A Common trust: the preservation of the ancient - unesdoc

A Common trust: the preservation of the ancient - unesdoc

A COMMON
TRUST
U N E S C O
U Monuments to be protected in situ
Monuments offered as grants in return for
contributions made by foreign countries
Monuments to be relocated within Nubia:
1st priority
Monuments to be relocated within Nubia:
2nd priority
Not
underlined
Monuments for which no provision can
be foreseen
TOM/
GEBEL C H A M S
EGYPT
FARAS
,,,,:*$
(f
LE!!!
WADI HALFA
SUDAN
2 n d Colororl
\
SEMNA WEST
SEMNA EAST (KUMMA)
,/-./
0
50
100 k m
A C O M M O N TRUST:
T H E PRESERVATION
O F T H E ANCIENT M O N U M E N T S
O F NUBIA
U N E S C O
I. The problem
The building
of the High Dam
The request
of the United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic is, this year, starting
the construction of a high dam (the Sadd el
Aali)on the Nile near Aswan,a few miles upstream
ill
from the present dam. This new dam, which w
The United Arab Republic has been concerned
with the problem since the dam project was
first conceived. Its Antiquities Service has been
instructed to concentrate its work on the threatened area. A Documentation and Study Centre
for the History of the Art and Civilization of
Ancient Egypt, an Egyptian body set up with
Unesco's help in Cairo in 195 5, has been made
responsible for collecting full documentation
on the monuments which are in danger; and it
is now actively engaged in surveying the sites,
copying inscriptions and making photographs
and coloured slides.
But the work to be done if the Nubian monuments are to be saved is far beyond the
resources of the United Arab Republic. O n
behalf of the Government of the United Arab
Republic, H.E. Mr. Saroit Okacha, Minister of
Culture and National Guidance (Province of
Egypt), therefore took the initiative of asking
Unesco, in April 1959,to launch an appeal for
internationalassistance.The request was submitted
to the Executive Board at its fifty-fourth session,
in June 19j9, when the Board agreed in principle
to internationalactionand authorized the DirectorGeneral to take the necessary preparatory steps.
In agreement with the Government of the
United Arab Republic, Unesco arranged for the
French Institut Gtographique National to carry
out a photogrammetric survey of the area
affected,and the material so obtained w
ill be used
to make maps to a scale of I/IO,OOO.
The Director-Generalalso convened a committee of thirteen experts in different specialities,
make possible a considerable increase in the area
2
of cultivable land and the supply of electrical
energy, holds great promise for the agricultural
and industrial development of the country and
the welfare of its population.
The High Dam will raise the water-level over
about 3 0 0 kilometres (180 miles) of Egyptian
territory and 180 kilometres ( 1 1 2 miles) of
Sudanese territory. With the existing dam, the
maximum level is I Z I metres above sea-level;
but with the new one it w
ill reach 133 metres
in 1966 or 1967-at the end of the first stage
of the work now starting-and 1 8 2 metres when
the second stage is completed. The upper valley
ill then be transformed into a lake
of the Nile w
nearly joo kilometres (300 miles) long, stretching from Aswan in Egypt to the Dal Cataract
in .the Sudan, and at some points as much as
25 kilometres (16miles) wide. Countless monuments and sites scattered along the valley, representing centuries of history and prehistory, w
ill
disappear for ever beneath this mass of water.
Some of the threatened monuments,in particular
those at Philae and Abu Simbel, are among the
finestworks which have come down to us from
the past, and their destruction would be an irreparable loss to mankind. A n attempt must be
made to preserve these relics of a heritage
whose value, for art and history, is inestimable.
Photo Christime Desroches-Noblecorn.
Detail of the great temple of A b u Simbel below
the Second Cataract, 2 8 0 kilometres (175miles) south
of the First Cataract. Profile of the last colossus
on the south side of the fapde. The statue next
to it crumbled more than two hundred years ago.
3
4
belonging to eight countries, who met in Cairo
in October 1919. They had to consider what
excavations should be made, how the monuments
could be removed to safety or preserved in &U,
what other measures were to be suggested,and
how much the work would cost.
