Perhaps we still take centuries to solve all the mysteries surrounding Ancient Egypt. Some of them have found an explanation with the modern techniques of DNA analysis, carbon radio dating or magnetic resonance exploration among others. However, some facts of the history of that town still find no reliable explanation. Join us to know the mysterious Land of Punt to which the Egyptians traveled. What was it? Where it was?
The mysterious Land of Punt
The Land of Punt is a territory spoken by ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Sometimes it is also called "Land of God" and the pharaohs sent several expeditions to that mysterious place. Everything they brought from Punt amazed the Egyptians and pleased the pharaoh. It consisted especially of gold, aromatic woods, trees and myrrh resin, ebony, incense, eye paint, dogs, monkeys, baboons and servants, among other things.
Where was the Land of Punt , is something that today historians do not know for sure . It is speculated that he was on the African coast of the Indian Ocean and the only certainty is that he was also known as "The Red country" . In the Temple of Hatshepsut there are several bas-reliefs that explain in a graphic way the expedition that was made during the life of this Egyptian queen.
In the reliefs can be seen a type of construction on wooden poles, a lush vegetation and various wild animals. Most likely, the Land of Punt was in the coastal region of what we know today as "The horn of Africa" , although it is not ruled out that it also included southern Arabia.
The Land of Punt also called The Land of God
Sometimes, in ancient papyri, mention is made of the Land of Punt as "Ta netjer" what does it mean "Land of God" . Historians are divided on the explanation that this denomination can have. Some believe that Ta netjer was in the east of Egypt and therefore in the place where the sun rises , in the region of the Sun God, and therefore it was the "Land of God". Others, however, believe that this name can be translated as "Holy Land" or "Land of the ancestral gods" and reveals the fact that it was the place where the Egyptians believed their ancestors came from and where the dynastic race came from. Egypt.
Since Egypt , throughout the centuries, numerous expeditions were made to the Land of Punt. The first of which has reference took place during the reign of Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty, in the XXV century BC, the most documented was the aforementioned Hatshepsut, the 18th Dynasty, and the last of which there is mention It was organized in the reign of Ramses III. After the end of the period known as the New Kingdom or Egyptian Empire, the Land of Punt became a mythical, unreal and legendary place.
Had you heard about the Land of Punt ? Do you think he was in the Horn of Africa or did the Egyptians travel even further in search of treasure and unknown wealth? If you want to know more about Ancient Egypt, we invite you to read the post: The Treason of the Widow of an Egyptian Pharaoh | The Dahamunzu case.