Epic engineering rescued colossal ancient Egyptian temples from floodwaters

[Judi Lynn]

In 1960, a new dam on the Nile threatened Ramses II’s temples at Abu Simbel and other ancient treasures. Here's how the world saved them.

BY ESTHER PONS

PUBLISHED JULY 17, 2019

Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley found inspiration in the long history of Egypt when he penned “Ozymandias” around 1818. In the poem, a traveler in the desert comes across the broken ruins of a huge statue:

And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

A meditation on impermanence, Shelley’s work shows how even the strongest are powerless against time and change.

Ozymandias is another name for Ramses II, the most powerful king of Egypt’s 19th dynasty. Ramses’ reign began a golden age in Egypt, brought on by his successful military campaigns into the Levant, Nubia, and Syria. Each of these victories was memorialized by new cities, elaborate temples, and massive statues erected all over his realm. (See also: Inside one of Egypt's biggest royal weddings.)

More:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2019/07-08/egyptian-temples-excavation-abu-simbel/