At the opening of the meeting,H.E.Mr. Saroit
Okacha, who had made special endeavours to
ensure the success of the undertaking, read out
the important Declaration by the Government
of the United Arab Republic (see page IZ),
specifying along what lines international aid
should be organized and what forms it might
take. In return for the assistance it would receive,
the government stated its readiness :
I. T o cede to excavators in the threatened area
at least half the proceeds of their finds, with
the exception of certain items which are
unique or essential for completing the national
collections (this reservation is in conformity
with the provisions of the Recommendation,
adopted by Unesco’s General Conference
in I 95 6, on international principles applicable to archaeological excavations).
2. T o authorize excavations, on the same terms,
outside the threatened area, for example, in
the Royal Necropolis of Sakkara.
3. T o cede,with a view to their transfer abroad,
certain Nubian temples and various antiquities
from the State reserves, on the understanding
that all sych items would be assigned to museums or scientific institutions open to the
public.
This Declaration and the experts’ report were
considered by Unesco’s Executive Board at its
fifty-fifthsession (November I95 9), together with
a communication on the same subject from the
Government of the Sudan.
dudes a large number of archaeological and
prehistoric sites which have so far hardly been
studied. Little time remains for prospection and
excavation; and unless advantage is taken of
it, w e shall soon have to abandon, once and for
all, the hope of further important discoveries
like the recent one of the fortified site of Buhen.
As soon as it was informed of the plans for
building the dam, the Sudanese Antiquities
Service drew up a programme of work to be
done. But it cannot be carried out quickly
enough without foreign assistance. The Sudanese
Government therefore hopes that foreign specialists will be willing to take over part of the
operations under the Service’s direction. It has
also asked Unesco to have a photogrammetric
map made similar to the one being prepared for
Egyptian Nubia by the French National Geographical Institute. In 1956-57,its Survey Department carried out a general aerial survey; and the
photographs thus obtained, interpreted with
the help of an expert sent out by Unesco,provide
material for preparing an archaeological map.
The Service does not, however, have enough
staff to prepare the photogrammetric map
which is essential to research.
In return for any assistance that may be granted,
the Government of the Sudan has stated that,
under the legislation in force in the Sudan,
anyone carrying out excavations is entitled to
> o per cent of the finds, except for specimens
needed to complete the national collections.
H.E. Mr. Ziada Arbab, Minister of Education,
has also pointed out that the prehistory, history
and archaeology of this area are less well known
than in the case of Egyptian Nubia, so that
research prospects should arouse great interest
in learned circles.
The request of the Sudan
A world-wide campaign
The Government of the Republic ofthe Sudan,in
its turn,had drawn Unesco’sattentionto the monuments and sites in Sudanese territory which were
threatened by the building of the dam,urging that
international aid should also be extended to
Sudanese Nubia. This area, though less rich in
famous monuments than Egyptian Nubia, in-
After considering all the problems connected
with the saving of the Nubian monuments,
the Executive Board decided to grant the Governments of the United Arab Republic and the
Sudan the assistance they had requested. To give
effect to this decision, it asked the DirectorGeneral to launch,on behalf of Unesco, an appeal
for international co-operation. The two governments have agreed that a single appeal should
be made for assistance to both countries.
Therefore, on 8 March 1960, Unesco will
launch a world-wide campaign to secure offers
ofparticipation in the work. The Director-General
has set up an International Action Committee
of eminent persons to help in organizing the
campaign. It is also expected that national committees w
ill be formed for the same purpose in
individual Member States. The Director-General
has further decided that the campaign should be
sponsored by a Committee of Patrons, of which
His Majesty King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
has graciously consented to act as chairman.
The procedure for international
co-operation
Unesco is itself giving material and technical
support to the Governments of the United Arab
Republic and the Sudan in their preparations
for the work. Its experts have outlined the action
illbe to promote
to be taken.Henceforth,its role w
a great movement of international collaboration
and to act as intermediary between those taking
part in the work and the two governments.
