Talatat

Talatat block in pylon at Karnak

Talatat are stone blocks of standardized size (ca. 27 by 27 by 54 cm, corresponding to ½ by ½ by 1 ancient Egyptian cubits) used during the reign of Akhenaten in the building of the Aton temples at Karnak and Akhetaten (modern Amarna). The standardized size and their small weight made construction more efficient^[1] Their use may have begun in the second year of Akhenaten's reign.^[2] After the Amarna Period talatat construction was abandoned, apparently not having withstood the test of time.^[3]

Amenhotep IV talatats

Reconstructed Talatats from the Gempaaten.

The blocks used in the Temple of Amenhotep IV in Karnak and the other abandoned Aten temples were reused by Horemheb and Ramesses II as filler material for pylons and as foundations for large buildings. The Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak is built on thousands of these blocks, as is the Second Pylon.^[4]

Tens of thousands of the talatat have been recovered. The decorated stones are being photographed and the scenes they depict are reconstructed.^[5]

Etymology

The term talatat was apparently used by the Egyptian workmen and introduced into the language of archaeology by the Egyptologist H. Chevrier.^[6] Some think it may be derived from Italian tagliata, meaning cut masonry.^[7]

Gallery of images

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  Talatat with Nefertiti worshipping the Aten, on display at the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.

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  Akhenaten worshipping the Aten, on display at the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.

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  Talatat with a chariot scene. One horse looks directly at the viewer, a very rare occurrence in Egyptian art, on display at the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.

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  Many talatats present scenes that once adorned temple and cities of the Amarna period.

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  A talatat of Nefertiti and Akhenaten worshipping the Aten, on display at the Royal Ontario Museum.

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  Talatat representing Kiya, a lesser wife of Akhenaten, Amarna period.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Talatat.

• Dieter Arnold, The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, I.B.Tauris 2002
• Katheryn A. Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, Routledge 1999
• Ian Shaw, The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press 2003
• Nicholas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Publishing 1992

Footnotes

1. ↑ Arnold, op.cit., p.238
2. ↑ Bard, op.cit., p.392
3. ↑ Shaw, op.cit., p.274
4. ↑ Bard, op.cit., p.391
5. ↑ Bard, op.cit., pp.391f.
6. ↑ Grimal, op.cit., p.227
7. ↑ Bard, op.cit., p.391

External links

• Talatat wall Scene www.usu.edu
• Akhenaten worshipping scene: Talatat Article euler.sle.edu