Excavations at an ancient Egyptian shipyard have unearthed remains of the world’s oldest seafaring ships. The 4,000-year-old timbers were found alongside equally ancient cargo boxes, anchors, coils of rope and other naval materials just as old, at what archaeologists are calling a kind of ancient military administration site.

The massive complex, made up of six man-made caves, is located at Wadi Gawasis, a small desert bluff on the Red Sea near the modern city of Port Safaga. According to Cheryl Ward, Florida State University archaeologist and part of the excavation team, the age of the finds is remarkable.

“Older water crafts, like dug-out canoes, have been found throughout the world, but these are the oldest sea-going ships. More significantly, the next oldest [ships ever discovered] in Egypt are 700 years younger,” Ward told LiveScience.

Just as crucial, however, is what the find says about ancient Egypt’s naval…