Participation should be as broad as possible.
Offers may be made by governments, public
and private institutions and individuals interested
in the undertaking. They may take a variety
of forms: financial contributions, supply of
equipment, services (sending out of experts or
technicians,training of prospecting teams, excavating, etc.).
Offers are to be addressed to the Directorill be transmitted by him to whichGeneral and w
ever of the two governments they concern.
Financial contributions w
ill also be received
by the Director-Generalon behalf of the government to which they have been offered. The Director-Generalis authorized to set up a trust fund
for this purpose.In the light of his own appraisal
of the needs, he w
ill allocate any funds addressed
to him without being specifically assigned.
In agreement with the Director-General,the
Government of the United Arab Republic has
set up an advisory committee of experts from
different countries. This committee will examine
offers of participation forwarded to the Government of the United Arab Republic and will
advise it on the allocation of work for safeguarding monuments,the use of financial contributions
and the distribution of the material offered in
return for aid.
11. The sites and monuments of Nubia
Nubia in history
Nubia lies on either side of the present frontier
between Egypt and the Sudan. Under the Pharaohs, it was divided into Lower Nubia or the
land of the Uaua (stretching from north of the
First Cataract to the Second Cataract) and Upper
Nubia or Kush (from the vicinity of Buhen to
the north of the Fourth Cataract). This is the part
of the country that Greek and Latin authors
called Ethiopia.
This region is historically interesting because
it offers, side by side, numerous remains left
behind by communities of different origins,
belonging to different cultures. It was the highway to the centre of Africa, a place where the
Mediterranean and African civilizations met, and
seems to have been inhabited uninterruptedly
since prehistoric times.
5
Romantic drawing by Horeau, nineteenth century.
Nubia is seen in the foreground:first the two temples
of Abu Simbel; then that of Wadi es Sebui with
its dromos before it; in front of the peninsula, the
sanctuary of Dendur; a little farther back, the great
temple of Kalabsha; to the west, the temple of
Dakka. Also seen are the sanctuary of Debod with
three ,smallpylons in front of it, and,in the middle of
the river, Philae.
(,
O n the terraces rising up along the Nile,
traces are found of various Palaeolithic industries.
Neolithic rndustries and rock carvings of the same
period are likewise well represented. Between
Neolithic and historic times, there appeared the
‘A Group’ people, as the Archaeological Survey
of Nubia calls them, who where still occupying
Nubia at the time of the early Egyptian dynasties.
Under the Old Kingdom,whose own boundary
extended up to the neighbourhood of the First
Cataract, the Egyptians organized trade with
Nubia and exploited its natural resources.
Egyptian objects dating from the earliest dynas-
ties and the Old Kingdom, probably obtained
by barter, have been found among the offerings
in typical A Group tombs in the Sudan.
Between 2400 and 2000 B.c.,a people from the
south-known as the C Group people-settled
in Lower Nubia and developed a specifically
Nubian civilization there, combining Egyptian
influences with local traditions.
Under the Middle Kingdom, the armies of
the Pharaohs, for the purposes of trade with
the south, occupied the country upstream from
the Second Cataract. The centre of the Sudanese
market was then Kerma, south of the Third
Cataract. The Pharaohs built fortresses along
the road leading to it, including Buhen, near
Wadi Halfa-a quite recent discovery-which
was to be rebuilt under the New Kingdom;
Mirgissa, near Buhen, standing on a rock at the
edge of the Nile; and, further south, Semna
(West) and K u m m a (Semna East), built on either
side of the Nile, which, in this part of its course,
flows in a narrow bed between granite cliffs.
The Egyptians of the New Kingdom penetrated as far as the Fourth Cataract. It was at
this time that so many Egyptian tombs and pious
foundations were built by the Pharaohs along
the banks of the Nile. After the kings of the
XVIIIth Dynasty,RamesesI1had largesanctuaries
like Derr, Gerf Hussein, Wadi es Sebui, Abu
Simbel (in Egyptian Nubia) and Aksha (in Sudanese Nubia) built in stone or hollowed out of the
cliffs. At the same time, Nubians were holding
high positions at the court of the Pharaohs.
