Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel and Small temples are carved to represent pylons – the monumental trapezoidal gates representative of the Egyptian for horizon characteristic of all Egyptian temples. The multiple halls and rooms required for storing temple offerings are also present, carved deep into the sandstone mound. Four colossi depicting Ramesses II as a god flank the entrance to the temple. Ramesses II is depicted as seated, wearing the royal kilt, wearing the nemes headdress and either the crown of Lower Egypt (the Northern two) or the combined crown of Lower and Upper Egypt (the Southern two). Graffiti on the legs of the colossi
Abu Simbel temples as a lasting monument to the king and his queen Nefertari, and commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh. Their huge external rock relief figures have become iconic. The complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968 under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist, Kazimierz Michałowski, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary or they would have been submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River.