Les scenes navales figurees sur les talatat du IXe pylone de Karnak

The reliefs on the talatat blocks discovered in the western mole of the 9th pylon at Karnak constitute an important source of iconographic information. Some of these reliefs depict nautical scenes, and provide extremely precise details about large Nilotic freighters, their rigging, crews, and the cargo they carried. Each assemblage of reliefs presented opens a new window of understanding. Their precise dating to the early years of Akhenaton's reign also provides a useful chronological benchmark for understanding the evolution of ancient naval technology. Numerous scenes depict ship manoeuvring and cargo handling. The study of the images was supported by the creation of digital models of several boats in order to analyze the system of rigging. The iconographic study presented here is supplemented by trader-friendly 3D digital models. These scenes are a significant new documentary source for Egyptian riverine navigation towards the end of the 18th dynasty.