Nubia was governed by a viceroy of Kush,
through whom the Nubians were able to place
the priest Herihor on the throne of Egypt in
IO31 B.C.
In 715 B.C. the princes of Kush, whose capital
was at Napata, became Pharaohs of Egypt,
founding the XXVth Dynasty. They reigned
over both Egypt and Nubia and carried Egyptian
civilization as far as the Sixth Cataract. Everywhere in Nubia temples were designed after those
of the Pharaohs. Workers from Memphis came
as far as K a w a to build and decorate the great
sanctuary. This influence continued to be felt
even after the kings of Kush had lost Egypt.
About the sixth century B.c., the capital of the
land of Kush was transferred from Napata to
Meroe (between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts),
and, during the so-called ‘Meroitic’ period,
Kushite culture became less and less Egyptian
and more African. The hieroglyphic writing
changed and a cursive Meroitic script was
used in official documents. A Meroitic style
developed, many remains of which-still hardly
studied at all-are to be found in the Wadi
Halfa area.
In Lower Nubia, Greeks settled in the Dodecaschoenus (so-calledbecause it measured twelve
schenes, or 73 miles). The district later became
a Roman protectorate. Many temples (among
them Philae, Kertassi, Debod, Taffeh, Kalabsha
and Dendur) date from the time of the Ptolemies
or the Roman emperors and were often built
upon the remains of older edifices. Greek’and
Latin inscriptions give us information about
Graeco-Roman Nubia.
During the first centuries of the Christian
era, most of the country was inhabited by the
Nobatae, who were often engaged in struggles
with a nomadic people, the Blemmyes. The
latter had the mastery at Philae, where they came
to worship Isis. A n inscription at Kalabsha
tells us that they were beaten by Silko, king of
the Nobatae. About 3 3 0 A.D., one of Emperor
Justinian’s generals finally drove them from
Philae.
The Nobatae at this time were converted to
Christianity, and churches sprang up all over
Nubia. Then, in the Year LO of the Hegira, the
Arabs conquered the country and all Lower
Nubia soon embraced Islam; the churches were
turned into mosques, and the Christian kingdom
took refuge to the south of Khartoum. But
fortified churches and monasteries of a later date
(thirteenth or fourteenth century A.D.) are also
to be seen in Nubia. These were probably built
at the time when the Coptic communities had
to defend themselves against their Moslem
neighbours.
The sites
Egyptian Nabia. Systematic prospecting was
begun in Egyptian Nubia as soon as the danger
of a rise in the level of the present dam became
apparent. With the means then available, test
excavations were made throughout the threatened
area, up to ground-level I L I .
It cannot, however, be said that there is
nothing more to be discovered; the proof of this
can be seen in the results of the last two seasons’
excavations by German and Italian expeditions.
At Amada, the German school of archaealogy
has uncovered new tombs and houses. At Ikhmindi, a Byzantine city, the archaeologists of the
University of Milan have discovered the city’s
foundation stone in a church outside the walls,
with a late Greek inscription giving the date,
the reasons for building the town and the names
of the architects. Farther north, the same
expedition found, in a tomb, a bronze bowl of
pure Meroitic style,engraved with pastoral scenes.
At Kalabsha, near the already excavated temple,
the Antiquities Service has discovered a chapel
and probably located a sacred lake.
However, no trace has yet been found of the
viceroys’ palace in the vicinity of Aniba, the
capital of Lower Nubia. Nor have the important
tombs and necropolises which must be assumed
to exist in various places been brought to light.
Ideally,all the sites lying between levels 121 and
182 should be excavated. Further excavations at
Ikhmindi, Kasr Ibrim and Sabagora would also
produce much. And investigation of the terraces
above the river would undoubtedly reveal many
Palaeolithic and Neolithic prehistoric sites still to
be explored.
Sudanese Nubiu. Unlike Egyptian Nubia,
this
region has never been systematically prospected.
