Ancient Archaeology and World Heritage

The Philae Temple Complex is an island-based temple complex located in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt. Originally located on the Philae Island (believed to be one of the burying places of the ancient Egyptian god Osiris), the temple complex was dismantled and relocated as part of UNESCO’s "International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia", to protect the monuments from the rising water levels of the Nile river. The temple complex is considered to be one of the best examples of the survival of pure Egyptian art, centuries after the last of the Pharaohs had ceased to reign over Egypt.  The first religious building on Philae is considered to be a shrine built by the 25th Dynasty Pharaoh Taharqa (estimated to have reigned from 690 BCE to 664 BCE) dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Amun. However, the oldest temple known to have stood on the island was constructed by the 26th Dynasty Pharaoh Psamtik I (estimated t...

The temple of Hathor and Nefertari , also known as the Small Temple at Abu Simbel, is one of the two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel in Upper Egypt. It was constructed approximately 100 meters northeast of the temple of Ramesses II and was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Ramesses II's chief consort, Nefertari. The temple of Hathor and Nefertari at Abu Simbel The rock-cut facade is decorated with two groups of colossi that are separated by the large gateway, representing the king and his queen. On either side of the entrance are two statues of the king, wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt (south colossus) and the double crown (north colossus); these are flanked by statues of the queen. This is one of very few instances where the statues of the king and his queen have been depicted in the same size. A colossal statue at the entrance to the temple, depicting the king Ramesses II   A colossal statue at the entrance to the temple, depicting the queen ...

The Great Temple at Abu Simbel is one of the two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel in Upper Egypt. It was constructed during the reign of the 19th dynasty Pharaoh, Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses the Great) who ruled Egypt for approximately 66 years from 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE . It is estimated that the construction of the great temple took approximately 20 years. The temple is dedicated to the Egyptian gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, Ptah and as well the pharaoh Ramesses II himself.  The Great Temple at Abu Simbel The complex which consists of the great temple and the smaller temple (dedicated to goddess Hathor and Queen Nefertari, the chief wife of Ramesses II) was relocated in its entirety in 1968 to higher ground to avoid it being submerged by Lake Nasser, the Aswan Dam reservoir. Between 1964 and 1968, the entire site was carefully cut into large blocks, dismantled, lifted, and reassembled in a new location 65 meters higher and 200 meters back from the river....

The catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa  (which translates to "Mound of Shards") is an archaeological site located in Alexandria, Egypt. Estimated to have been initially constructed during the 2nd Century CE , it is considered to be one of the “Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages” (the other six being: the Colosseum in Rome, Italy; the Great Wall of China; Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey; the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy; Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, China; and Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England). The catacombs consist of Alexandrian tombs, statues and artifacts related to the Pharaonic funerary cult. Due to the period of its’ construction, many features of the tomb are a combination of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian cultures. The facility was used as a burial chamber from the 2nd Century CE to the 4th Century CE . It is believed that the catacombs were initially intended for a single family, even though the facility was later expanded to house numerous other individuals. The catacombs ...

Discovered in 1952 CE within the eastern necropolis of Alexandria, the Tigrane Tomb was subsequently relocated to the archaeological site currently known as the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. Even though the tomb had originally consisted of one room fitted with loculi and another in the form of a triclinium-shaped burial chamber, only the burial chamber has been removed from the ground and currently on display. Dating back to the 2 nd Century CE, many features of the tomb including the art within the walls depicts a combination of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian cultures, similar what is visible within the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. Two Roman style statues are displayed on either side of the entrance to the relocated tomb. The two roman style statues displayed on either side of the entrance to the tomb The entrance walls on either side of the burial chamber are decorated with the image of a male figure placed in a panel under an "Apis" bull (Apis was the most important and hi...

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining Sphinx (a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion). It stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The Great Sphinx of Giza The Great Sphinx is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt . Its’ original shape was cut from the bedrock and was subsequently restored with layers of limestone blocks. The nose of the monument was broken at some point during the 2nd Millennium CE. The most famous story is that Napoleon Bonaparte shot the nose of the Great Sphinx with a cannonball during the French invasion of Egypt. However, historical records suggest that the invasion took place between 1798 CE and 1801 CE, whereas there were paintings of the Great Sphinx with its broken nose from as far back as the 17th century CE. The other story is that in 1378 CE, a religious rebel by the name of Mohamed Sa'm al-Dahr was responsible for destroying the nose. Neither story has been...