The Lost Temples of Nubia

The Lost Temples of Nubia by Craig Hildreth

Any fan of ancient Egypt is familiar with the rescue work performed by Egypt and the world community in Nubia in order to save monuments located there from the rising waters of Lake Nasser created by the High Aswan Dam. More than missions from all over the world were actively e!cavating for the buried treasures over which the Nubians were living. Many" many monuments were saved" some re#erected near their original locations on high ground" a number of others moved to $hartoum in the %udan" while still other small temples were actually given away to foreign governments who assisted in the rescue operation. &hese latter temples included the &emple of Debod" now located at 'ity (ark in Madrid %pain" &he temple of Dendur housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New )ork" the rock cut temple of el# Lessiya at Museo Egi*io in &urn" +taly" the gateway of the temple of $alabsha in the Agyptisches Museum in ,erlin" -ermany" and the &affa &emple at .i/ksmuseum van 0udheden in Leiden" Netherlands. A temple from %emna" kumma 1%emna East2" two of the temples located at the famous fortress of ,uhen" a temple from Aksha 1%erra 3est2 and the rock cut tomb of D/ehutihotpe were all moved to $hartoum in the %udan. 3hat we hear less about is the temples and structures that were lost to the waters of Lake Nasser. 'ertainly" many ancient towns" and some huge fortresses lay deep beneath this massive lake" together with a number of notable temples. Here" we wish to e!amine as best we can some of these temples that now are lost. Quban (Kuban)

4uban" know to the Egyptians as ,aki and o the -reeks as 'ontra (selchis" stood on the east bank of the Nile /ust across from Dakka. +t was a fortress probably built at the beginning of the 5 th Dynasty by %enusret +" but it may have had an 0ld $ingdom (recursor. Many of the most important sites lost to Egyptologists beneath the waters of Lake Nasser were Nubian fortresses" and were perhaps more important for this reason than for their small temples. 6nfortunately" these fortress could probably have never been saved from Lake Nasser" for unlike the temples that were moved" they were mostly made of mudbrick. During the New $ingdom 4uban was one of the more important Egyptian centers in Nubia controlling the gold mines of 3adi 7Alla8i. +t contained several temple" of which little today is known. Apparently" a number of blocks from this temple were latter used at the nearby &emple of Dakka that was itself saved from the waters of Lake Nasser. Faras (Pachoras)

9aras was an important center in Nubia. During the third century" it was an important town of the Meroe kingdom" and from the eight century it was the capital city of the 'hristian bishops in Nubia. +n fact" this site is perhaps more famous as an early 'hristian center then for its pharaonic monuments. &his site" which originally stood on the west bank of the Nile between Abu %imbel and the 3adi Halfa" had a destroyed 5:th Dynasty temple of &utankhamun and an early New $ingdom rock#cut chapel of Hathor of +bshek 1perhaps originally constructed by &uthmosis +++2. &he latter temple was enlarged in the reigns of &utankhamun and .amesses ++. &he temple built by &utankhamun was designed on a symmetrical plan" consisting of a s8uare courtyard bordered on either side by a portico 1 rows of columns2. +t also contained a hypostyle hall with 5 columns and a sanctuary with

anne!es. &here were hundreds of &hmosid blocks discovered at this site that where probably removed from the temple at ,uhen ne!t tot he second cataract.

Pottery from the necropolis at Faras +n addition to the temples unearthed at 9aras" there was also the ruins of an early 'hristian basilica dating to the seventh or eighth century" the ruins of a bishop7s palace" an early monastery and other ruins. 0ver 5 ; ,y*antine#'optic style paintings in tempera on dry plaster were removed from these sites" many of which remain in %udanese museums and the National Museum in 3arsaw.

Christian painting from Faras !irgissa

Mirgissa was located in the region of the Nile7s second cataract on the west bank of the Nile about 5< kilometers south of 3adi Halfa. Here" a small New $ingdom temple of Hathor was built" perhaps replacing an earlier Middle $ingdom structure. However" like many of he sites lost beneath Lake Nasser" Mirgissa is again more familiar to us as a fortress then for its temples. 0f course" the list of possible archaeological sites that were lost to the waters of Lake Nasser are more than simply numerous. -reat heritages were lost" but at the same time" one must first place importance on the living" and most of the population in this part of Africa" particularly Egypt" will not argue the value of the Aswan High Dam in their modern culture. "eferences#
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