A ground survey of the area from the Egyptian
frontier to Wadi Halfa and a preliminary aerial
topographic survey from Wadi Halfa to Sarkamatto have revealed some hundred sites, of
which only ten or so have been partially excavated to date.
Several of these sites are of interest to prehistorians. At two points near the Second Cataract,
pre-Chellean tools,possibly of the Kafuan indus-
try, have been located. At little farther south,
a complete sequence of Palaeolithic industries
has been noted, from the Chellean to the Mousterian. ‘Levalloisian’ faceted-platform implements are generally found associated with the
tools of Acheulian, Mousterian and Sebilian
sites, thus offering an opportunity of studying
the relationship of this industry with the others.
Neolithic remains have been discovered in three
places. The great numbers of rock paintings and
carvings of apparently Neolithic origin indicate
that many other sites from that period exist.
Those already excavated have produced material
susceptible to dating by the carbon-14method.
Many A Group burial grounds have never
been excavated. It is still an open question
whether a B Group people with a distinct
culture succeeded the A Group, as the first
investigators supposed, during the time of the
Old Kingdom. Further excavation may give
the answer. The problem of the relationship
of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom civilization
to the Kerma and C Group cultures might be
cleared up in the same manner. Several Middle
Kingdom fortresses have not yet been explored,
such as that of Dorgonarti; Mirgissa has been
only partially excavated. Most of the very many
N e w Kingdom sites, such as the temple of
Rameses 11, at Aksha, have not been touched.
Front of the temple of Gerf Hussein, 90 kilometres
(56 miles) south of the First Cataract. Except for
the peristyle, the main part of the sanctuary is
hollowed out of the Nubian sandstone,which is in
very bad condition. This temple cannot be saved,
as it is in too poor a state and would cost too
much to preserve, but some of the reliefs can be
taken away.
8
Upper part of the outer peristyle of the birth b
house at Philae. A door in the left-hand tower
of the first pylon leads to the room where the mothergoddess came to give birth to her son Horus. The
human figures with cows’ ears adorning the abaci
are characteristic of Hathoric capitals.
Photo Docurncntation and Study Centre on ,Ancient bgypr, Cairo.
Philae
General view of the island of Philae. The monuments of the great sanctuary which can be seen go
back to the XXXth Dynasty;the landing-stageto the
south dates from the time of Pharaoh Nectanebo.
Philae was the last refuge of the worship of Isis
in Christian times. In the background is the island of
Bigeh where, according to legend,part of the body
of Osiris (left leg) was buried and where the goddess
Isis went to hold funeral rites at regular intervals.
Detail of the bas-relief depicting Horus, the hawkheaded god, Isis’ son, with Pharaoh paying homage
to him.
9
Photo Unesco-Laurema
.
.; . .z.
..
The kiosk, part of which has collapsed, at Kertassi,
45 kilometres (28 miles) south of the First Cataract.
It can be transported piecemeal to a Nubian oasis to
be created in the Western Desert near Kalabsha.
Quarry at Kertassi;the wall in front has a monumental
doorway leading to a small recess forming a naos.
This qudrry provided the stone used in the building
of the Philae temples.
Bet a1 Wali, about 56 kilometres (35 miles) south of
the FirstCataract,on the left bank;here Rameses I1 had
a speos hollowed out of the rock; the entrance hall is
now open to the sky. The experts have recommendedcutting this temple out of the cliff. Below:
a protodoric column carved out of the interior of the
rock, in the hypostyle hall, and a detail from a relief,
on the outside, showing prisoners brought before
the king by one of his sons at the end of a campaign in Asia.
0
1
r0:
10
Photo Unesco-Mariani,
The temple of Kalabsha, a few hundred metres south
ofBet a1 Wali, is, except for Philae,the largest GraecoR o m a n foundation in Nubia. Rebuilt by Augustus
on remains dating from the time of Amenophis 11,
it is dedicated principally to the Nubian god Mandulis,
a Nubian version of the god Horus, son of Isis.
