Hidden beneath the sands of Egypt for over 3,000 years, one of the greatest treasures of the ancient world. Nearly lost to the passage of time. An extraordinary heritage set in stone, threatened by the rising waters of the Nile. It would take scientific innovation and an unprecedented effort of over 50 countries to protect this historic site.
Its preservation would impact the way we see the past as a reflection of the entire human story. and change the way we preserve and safeguard our cultural heritage. The great Abu Simbel, built with the ingenuity of the past, threatened by the necessities of modern Egypt, would become a temple built on innovation. Located near the border of Sudan, Abu Simbel served to immortalize Ramses II, the greatest pharaoh of Egypt. The temple, prominently featuring four colossi of the pharaoh, documented Ramses'version of the Battle of Kadesh, a victory that never happened.
It served as propaganda to consolidate his power, to intimidate his neighbors, and to secure his immortality. Ramses wished to create a monument that rivaled the pyramids, but Egypt could no longer sustain such colossal construction projects. The innovation of carving the great temple into a mountain rather than constructing it from stone blocks helped him overcome this obstacle.
His engineers developed architectural innovations to allow the construction of a multi-chamber complex, a line so the sun illuminated the interior on Ramji's day of birth and coronation. Taking 20 years to complete, Abu Simbel embodied the might of Egypt, but the pharaoh's death in 1213 BC left a power vacuum. The priests usurped power. and the kingdom declined.
Outside influences imposed themselves on Egypt and symbols of the past such as Abu Simbel were abandoned. The great monument slept under the sands of Egypt for centuries. In 1813 Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt uncovered the top frieze of the main temple. Burckhardt shared his discovery with Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni.
By 1817, Belzoni had entered Abu Simbel and removed everything he could carry. He later excavated the entire monument, which became an important landmark for Egyptologists. In 1959, the modern world of machines and technicians invaded the realm of Ramses II. The construction of the Aswan High Dam was needed to control the floodwaters of the Nile. and generate crucial hydroelectric power, but it also threatened to flood the Nubian region, submerging Abu Simbel and neighboring historic monuments.
The Egyptian and Sudanese governments each independently requested assistance from the United Nations to preserve this cultural heritage. Amid increasing hostility of the Cold War and continuing conflict in the Middle East, In 1960, the UN launched an innovative mission to rescue the monument. The project would be overseen by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The effort to save Abu Simbel became a defining example of international innovation and solidarity.
It changed the way countries viewed the universal nature of heritage and impacted. The global importance of conservation. Public and private fundraising campaigns raised over $40 million from 50 different countries in international cooperation.
The most important thing in the Egyptian life is their civilization. They are so proud of their civilization. So to know that UNESCO will come to help serving the Abyssinian people it was an excitement for all Egyptians. In January of 1960, work on the Aswan High Dam began. The clock was ticking.
The ambitious project to raise the Abusim Bell began the next year. It was complicated by the enormity of the salvage operation, the sheer size of the complex, concerns about structural integrity, and alignment with the sun. The historic site consisted of two temples.
Each containing multiple chambers holding ornate panels of hieroglyphs and statuary. The main temple measured 120 feet wide by 100 feet tall, about the size of the Lincoln Memorial. A Swedish engineering firm developed an innovative plan that balanced architectural concerns with those of historians and archaeologists. Contractors around the globe consulted. The engineers had to develop innovative techniques.
and approach their delicate task with respect and even reverence. The massive structure would be cut into blocks, which would then be lifted to an area above the predicted water level. In 1964, salvage work began.
Over 1,000 blocks, each weighing an average of 60,000 pounds, were meticulously sliced. Cuts were only allowed to be 8 millimeters thick. Because of this, The structure was dismantled almost exclusively by hand.
To protect the final appearance, no cuts were allowed across the faces of the statues or to other specially beautiful and delicate parts of the sculpture surface. That was more tricky. You could say we were trying to move a mountain, but we had to do it in pieces.
We couldn't take the whole mountain in one piece. The relocation consisted of three parts. First, An artificial mountain was built to replace the original cliff into which the temple had once been carved. Second, the temple facades and rooms had to be cut and moved. Last, a concrete dome was created to protect the temple and bury the load of the artificial hill above.
In 1968, a year before the completion of the Aswan Dam, the ambitious project was finished. The temple Threatened by the Nile, stood safely out of its clutches, approximately 300 feet away from its original location. Dismantling, transporting, and reassembling the massive monument was the result of international cooperation and innovation. This laid the foundation for the preservation of other historic sites.
So there's a whole new consciousness of how valuable this heritage is. And I think that this is something that is so important for our global heritage to treat with that same sense of respect. UNESCO kept working through the next decade, using the innovations developed to save 15 other monuments in the area. On March 10th, 1980, the international campaign to save the monuments of Nubia ended.
This project had no precedent. For the first time in history, the international community set aside political differences to benefit a specific region. The venture united scientific, archaeological, and historic innovations and changed the way we look at our history.
This innovative approach to historic preservation had impact on other historic sites. The same innovations were employed to rescue monuments in danger when China built the Three Gorges Dam, and to save Venice, Italy when floods threatened to engulf the city. Today, UNESCO preserves over 900 World Heritage Sites in 186 different countries on six continents.
Up to 10,000 people visit Abu Simbel each day. The temple embodies the ingenuity of the early Egyptians and survives today because of modern innovation. The first international effort to save a historic monument changed the way we preserve the past and impacted our global heritage. Abu Simbel, a temple built on innovation.