Tombstone with Orants and a Boat

myminifactory

This relief depicts three figures standing alongside a vessel. The inscriptions identify these individuals as Atouli, Klam, and Anouti, their names derived from a Coptic dialect spoken in the Faiyum oasis. The motif of supplicants is also characteristic of late antique tombs found in this region. The ship featured in the relief holds significant meaning within ancient cults of the dead: in old-Egyptian tradition, the soul of the deceased would sail on a raft across the rivers of the underworld. However, when used on Christian graves, it represents the journey of the deceased towards eternity's harbor, with no discernible indication of their religious affiliation in this particular image content.