Nubia, Wadi es-Sebua, 1850s

Wadi es-Sebua, or Valley of the Lions, is the site of two New Kingdom Egyptian temples, including one speos temple constructed by the 19th dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses II, in Lower Nubia. The first temple was built by the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep III and subsequently restored by Ramesses II. In its first stage, this temple consisted of a rock-cut sanctuary fronted by a brick-built pylon, a court and a hall, partly painted with wall paintings. The temple may have been dedicated to one of the local Nubian forms of Horus, but his representations were altered to Amun at a later point in time. During the Amarna period, images of Amun were attacked and the decorations deteriorated but Ramesses II later restored and extended Amenhotep III's temple by building structures in front of the pylon. When the Wadi es-Sebua temples were threatened by flooding from the construction of the Aswan Dam project, the temple was dismantled in 1964 with U.S. support by the Egyptian Antiquities Service. Photographed by Frank Mason Good, between 1856 and 1860

Restrictions Only for Ireland and United Kingdom

Egyptology Nubia Rameses Ramesses Ramses Speos Wadi

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > PHR