Archaeologists in Egypt have found what they believe is the oldest surviving example of a purpose-built boat.

It's thought to be five-thousand years old, and was discovered at the royal burial site at Abydos, about four-hundred-and-fifty kilometres south of Cairo.

The Abydos boat is about twenty-five metres long and less than a metre deep, and made of thick wooden planks lashed together with rope.

The archaeologists say the find dates from the beginning of the rise of ancient Egyptian civilisation; it may have been intended for a king to use in the afterlife.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service