The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia. Vol. 5

1856

Special Collections DS107 RM28

London: Day & Son

David Roberts sketched these magnificent rock figures when they were on their original site, near the second cataract of the Nile River. They form the ‘Great Temple of Aboo-Simbel’ (Abu Simbel). In 1968, these massive structures were relocated some 65 metres further up onto a high plateau. This was because there was a real fear of them being submerged by water during the building of Aswan High Dam. These ‘Nubian Monuments’, the most visited ancient site in Egypt after the Pyramids of Giza, are now a UNESCO World Heritage site.