- Talatat
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
Akhenaton in the building of the Aton temples at Karnak and Akhetaten. The standardized size and their small weight made construction more efficient [Arnold, "op.cit.", p.238] Their use may have begun in the second year of Akhenton's reign. [Bard, "op.cit.", p.392] After the Amarna Period talatat construction was abandoned, apparently not having withstood the test of time. [Shaw, "op.cit.", p.274]Amenhotep IV talatats
The blocks used in the
Temple of Amenhotep IV inKarnak and the other abandoned Aten temples were reused byHoremheb andRamesses II as filler material for pylons and as foundations for large buildings. The Great Hypostyle Hall atKarnak is built on thousands of these blocks, as is the Second Pylon. [Bard, "op.cit.", p.391]Tens of thousands of the talatat have been recovered. The decorated stones are being photographed and the scenes they depict are reconstructed. [Bard, "op.cit.", pp.391f.]
Etymology
The term talatat was apparently used by the Egyptian workmen and introduced into the language of archaeology by the Egyptologist H. Chevrier. [Grimal, "op.cit.", p.227] Some think it may be derived from Italian "tagliata", meaning cut masonry. [Bard, "op.cit.", p.391]
References
* 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 1992Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320Hist&Civ/slides/10akhen/talatat1recon.jpgTalatat wall Scene] www.usu.edu
* [http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/Faculty/bart/egyptimage/03_luxor_talatat.jpgAkhenaten worshipping scene: Talatat] [http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/Faculty/bart/egyptianhtml/kings%20and%20Queens/Akhenatenweb.htm Article] euler.sle.edu
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