Editing Barque (section)

==Barques and barque shrines in Ancient Egypt==
In [[Ancient Egypt]], barques, referred to using the French word as [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]] were first translated by the Frenchman [[Jean-François Champollion]], were a type of boat used from Egypt's earliest recorded times and are depicted in many drawings, paintings, and reliefs that document the culture. Transportation to the afterlife was believed to be accomplished by way of barques, as well, and the image is used in many of the religious murals and carvings in temples and tombs.

The most important Egyptian barque carried the dead [[pharaoh]] to become a deity. Great care was taken to provide a beautiful barque to the pharaoh for this journey, and models of the boats were placed in their tombs. Many models of these boats, that range from tiny to huge in size, have been found. Wealthy and royal members of the culture also provided barques for their final journey. The type of vessel depicted in Egyptian images remains quite similar throughout the thousands of years the culture persisted.

Barques were important religious [[cultural artifact|artifacts]], and since the deities were thought to travel in this fashion in the sky, the [[Milky Way]] was seen as a great waterway that was as important as the [[Nile]] on Earth; [[Cult image|cult statues]] of the deities traveled by boats on water and ritual boats were carried about by the priests during festival ceremonies. [[Egyptian temple|Temples]] included barque shrines, sometimes more than one in a temple, in which the sacred barques rested when a procession was not in progress.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.odysseyadventures.ca/articles/egyptian_temples/egyptian_temples-text.htm | title= Egyptian Temples | publisher= Odyssey Adventures in Archaeology | access-date= 2013-02-11 | archive-date= 2013-02-22 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130222071327/http://www.odysseyadventures.ca/articles/egyptian_temples/egyptian_temples-text.htm | url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.bookrags.com/research/ancient-egypt-2675-332-bce-religion-ahe-01/temple-architecture-and-symbolism-ahe-01.html | title=Ancient Egypt 2675–332 BCE: Religion: Temple Architecture and Symbolism | work=Arts and Humanities Through the Eras | publisher=[[BookRags]] | access-date=2007-06-28 | archive-date=2007-10-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020112534/http://www.bookrags.com/research/ancient-egypt-2675-332-bce-religion-ahe-01/temple-architecture-and-symbolism-ahe-01.html | url-status=live }}</ref> In these stations, the boats would be watched over and cared for by the priests.