阿布·辛拜勒神庙1813

两座神庙于古埃及第十九王朝，法老拉美西斯二世统治期间（公元前13世纪）建于山脚。其中较大神庙外的拉美西斯二世巨型石雕十分有名。巨型石雕脚边较小的雕像则为他的妻子奈菲尔塔利和子女。较大神庙内的雕塑主题为纪念拉美西斯二世在卡迭石战役中的英勇领导。

1964年开始至1968年间，因兴建阿斯旺水坝而整体迁移至高出河床水位60余米的后山上，是世界文物建筑保护方式的成功尝试。在波兰考古学家卡齐米日·米哈沃斯基的指导下，当地建造了一座圆顶人造山，用于容纳阿布·辛拜勒神庙。

历史

神庙建筑群约于公元前1284年开始兴建，为时约20年，直至公元前1264年完成。这座宏伟的建筑物被称为“受阿蒙宠爱的拉姆西斯的神庙”，而这亦是拉姆西斯二世在位期间为其最宠爱的妻子──妮菲塔莉（另译奈菲尔塔利），在努比亚所兴建六座石建神庙的其中一座，目的是为了向埃及南面努比亚宣示国威，并在该地区巩固埃及宗教的地位。1813年神庙被发现，1817年早期埃及学家乔瓦尼·巴蒂斯塔·贝尔佐尼第一次进行实地考察。

搬迁

后来因为阿斯旺水坝的兴建，联合国决定将神庙切割并上移200米，以避免神殿遭水淹没，不过因为位置因素，天文无法配合古埃及人的设计，现在阳光照进的时间需推迟一天。

Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel (Arabic: أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 230 km (140 mi) southwest of Aswan (about 300 km (190 mi) by road).

The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. Their huge external rock relief figures of Ramesses II have become iconic. His wife, Nefertari, and children can be seen in smaller figures by his feet. Sculptures inside the Great Temple commemorate Ramesses II's heroic leadership at the Battle of Kadesh.

The complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968 to higher ground to avoid it being submerged by Lake Nasser, the Aswan Dam reservoir. As part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, an artificial hill was made from a domed structure to house the Abu Simbel Temples, under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist, Kazimierz Michałowski, from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw.

The Abu Simbel complex, and other relocated temples from Nubian sites such as Philae, Amada, Wadi es-Sebua, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Nubian Monuments.

History

Construction

During his reign, Ramesses II embarked on an extensive building program throughout Egypt and Nubia, which Egypt controlled. As a major source of gold and many other precious trade goods, Nubia was of great importance to the Egyptians. He therefore built several grand temples in order to impress upon the Nubians Egypt's might and Egyptianize the people of Nubia. The most prominent temples are the rock-cut temples near the modern village of Abu Simbel, at the Second Nile Cataract, the border between Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia. There are two temples, the Great Temple, dedicated to Ramesses II himself, and the Small Temple, dedicated to his chief wife Queen Nefertari.

Construction of the temple complex started in c. 1264 BC and lasted for about 20 years, until 1244 BC. It was known as the Temple of Ramesses, Beloved by Amun.

Rediscovery

With the passage of time, the temples fell into disuse and the Great Temple eventually became mostly covered by a sand dune. By the 6th century BC, the sand already covered the statues of the main temple up to their knees.

Description

The complex consists of two temples. The larger one is dedicated to Ra-Horakhty, Ptah and Amun, Egypt's three state deities of the time, and features four large statues of Ramesses II in the facade. The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, personified by Nefertari, Ramesses's most beloved of his many wives. The temple is now open to the public.

Great Temple

The Great Temple at Abu Simbel, which took about twenty years to build, was completed around year 24 of the reign of Ramesses the Great (which corresponds to 1265 BC). It was dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah, as well as to the deified Ramesses himself. It is generally considered the grandest and most beautiful of the temples commissioned during the reign of Ramesses II, and one of the most beautiful in Egypt.

Entrance

The single entrance is flanked by four colossal, 20 m (66 ft) statues, each representing Ramesses II seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).

Transport

Abu Simbel Airport

It is one of the airports in southern Egypt, located 2 km from the city of Abu Simbel. At the end of 1964, a committee from the Ministry of Civil Aviation traveled to the Abu Simbel to select a suitable location to serve as an airstrip for Dakota aircraft carrying tourists wishing to visit the Abu Simbel temples. This was necessary because the temples were being relocated to their current location due to concerns about them being submerged by Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan High Dam. This airstrip was built in 1969 with a single 2,000-meter runway and an apron that could accommodate two small aircraft. Abu Simbel Airport is currently a domestic airport, but it has the potential to become an international airport in the future.

In popular culture

The temples appear in the 1978 film Death on the Nile based on the book of the same name by Agatha Christie.

The temples also appear in the 2001 film The Mummy Returns as part of the road to Ahm-Shere.