Théodule Devéria help Mariette read inscriptions in Cairo and its surroundings. He tried to accurately document the archaeological sites using drawings, stampings and photographs. His calotype pictures from this trip are often poor in quality, showing a lack of technical skills. In 1860 he was appointed preserving assistant at the Louvre's Department of Egyptology. He revisited Egypt in 1861–62, traveling up the Nile to Philae at the First Cataract, and into Nubia to the Abu Simbel temples. After returning he helped Mariette prepare descriptions of the excavation in Egypt in 1850–54 for publication. In November 1864 Devéria met the future oriental scholar
Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel at Abu Simbel was also dedicated to Queen Nefertari, the principal wife of Ramesses II and a deified queen. At the Small Temple in Abu Simbel, six standing statues of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari flank the entrance – there are four of Ramesses II and two of Queen Nefertari. The statues of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari are the same size. This is, in fact, the first time that the King and the Queen are represented at the same scale. Since scale was so important for representing status in Egyptian art, it can be concluded that Ramesses II held