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 in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...

. Created during the

International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia The International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia was the relocation of 22 monuments in Lower Nubia, in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan, between 1960 and 1980. The success of the project, in particular the creation of a coalition of 50 ...

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

Lake Nasser Lake Nasser ( ar, بحيرة ناصر ', ) is a vast reservoir in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Before construction, Sudan was against the building of Lake Nasser because it would encr ...

caused by the construction of the

Aswan High Dam The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the 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. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan L ...

. The major remains are described below:

Kalabsha Temple

The Temple of Kalabsha (or Temple of

Mandulis Mandulis was a god of ancient Nubia also worshipped in Egypt. The name Mandulis is the Greek form of Merul or Melul, a non- Egyptian name. The centre of his cult was the Temple of Kalabsha at Talmis, but he also had a temple dedicated to him at ...

) 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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Period temple to the sun god

was relocated here in 1970. It was built by

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (emp ...

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

and was the largest free-standing temple of Egyptian

Nubia Nubia () ( Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), o ...

. 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 ( egy, ptḥ, reconstructed ; grc, Φθά; cop, ⲡⲧⲁϩ; Phoenician: 𐤐𐤕𐤇, romanized: ptḥ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god and patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the ...

") is dedicated to

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded a ...

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 alrea ...

. 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 (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...

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 ...

(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 public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docu ...

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 ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

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

References

External links

{{commons category Archaeological sites in Egypt