French archaeologists have discovered a 5,000-year-old wooden boat on an expedition in Egypt, it has emerged. The important discovery was made in Abu Rawash, west of Cairo, Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities said.

Mohammed Ibrahim, the antiquities minister, said: “It dates back to the era of Pharaoh Den, one of the kings of the First Dynasty.”

The six-meter-long, 1.5-meter-wide Pharaonic solar boat “is in good condition,” he added.

Discovery: French archaeologists have discovered a 5,000-year-old pharaonic solar boat on an expedition in Egypt, it has emerged

Its planks are now being renovated before it goes on display in a museum.

The pharaohs believed that solar ships, buried near them when they died, would transport them into the afterlife.

According to Middle East Online, the wooden sheets from the ship were transported to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, where they will be restored.

Once the museum is completed, they are expected to go on display sometime next year.

The group of French archaeologists worked for the French Institute of Oriental Archeology (IFAO).

Significant: The discovery was made in Abu Rawash, west of Cairo.

The group began their excavation work at Abu Rawash in the early 20th century.

In 1954 an Egyptian archaeologist discovered what could be Pharaoh Khufu’s 43-meter solar ship, made of cedar, in a pyramid at Giza.

Impressive: An archaeologist is seen working on the skeleton of the newly discovered wooden boat. The pharaohs believed that solar ships, buried near them when they died, would transport them to the afterlife.

The intact 4,500-year-old pot is displayed near the pyramid.

It is one of the oldest, largest and best preserved ships of antiquity and has been identified as the oldest intact ship in the world.

It is known as a “solar barge,” a ritual vessel to carry the resurrected king with the sun god Ra across the heavens.