Abu Simbel

Today I attended a virtual tour of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt. I learned a lot, the biggest part being the remarkable relocation of temples in the region the 60's (the Abu Simbel temple was previously located 65m below current location). Lots of insights to the markings and meanings as well. Keeping these notes for myself really...

CREATION

During his reign, Ramesses II embarked on an extensive building program throughout Egypt and Nubia, which Egypt controlled. Nubia was very important to the Egyptians because it was a source of gold and many other precious trade goods. He, therefore, built several grand temples there in order to impress upon the Nubians Egypt's might and Egyptianize the people of Nubia. The most prominent temples are the rock-cut temples near the modern village of Abu Simbel, at the Second Nile Cataract, the border between Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia. There are two temples, the Great Temple, dedicated to Ramesses II himself, and the Small Temple, dedicated to his chief wife Queen Nefertari.

Construction of the temple complex started in approximately 1264 BC and lasted for about 20 years, until 1244 BC. It was known as the "Temple of Ramesses, beloved by Amun".

DISAPPEARANCE

With the passage of time, the temples fell into disuse and eventually became covered by sand. By the 6th century BC, the sand already covered the statues of the main temple up to their knees. 

REDISCOVERY

The temple was forgotten until 1813, when Swiss researcher Johann Ludwig Burckhardt found the top frieze of the main temple. Burckhardt talked about his discovery with Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni, who travelled to the site, but was unable to dig out an entry to the temple. Belzoni returned in 1817, this time succeeding in his attempt to enter the complex. A detailed early description of the temples, together with contemporaneous line drawings, can be found in Edward William Lane's Description of Egypt (1825–1828).

CAMPAIGN

In 1959, an international donations campaign (PDF) to save the monuments of Nubia began: the southernmost relics of this ancient human civilization were under threat from the rising waters of the Nile that were about to result from the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

RELOCATION

The salvage of the Abu Simbel temples began in 1964 by a multinational team of archeologists, engineers and skilled heavy equipment operators working together under the UNESCO banner. Between 1964 and 1968, the entire site was carefully cut into large blocks (up to 30 tons, averaging 20 tons), dismantled, lifted and reassembled in a new location 65 metres higher and 200 metres back from the river, in one of the greatest challenges of archaeological engineering in history. Some structures were even saved from under the waters of Lake Nasser. (The overall relocations in the area were completed in 1980).

TODAY

The Abu Simbel complex consists of two temples. 

The larger one is dedicated to Ra-Horakhty, Ptah and Amun, Egypt's three state deities of the time, and features four large statues of Ramesses II in the facade. 

The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, personified by Nefertari, Ramesses's most beloved of his many wives. 

Today, a few hundred tourists visit the temples daily. Most visitors arrive by road from Aswan, the nearest city. Others arrive by plane at an airfield that was specially constructed for the temple complex.

MY LEARNINGS... 

In the virtual tour today, I learned:

The temples were relocated in the condition they were found in. If you look at the four seated figures at the front of the main temple, the two on the left (with partially missing heads) appear with rubble at their feet. This collapse of the structures was believed to be from an earthquake at the original site. When the temple was moved, they reconstructed them in the state they were found in.

The baboons shown in the temple signify time. This comes from the fact that baboons urinate hourly, so a baboon represents 1 hour. A god presenting a baboon is presenting a gift of a clock. 

Very much enjoying these virtual tours, funded by donations/tips.