A 9th- or 10th-century Viking ship has been found in Zowyet Um el Rakham near Matruh, Egypt, on Tuesday March 30, 2004. The ship may have belonged to the Varangians. Parts of the lower part of the hull and a long piece of the keel are partly preserved, but reveal the ship's construction.

The planks were fastened together with iron nails, wooden pegs, and tarred rope. The oak boards of the hull were dovetailed together about every four inches. The same methods were used about the same time by the Swedish viking ships who sailed the Baltic Sea.

The structure of the viking ship suggests that it is earlier than the Norwegian Gokstad ship, but radiocarbon dating will be needed to establish its age correctly. The ship was found by the Center for Egyptian Underwater Archaeology, which was surveying the waters of outside Zowyet Um el Rakahm.

Norvegicus Lupus