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The moving of Abu Simbel: the feat that saved a temple from the water
In the 1960s, the construction of the Aswan Dam threatened to submerge forever the temples of Abu Simbel, a masterpiece carved in rock by Ramesses II over three thousand years ago. UNESCO launched an international appeal, and one hundred and thirteen countries responded, offering funds, experts and technology. Between 1964 and 1968, a team of over two thousand people, including Italian quarrymen from Carrara, sectioned the temples into more than a thousand blocks, cut with millimetric precision, and relocated them sixty-five metres higher and two hundred and eighty metres further inland, faithfully recreating the original position. The feat saved a heritage of humanity and demonstrated that history does not belong to one people alone, but to all. Today Abu Simbel is one of the most visited sites in Egypt, and the miracle of the sun, which illuminates Ramesses's face twice a year, continues to enchant the world.
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