Wonder · Ancient Engineering
A Ship in 1,224 Pieces
King Khufu's buried ship
The question
How was Khufu's great wooden ship found beside the Great Pyramid in 1954?
- Taken apart into 1,224 pieces(correct answer)
- Sunk deep in the mud of the Nile
- Sealed inside a coat of solid gold
The answer: Taken apart into 1,224 pieces
In 1954, Egyptian archaeologist Kamal el-Mallakh opened a stone pit on the south side of the Great Pyramid. Inside lay an immense ship, buried in pieces beside the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu about 4,600 years ago. Removing its 1,224 separate parts took 20 months, and a team led by Hag Ahmed Youssef Moustafa then painstakingly rebuilt the 144-foot (44-metre) vessel.
- Civilization
- Ancient Egypt
- Region
- North Africa
- Period
- Buried in the 26th century BCE
- Location
- Beside the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt
- Featured in
- Daily Discovery #004 · 5 November 2026
Image: Matthäus Wander, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped) (image source, opens in a new tab)
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