The Land of Punt is a territory spoken of in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Sometimes it is also called the "Land of God" and the Pharaohs sent several expeditions to this mysterious land. Everything they brought from Punt amazed the Egyptians and pleased the Pharaohs. It consisted especially of gold, aromatic woods, trees and myrrh resin, ebony, incense, eye paint, dogs, monkeys, baboons, and servants, among other things. The Land of Punt, shown in the reliefs of the Temple of Hatshepsut, explains in a graphic way the expedition made during the life of this Egyptian queen. The exact location of the Land of Punt is something that historians today do not know for sure.
In the reliefs, a type of construction on wooden poles can be seen, along with 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 may have also included southern Arabia. The Land of Punt, also called the Land of God, is sometimes mentioned in ancient papyri as "Ta netjer," meaning "Land of God." Historians are divided on the explanation for this name. Some believe that Ta netjer was in the east of Egypt, the place where the sun rises, in the region of the Sun God, and therefore it was the "Land of God." Others, however, believe this name can be translated as "Holy Land" or "Land of the Ancestral Gods" and reveals the belief that it was the place where the Egyptians thought their ancestors came from, and where the dynastic race of Egypt originated.
The mysterious Land of Punt, to which the Egyptians traveled, was the destination of numerous expeditions throughout the centuries. The first reference to such an expedition took place during the reign of Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th century BC. The most documented expedition was the one under Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty. The last recorded expedition to Punt was organized during 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.
Alexandra Welch.
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