Great Temple of Ramses II
Title
Great Temple of Ramses II
Date
c. 1275-1225 BCE
Identifier
1662
Work Type
built works
Work Location
Egypt (nation)
Abu Simbel (ruins)
Style/Period
Nineteenth Dynasty
Subject
temples (buildings)
colossi
Description
Bird's-eye view of the Great Temple of Ramses, II. "These rock-cut temples are located in the ancient Wawat (or the legendary Ybsambul) in Nubia, near the borders of Sudan, about 300 kilometers from Aswan. Earlier temples in Nubia had been located within forts, but here the confidence of Ramses II, whose reign may have lasted as many as 67 years, is illustrated; these temples, probably once brightly colored, were cut into the natural rock and lapped by the Nile. After eleven centuries of oblivion, these temples were rediscovered in 1813 when Johann Ludwig Burckhardt saw by accident the upper parts of the colossal figures. In 1817 Giovanni Battista Belzoni found the entrance, partially freed from the sand. In the following years these temples were often partially covered by shifting sands. Today visitors see the reconstructed temples now relocated on higher ground (60 meters directly above their earlier position) after the heroic international rescue efforts to save these treasures from Lake Nasser," by Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton University.
Reproduction Type
jpeg
Copyright Statement
©2013 Lawrence Technological University. These images may be used for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes without the explicit permission of LTU.
ID Number
A1EGABU2-51257BA1A1
- Date Added
- August 29, 2013
- Collection
- LTU Digital Images
- Item Type
- VRA Core
- Tags
- Ramses II, temples
- Citation
- “Great Temple of Ramses II,” LTU Digital Images, accessed May 4, 2024, https://ltuimagecollection.omeka.net/items/show/11724.