name of
Opone, a coastal marketplace in Somalia located south of
Cape Guardafui, and identified both Punt and Opone with
Hafun, a Somalian peninsula.
It was once thought that the
frankincense and other goods the ancient Egyptians obtained in Punt suggested that it was located on the southern coast of the
Arabian Peninsula, or even
Bahrain or
India. The presence of African animals in the Deir El Bahari reliefs, as well as the presence of
incense-producing trees in Africa, have discounted these theories.
"Ta netjer"
The ancient
Egyptians also called Punt
Ta netjer, meaning "God's Land". This designation didn't mean that Punt was considered a "Holy Land" by the Egyptians; rather, it was used to refer to regions of the
Sun God, for example regions located in the direction of the sunrise. These eastern regions were blessed with precious products, like incense, used in temples. The term was used not only in reference to Punt, located southeast of Egypt, but also in reference to regions of Asia east and northeast of Egypt, such as
Lebanon, which was the source of wood for temples.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Land Of Punt'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://land_of_punt.totallyexplained.com">Land of Punt Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
