Abu Simbel Timeline

In 1874, Thomas Cook instituted a steamer service operating between Aswan and Wadi Halfa that passed Abu Simbel, opening tourism to the site. The 1892 Baedeker guide reported Cook's tourist-steamers usually reached Abu Simbel in the evening of the third day.

Image source: Thomas Cook

In December 1892, insecure amounts of rock were identified above the façade of the Great Temple. A 12-man detachment of the 24th (Fortress) Company under Lieutenant James Henry L'Estrange Johnstone arrived by gunboat El Teb on 6 February 1893; the project was completed and inspected by 9 April 1893.

Between 1909 and 1910, under the leadership of Alessandro Barsanti, the sand surrounding the temples was permanently cleared away, exposing the full monuments once more.

Image source: Alessandro Barsanti

Major Benjamin Tidswell had died of dysentery at Abu Simbel in 1885. After floodwaters undermined his grave, his remains were placed in a lead coffin within the Great Temple and permanently interred on 3 January 1910 in the corridor south of the façade, marked with a granite tombstone.

An airstrip selected by a Ministry of Civil Aviation committee in late 1964 was built in 1969, featuring a single 2,000-metre runway and an apron accommodating two small aircraft, easing tourist access to the temples.

Image source: Abu Simbel Airport

The temples of Abu Simbel appeared in the 1978 film Death on the Nile, based on Agatha Christie's novel of the same name, showcasing the monuments to cinema audiences worldwide.

Image source: Death on the Nile (1978 film)

Abu Simbel's temples appeared again in the 2001 film The Mummy Returns, serving as part of the road to Ahm-Shere and further cementing the site's place in popular culture.

Image source: The Mummy Returns

In 1959, an international donations campaign began to save the monuments of Nubia, whose southernmost relics were threatened by rising waters resulting from construction of the Aswan High Dam.

Image source: International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia

Several schemes were proposed in early 1962. Despite the challenges, UNESCO announced on 10 June 1962 its preferred option—lifting the temples—and commissioned Swedish firm Vattenbyggnadsbyrån (VBB) to oversee the project.

By early June 1963, Egypt adopted the VBB proposal, which offered a realistic chance of saving the temples at an estimated cost of US$36 million, half the cost of other proposals. By 14 June agreement on financing had been reached, and bids were invited by 15 September 1963.

The first task, begun in November 1963, was constructing a 25-metre-high temporary cofferdam around steel sheets filled with earth. Work continued in three 12-hour shifts around the clock until the 370-metre-long dam was finished; it was raised to 27 metres when higher-than-expected 1964 floods threatened to overtop it.

Using detailed facade drawings prepared in 1959 by the French National Geographic Institute, workers cut the temples into blocks. After nine months of continuous work by 500 workers, the first block was lifted out on 21 May 1965. The last block was removed on 16 April 1966, two weeks ahead of schedule, with none seriously damaged.

On 22 February 1966, team members gathered at sunrise to confirm the statues of Ramesses, Amun, and Ra-Horakhty were illuminated by the sun's rays inside the innermost sanctum of the Great Temple, while the statue of Ptah remained dark.

Work on foundations began in January 1966, 208 metres inland and 65 metres higher than the original site. The face of the first colossus was reunited with its body on 14 September 1966, and by the end of 1966 the reassembly of the 235 blocks making up the Small Temple was completed. The cofferdam was pushed into the rising lake waters in late August 1966.

By early summer 1968 the project was completed, 18 months ahead of schedule. On 22 September 1968, 500 people attended the official inauguration of the relocated complex. The project cost $41.7 million, half borne by Egypt and half by contributions from 48 countries.