Editing Abu Simbel (section)

==History==

===Construction===
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.<ref name="Verner">Verner, Miroslav. Temple of the Word: Sanctuaries, Cults and Mysteries of Ancient Egypt. (Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2013).</ref><ref name="Hawass">Hawass, Zahi. The Mysteries of Abu Simbel. (Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2000).</ref> The most prominent temples are the rock-cut temples near the modern village of [[Abu Simbel (village)|Abu Simbel]], at the Second Nile Cataract, the border between Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia.<ref name="Hawass" /> 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 {{circa|1264&nbsp;BC}} and lasted for about 20 years, until 1244 BC.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} It was known as the Temple of Ramesses, Beloved by [[Amun]].

===Rediscovery===
{{Multiple image
| align = right
| total_width = 450
| image1 = Exterior View of the Temple of Ybsambul illustration from the kings tombs in Thebes by Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778-1823) from Plates illustrative of the researches and operations in Egypt and Nubia (1820).jpg
| caption1 = Exterior view of the temples of Abu Simbel and their surroundings in 1820 from ''Plates illustrative of the researches and operations in Egypt and Nubia'' by Italian explorer [[Giovanni Belzoni]], showing sand partially covering the Great Temple
| image2 = Excavated temples of Aboosimble--Nubia-David Roberts.jpg
| caption2 = 1840s sketch from ''[[The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia]]''. Note this was approximately two decades after Belzoni had removed some of the sand to create an entrance to the Great Temple.
|}}

With the passage of time, the temples fell into disuse and the Great Temple eventually became mostly covered by a sand [[dune]]. By the 6th century BC, the sand already covered the statues of the main temple up to their knees.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} The temple was forgotten by Europeans until March 1813, when the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] researcher [[Johann Ludwig Burckhardt]] found the small temple and top [[frieze]] of the main temple. 
<blockquote>When we reached the top of the mountain, I left my guide, with the camels, and descended an almost perpendicular cleft, choaked with sand, to view the temple of Ebsambal, of which I had heard many magnificent descriptions. There is no road at present to this temple... It stands about twenty feet above the surface of the water, entirely cut out of the almost perpendicular rocky side of the mountain, and in complete preservation. In front of the entrance are six erect colossal figures, representing juvenile persons, three on each side, placed in narrow recesses, and looking towards the river; they are all of the same size, stand with one foot before the other, and are accompanied by smaller figures... Having, as I supposed, seen all the antiquities of Ebsambal, I was about to ascend the sandy side of the mountain by the same way I had descended; when having luckily turned more to the southward, I fell in with what is yet visible of four immense colossal statues cut out of the rock, at a distance of about two hundred yards from the temple; they stand in a deep recess, excavated in the mountain; but it is greatly to be regretted, that they are now almost entirely buried beneath the sands, which are blown down here in torrents. The entire head, and part of the breast and arms of one of the statues are yet above the surface; of the one next to it scarcely any part is visible, the head being broken off, and the body covered with sand to above the shoulders; of the other two, the bonnets only appear. It is difficult to determine, whether these statues are in a sitting or standing posture; their backs adhere to a portion of rock, which projects from the main body, and which may represent a part of a chair, or may be merely a column for support.<ref name="Burckhardt">{{cite book | last=Burckhardt | first=J.L. | author2=John Murray | title=Travels in Nubia | publisher=J. Murray | year=1819 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vE4GAAAAQAAJ | access-date=2023-01-31 | pages=88–90}}</ref></blockquote>

Burckhardt talked about his discovery with the [[Italy|Italian]] explorer [[Giovanni Battista Belzoni|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).<ref>Lane E, "Descriptions of Egypt," American University in Cairo Press. pp.493-502.</ref>

===Relocation===
{{Main|International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia}}
[[File:Abusimbel.jpg|thumb|The statue of [[Ramses the Great]] at the Great Temple of Abu Simbel is reassembled after having been moved in 1967 to save it from flooding.]]

In 1959, an international donations campaign to save the [[monument]]s of [[Nubia]] began: the southernmost relics of this ancient civilization were under threat from the rising waters of the Nile that were about to result from the construction of the [[Aswan High Dam]].

[[File:Abu Simbel relocation by Zureks.jpg|thumb|right|A scale model showing the original and current location of the temple (with respect to the water level) at the [[Nubian Museum]], in Aswan.]]

One scheme to save the temples was based on an idea by [[William MacQuitty]] to build a clear freshwater dam around the temples, with the water inside kept at the same height as the Nile. There were to be underwater viewing chambers. In 1962 the idea was made into a proposal by architects [[Jane Drew]] and [[Maxwell Fry]] and civil engineer [[Ove Arup]].<ref>''Fry Drew Knight Creamer'', 1978, London, Lund Humphries</ref>

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; it cost some $40&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|40|1964|r=2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). 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.<ref>Spencer, Terence (1966). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CFMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32 The Race to Save Abu Simbel Is Won.] [[Life (magazine)|''Life'' magazine]], December 2, 1966.</ref> Some structures were even saved from under the waters of Lake Nasser. Today, a few hundred tourists visit the temples daily. Most visitors arrive by road from [[Aswan]], the nearest city. Others arrive by plane at [[Abu Simbel Airport]], an airfield specially constructed for the temple complex whose sole destination is [[Aswan International Airport]].

The 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&nbsp;II in the facade. The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess [[Hathor]], personified by [[Nefertari]], Ramesses's most beloved of his many wives.<ref>Fitzgerald, Stephanie (2008). ''Ramses II: Egyptian Pharaoh, Warrior and Builder.'' New York: Compass Point Books. {{ISBN|978-0-7565-3836-1}}</ref> The temple is now open to the public.