Virtual Egypt: What Abu Simbel Looked Like
Summary
TLDRThe script explores the Great Temple of Abu Simbel, a monumental Egyptian architectural feat by Pharaoh Ramesses II, located in Nubia. Carved from solid rock, it features colossal statues and an interior adorned with vibrant reliefs. The temple's unique design, including a hypostyle hall with anthropomorphic columns, leads to a sanctuary where deities are illuminated by sunlight twice a year. The script also recounts the temples' relocation to avoid submersion by the Aswan Dam and their colorful ancient appearance, highlighting their historical significance and the international effort to preserve them.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ The Great Temple of Abu-Simbel is a monumental achievement of Egyptian architecture, built by Ramesses II and located in Nubia, southern Egypt.
- 🗿 The temple features four colossal rock-cut statues of Ramesses II, each over 20 meters high, showcasing the grandeur of Egyptian art.
- 🌞 The temple's design incorporates a unique solar phenomenon where sunlight illuminates the sanctuary statues on October 21 and February 21.
- 🛡️ The interior of the temple includes vivid reliefs depicting Ramesses II's military campaigns and scenes of his divine nature.
- 🏺 Ramesses II also had a smaller temple constructed for his wife Nefertari, which similarly exhibits the region's characteristic architecture.
- 🎨 Both temples were originally brightly painted, a feature that has faded over time but adds to their historical significance.
- ⚙️ In the 1960s, an international effort was made to relocate the temples to save them from being submerged by the Aswan Dam's rising waters.
- 🔧 The temples were carefully dismantled and reassembled on artificial hills to preserve their structural integrity and solar alignment.
- 📸 The temples were rediscovered in the 19th century, having been buried under sand for millennia, with the first photograph taken in 1854.
- 👤 Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt and Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni played pivotal roles in the rediscovery and exploration of Abu Simbel.
Q & A
Who built the Great Temple of Abu Simbel?
-The Great Temple of Abu Simbel was built by Ramesses II.
What makes the Great Temple of Abu Simbel unique in Egyptian architecture?
-The Great Temple of Abu Simbel is unique because it is one of the rare cave temples in Egypt, being entirely excavated out of the solid rock.
Where is the Great Temple of Abu Simbel located?
-The Great Temple of Abu Simbel is located farther up the Nile, in the southernmost part of Egypt, in the region of Nubia.
What are the dimensions of the pylon at the Great Temple of Abu Simbel?
-The pylon at the Great Temple of Abu Simbel measures 36 meters wide and 32 meters high.
How tall are the colossal statues of Ramesses II at the entrance of the temple?
-The colossal statues of Ramesses II at the entrance of the temple are over 20 meters high.
Why are the statues in Egyptian architecture so huge compared to other ancient civilizations?
-The statues in Egyptian architecture are huge because they were made in a scale for the gods, not in a human scale.
What does the interior of the temple feature after the entrance?
-The interior of the temple features a vestibule supported by eight pillars, depicting the deified Ramesses linked to the god Osiris.
What are the battle scenes depicted on the walls of the temple?
-The walls have vividly colored reliefs depicting military campaigns that Ramesses waged, including a famous relief showing Ramesses on his chariot shooting arrows against fleeing enemies.
What is the significance of the dates October 21 and February 21 in the temple of Ramesses II?
-On October 21 and February 21, the sun penetrates directly into the heart of the temple, illuminating the portraits of Amun, Ramesses, and Ra, while leaving the portrait of Ptah in the shade.
What temple was constructed in honor of Ramesses II's wife Nefertari, and what is its relation to the main temple?
-A smaller temple was constructed in honor of Nefertari, Ramesses II's wife. It is similar in design to the main temple, featuring a hypostyle hall with pillars depicting Hathor and scenes of the queen with Egyptian divinities.
What major engineering project in the 1960s threatened the temples of Abu Simbel?
-The construction of the Aswan dam on the Nile in the 1960s threatened the temples of Abu Simbel due to the formation of a lake that could submerge the temples.
How were the temples of Abu Simbel preserved from being submerged by the lake formed by the Aswan dam?
-An international campaign was launched to dismantle and relocate the temples stone by stone to two artificial mountains made of concrete, about 65 meters higher over the cliff, preserving the temples and the solar alignment effect.
Who discovered the temples of Abu Simbel, and when were they discovered?
-The temples of Abu Simbel were discovered in 1813 by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, and the interior was first entered by Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni in 1817.
Outlines
🏛️ The Great Temple of Abu Simbel
The script introduces the Great Temple of Abu Simbel, a remarkable example of Egyptian architecture built by Ramesses II. Located in Nubia, it is unique for being a cave temple, a rarity in Egypt. The temple features an entrance forecourt leading to a massive pylon with four colossal statues of Ramesses II. The interior includes a vestibule supported by pillars and vividly colored reliefs depicting military campaigns. Smaller chambers and a hypostyle hall lead to the sanctuary, where Ramesses is depicted alongside gods. The temple is also known for its solar alignment, where sunlight illuminates the sanctuary's deities on specific dates. The script highlights the temple's scale, which is designed for the gods rather than humans, emphasizing the grandeur of Egyptian architecture.
