Philae - Jewel of the Nile

When the temples of Assuan were moved out of danger from the planned dam construction in 1960, UNESCO also started a project in order to try and save the buildings on the island of Philae from the destructive effect of the ever increasing waters of the Nile. The buildings were to be move ca 500 m to the island of Agilkia. The project started 1977 and lasted until 1980.

The temples had been practically intact since the ancient days, but with each inundation the situation worsened and in the sixties the island was submerged up to a third of the buildings all year round.

First of all a large coffer dam was built, constructed of two rows of steel plates between which a million cubic meters of sand was tipped. Any water that seeped through was pumped away.

Next the monuments were cleaned and measured, by using photogrammetry, a method that enables the exact reconstruction of the original size of the building blocks that were used by the ancients.

Then every building was dismantled into ca 40 000 units, and then transported to the nearby island of Agilkia, situated on higher ground some 500 m away.

The total weight of these blocks were 27.000 tons and some of the blocks weighed as much as 25 tons each. It was all done in two and a half years time.

Nowadays visitors can get to Philae by boat from Shellal north of the island, and be put ashore by the Southern end. From there the tours of the island start. Lightshows are given at night, which are worthwhile to witness.