Over time people stopped using the temples which became covered with sand. In the 6th century BC, the sand covered the statues of the main temple up to their knees. The temple was forgotten until 1813, when Jean-Louis Burckhardt saw the top frieze of the main temple. He told Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni, who went to the site, but was unable to dig out an entry to the temple. Belzoni went back in 1817, and was able to enter the temples. Details of the temples, with drawings, are in Edward William Lane's "Description of Egypt" (1825-1828).