New Kalabsha is a

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the s ...

located near

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Created during the

International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia The International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia was the effort to relocate 22 monuments in Lower Nubia, in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan, between 1960 and 1980. This was done in order to make way for the building of the Aswan Dam, a ...

, it houses several important temples, structures, and other remains that have been relocated here from the site of Old Kalabsha ( , "Gate of Kalabsha", ) and other sites in Lower Nubia, to avoid the rising waters of

Lake Nasser Lake Nasser ( ', ) is a large reservoir (water), reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It was created by the construction of the Aswan Dam, Aswan High Dam and is one of the List of reservoirs by volume, largest man-made lakes in the wo ...

caused by the construction of the

Aswan High Dam The Aswan Dam, or Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. When it was completed, it was the tallest earthen dam in the world, surpassing the Chatug ...

. The major remains are described below:

Kalabsha Temple

The Temple of Kalabsha (or Temple of Mandulis) is the major structure in New Kalabsha. The entire

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

period temple to the sun god Mandulis was relocated here in 1970. It was built by

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

and was the largest free-standing temple of Egyptian

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

. During relocation, the temple was cut into 13,000 blocks.

Gerf Hussein

The temple of Gerf Hussein (originally known as ''Per Ptah'', the "House of

Ptah Ptah ( ; , ; ; ; ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god, and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the ...

") is dedicated to

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

and was built by the Viceroy of

Setau Setau was the Viceroy of Kush in the second half of Ramesses II's reign. Contemporary records show that Setau served in this position from Year 38 until at least Year 63 of Ramesses II's reign. Setau was "a graduate of the royal school" and alread ...

. Originally, it was partially free-standing and partially rock-cut. During the flooding of

, the free-standing section was dismantled and then rebuilt at New Kalabsha. Most of the rock-cut temple was left in place and is now submerged beneath the waters.

Beit el-Wali

The rock-cut temple of Beit el-Wali was moved from its original location by a Polish archaeological team. It is dedicated to

, and the gods of

Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...

and

Anukis Anuket was the ancient Egyptian goddess of the cataracts of the Nile and Lower Nubia in general, worshipped especially at Elephantine near the First Cataract. Etymology In ancient Egyptian, she was known as Anuket, Anaka, or Anqet. Her name me ...

(among others). It was originally decorated in bright colors, but these were mostly removed by a "squeeze" taken in the 19th century (the results of this squeeze are now on display in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Kiosk of Qertassi

The Kiosk of Qertassi is "a tiny Roman kiosk with four slender papyrus columns inside ndtwo Hathor columns at the entrance." It is a small but elegant structure that "is unfinished and not inscribed with the name of the architect, but is probably contemporary with

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

's Kiosk at Philae."Christine Hobson: ''Exploring the World of the Pharaohs: A complete guide to Ancient Egypt.'' Thames & Hudson 1993 paperback, p.185

Dedwen

Originally located within the outer wall of the temple of Kalabsha, and is dedicated to the

n serpent god,

Dedwen Dedun (or Dedwen) was a Kushite or Nehasi (C-Group culture) god worshipped during ancient times in ancient Egypt and Sudan and attested as early as 2400 BC. There is much uncertainty about their original nature, especially since he was depicted as ...

. It was moved along with the Kalabsha temple to New Kalabsha.

References

External links

{{commons category Archaeological sites in Egypt