Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel The Great and Small Temples in Abu Simbel are massive rock-cut temples built by Pharaoh Ramesses II during Dynasty 19 of the New Kingdom. They were originally built in Nubia next to the Second Cataract, but since the construction of the Aswan High Dam, they have been moved to their present location in the Aswan Governorate. They were built both to show Egypt’s influence over rich Nubia and to show Ramesses II as a god. Today they are preserved as a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site's "Nubian monuments". Ramesses II was
Abu Simbel temples erosion of the sandstone by desert winds. However the proposal, though acknowledged to be extremely elegant, was rejected. The salvage of the Abu Simbel temples began in 1964 by a multinational team of archeologists, engineers and skilled heavy equipment operators working together under the UNESCO banner; it cost some US$40 million at the time (equal to $300 million in 2017 dollars). Between 1964 and 1968, the entire site was carefully cut into large blocks (up to 30 tons, averaging 20 tons), dismantled, lifted and reassembled in a new location 65 meters higher and 200 meters back from the river, in