🌞 Temple of Nefertari and the Aswan Dam Rescue
This paragraph discusses the smaller temple dedicated to Nefertari, Ramesses II's wife, which mirrors the architectural style of the main temple but with its own unique features, such as pillars depicting Hathor. The temple's interior includes scenes of the queen and Egyptian deities. The paragraph also delves into the history of the Abu Simbel temples, which were once colorful and polychrome but have since lost their pigments. A significant part of the history involves the threat posed by the Aswan Dam's construction in the 1960s, which led to an international effort to move the temples to avoid submersion. The temples were successfully relocated to artificial hills, preserving their alignment with the sun's rays. The script concludes with the discovery of Abu Simbel by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt and Giovanni Belzoni and invites viewers to explore more videos on Egypt.
📖 Further Exploration of Egypt's History
The final paragraph serves as a sign-off and a reminder to viewers that they can access a playlist of all Egypt-related videos. It provides a gentle nudge for viewers to engage with the content by liking the video and expresses gratitude for their attention. The script promises more content to come, indicating the ongoing journey of exploration and sharing of Egypt's rich history and culture.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ramesses II
💡Abu-Simbel
💡Pylon
💡Colossal Statues
💡Nubia
💡Hypostyle Hall
💡Solar Alignment
💡Nefertari
💡Aswan Dam
💡Anthropomorphic
💡Reliefs
Highlights
The Great Temple of Abu-Simbel is one of the most impressive achievements of Egyptian architecture.
Located in Nubia, the temple was entirely excavated out of solid rock, a rare feature in Egyptian cave temples.
Ramesses II adapted to the local architecture of Nubia, which is characterized by cave temples.
The temple's façade features four colossal statues of Ramesses II, each over 20 meters high.
The interior spaces of the temple are unique, with processional spaces carved into the living rock.
The pylon at Abu Simbel retains the memory of traditional mud wall construction.
Egyptian architecture is characterized by its monumental scale, designed for the gods rather than humans.
The temple's vestibule is supported by eight pillars depicting the deified Ramesses linked to Osiris.
Vividly colored reliefs on the temple walls depict Ramesses' military campaigns.
Abu Simbel's hypostyle hall features anthropomorphic columns, a unique transformation of the traditional design.
The temple's sanctuary houses a sacred boat and Ramesses seated among divinities.
A unique solar phenomenon illuminates the sanctuary's statues of Amun, Ramesses, and Ra twice a year.
A second temple was constructed in honor of Ramesses II's wife Nefertari, with similar architectural features.
Nefertari's temple interior features pillars depicting Hathor, the goddess of femininity and maternal care.
The temples of Abu Simbel were originally polychrome, with vibrant colors that have since faded.
The temples were relocated in the 1960s to avoid submersion due to the construction of the Aswan Dam.
An international campaign was launched to dismantle and reassemble the temples on higher ground.
The relocation preserved the temples' solar alignment, maintaining the annual illumination of the gods' statues.
Abu Simbel was discovered in 1813 by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt and first entered in 1817 by Giovanni Belzoni.
Transcripts
The temple of Ramesses II, so let's go take a look.
The Great Temple of Abu-Simbel, built by Ramesses II,
is one of the most stupendous creations of Egyptian architecture,
this is farther up the Nile, farther into Nubia
in the southernmost of Egypt,
and this temple was entirely excavated out of the solid rock.
Cave temples are very rare in Egypt,
temples were usually built structures,
but just in this area of Nubia they tend to be more common.
So here Ramesses is adapting to the typical architecture of the region.
An entrance forecourt leads to the imposing façade formed as a pylon,
measuring 36 meters wide and 32 meters high,
immediately in front of which are four rock-cut seated colossal statues of Ramesses II,
over 20 meters high.
The processional spaces that we had leading up to
the sanctuary in the other Egyptian temples are all interiorized here.
The pylon itself becomes a carving into the living rock of the cliff, it's incredible.
So you look at the pylon, or the entry piece carved into the rock of Abu Simbel,
and you look at a typologically normative pylon,
and you can see that the memory of this pylon which carries the
memory of the mud wall is preserved and used here.
And just look at the scale of the statues,
the reason why Egyptian architecture is so huge
when compared to other ancient civilizations like Greece,
is that the Egyptians made their buildings not in a human scale, but in a scale for the gods.
We're here at the entrance of Abu Simbel temple,
and you can see right away how colossal is the size of the statues in the entrance.
The entrance leads to a vestibule, the ceiling of which is supported by eight pillars
depicting the deified Ramesses linked to the god Osiris.
We're in the entrance hall of the temple of Abu Simbel.
The walls have vividly colored reliefs depicting
battle scenes in the military campaigns that Ramesses waged.
The most famous relief shows Ramesses himself on his chariot shooting arrows
against his fleeing enemies, who are being taken prisoner.
There are eight smaller chambers in the sides,
these were probably used to store the temple utensils and furniture,
adjoin this vestibule, and in the rear is a small hypostyle hall, having four pillars.
Behind this, is a long narrow chamber out of which are three apartments,
the center one being the sanctuary.
So these are the same kind of spaces we were seeing in the mortuary temples.
The idea of hypostyle hall though, is transformed in that the columns are anthropomorphic, that is,
they're ornamented with human figures that are engaged,
so we have this avenue of humanoids, and then we proceed through a telescoping sense of spaces,
with lower ceilings and smaller rooms, getting you deeper and deeper into the temple.
It’s been said that Ramses was a man obsessed with transmitting his own greatness to the world,
and of course we cannot deny that he was a pharaoh with a special taste for scenery.
And so in this temple of Abu Simbel that is excavated in the mountain,
an incredibly curious phenomenon occurs:
in the sanctuary of this temple, there’s an altar that supported a sacred boat,
and Ramesses himself seated among the divinities as if he were another god.
But the most curious thing is that two days a year, on October 21 and February 21,
two months before and two months after the winter solstice,
the sun penetrates directly into the heart of the temple of Ramesses II,
and the portraits of Amun, Ramesses, and Ra are illuminated by the sunlight,
leaving in the shade the portrait of Ptah, a dark god, a god of the shadows,
a god that has more of a subterranean connotation.
Ramesses also ordered the construction of another
temple that was bit smaller in honor of his wife Nefertari,
this one is still imitating that characteristic form of the pylons in the carved façade,
and also has colossal statues.
Now we're going to enter to Nefertari's temple, Ramesses' wife.
The interior is very similar to the interior of the temple of Ramesses in that,
even though smaller, it has the same spaces in common,
a hypostyle hall with pillars, this time depicting Hathor,
the Egyptian goddess of femininity and maternal care,
who is often represented as a cow,
but in these capitals she's represented as a woman with the ears of a cow.
This hypostyle hall also contains several images and inscriptions,
this time with scenes of the queen and some Egyptian divinities.
There's also several small chambers for storage,
and a sanctuary in the back with a sacred statue.
These temples in Abu Simbel, which today are one of the best-known Egyptian attractions,
in ancient times presented a very different aspect to that with which we contemplate them today,
as you can see the temples were completely painted, completely polychrome,
and stood out so much more than today, because of the white and the other colors it used to have.
These Aswan temples have a very interesting history:
they survived and they were very well preserved even though they had lost their colors,
and one of the statues had broken.
But they were severely threatened by the lake that you see here.
This lake did not reach quite up to here back then,
and this temples used to be located about 200m that way, 65m lower into the cliff,
but one of the big engineering projects in the 1960s
was the building of the spectacular Aswan dam on the Nile,
the temples of Ramses II and Nefertari at Abu Simbel got threatened,
because the territory around here has got the lake formed by the making of this dam.
This is an image from the 1960s, the dam had been built for a couple years,
and the water did not stop rising,
and it had already risen so much
that it was about to reach the feet of the colossi of the temple of Ramses,
and what’s worse, the water was beginning to infiltrate
between the stones of the temple weakening its structure.
At that time, a spectacular international campaign was launched
to dismantle stone by stone all the temples despite the
difficulty of being excavated in the mountain,
which reveals that the inner walls of the mountain itself
had to be excavated and moved to another location
that had to be close but secure enough to guarantee the preservation of the two temples.
Two small artificial mountains made of concrete, about 65 meters higher over the cliff
were built to fit the disassembled temples,
and here you can see the actual location of the temples below the water level today,
Hadn't the temples been moved, today they would be submerged several meters under the water,
and here above is the current location of the two constructions.
Also, by repositioning the temples on these artificial hills,
the effect of the solar alignment
that made the sun illuminate the statues of three of the gods twice a year was respected.
Here I’ll share with you a panoramic photograph that I took on site,
You can see the two artificial mountains with the temple of Nefertari to the right,
and the temple of Ramesses to the left.
When these temples were discovered in the 19th century,
they were all covered with sand accumulated throughout thousands of years.
And it took about a century to remove it all.
This is the first photo ever taken in Abu Simbel in 1854.
Abu Simbel was discovered in 1813 by the same man who discovered Petra a year before,
Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.
And it was Giovanni Belzoni,
the Italian who discovered the interior of the pyramid of Chephren,
the first one who succeeded to enter the temple by digging enough sand in 1817.
Thank you for watching, if you enjoyed the video please leave a like because it helps me a lot.
Also remember that you can watch all of my videos from Egypt in this playlist.
Thank you again, and I'll see you very soon.
Goodbye!
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