Preserved almost in its entiretv. it has manv othei
Temple of Kalabsha: the goddess Isis-Wajet (Smiling with youth), one of the six huge figures carved
on the back of the temple in the ambulatory.
buildings associated with it: landing-stage, quays,
birth house, various chapels. The whole sanctuary
may be moved to the oasis which is to be created at
the same latitude.
Photo Documenrauon and Studv Cenrre on hncrcnr tisv~r.Cairo.
11
A
Pylon of the temple of Dakka, 107 kilometres (67
miles) south of the First Cataract. Sanctuary dedicated to the god Thot by the Ethiopian king Ergamenes,
a contemporary of Ptolemy IV (Evergetes 11). The
earlier foundations go back to Amenemhet I (XIIth
Dynasty), TuthmosisI11and SetiI. This temple will
be removed to one of thetwo oasesto be created in the
Western Desert. When it is dismantled,many blocks
of stone dating from earlier periods, which had been
used overagain,will probably be identified.
12
Dakka: detail from the stile of a door opening into
the main hall of the temple. The goddess of the
First Cataract, Anuket, holding the symbol of life
and the long staff which was originally surmounted
by papyrus fronds,is receiving homage from,
Ptolemy.
Meroitic burial grounds like Jebel Dabarossa
on the right bank of the Nile near Wadi Halfa
and Argin on the left bank have never been
excavated. Lintels found near Argin seem to
indicate that a Meroitic town remains to be
discovered.There are also many tumuli attributed
to a so-called X Group people, which may turn
out to be the Nobatae. Most of the Christian
churches and monasteries have never yet been
investigated at all.
The monuments
Many Nubian monuments lie between levels
I Z I and 1 3 3 and w
ill therefore be submerged
in a few years’time unless action is taken quickly.
Some of them not only provide evidence about
the past, but are unique works of art which
should be kept in the setting where they were
built.
Egyptian Nzlbia. This is especially true of the two
large groups of temples at Philae and Abu
Simbel. The island of Philae, consecrated to Isis,
contains, in an area of some 3 5 0 by 1 3 5 metres,
several monuments, the oldest of which go back
to the XXXth Dynasty (circa 360 B.c.). The
building of the whole group spread over the
entire Ptolemaic period. In the middle of the
island stands the great temple of Isis, with its
pylon 45 metres wide and 18 metres high,bearing
the name of the Pharaoh Nectanebo as well as
the portrait of the last Ptolemy. The colonnade
leading to the temple,with its capitals of flowers,
was built by the Roman emperors. The famous
hosk of Trajan is a portico of fourteen columns,
which was probably used as the landing-stage
€or the procession which took the goddess
out of the island and brought her back to it.
Small chapels also form part of this singularly
harmonious general picture,in which the position
of each item was determined by religious considerations.
At the present time, Philae is under water for
more than nine months out of the year. The
water has destroyed all vegetation on the island,
but has also cleaned the stone by’ ridding it of
its incrustations of salts. The whole group is
well preserved. However, this state of affairs
will change. The island lies between the present
dam and the site of the new one. When the
latter is built, the water-level in this lake-like
stretch will drop to level IOZ; and Philae, which
stands at level 104,w
ill be visible throughout
the year. But the production of electrical energy
will necessitate daily variations in the level
between IOZ and 108-110; such variations are
much more dangerous for the stone of the monuments than total submersion, as the foundations
are likely to be gradually eaten away by the
water. The sanctuariesmust therefore be protected
in sitzl, and this was one of the main problems
facing the experts at their meeting in October I 9 j 9.
The Abu Simbel group must also be protected
where it stands. It comprises two temples cut
into the cliff about 50 metres apart, with only
their fasades visible externally. Sand had, for
centuries, covered the large temple, until its
discovery in 1813.Along its fasade, with their
backs to the cliff, are four colossal figures,about
20 metres high, representing Rameses 11. The
workmanship is perfect in its details, and the
expression all the more admirable for the size
of the faces: each measures 4.17metres from ear
to ear; the nose is 98 centimetres long, each ear
1.06 metre, each eye 84 centimetres.
The interior is hollowed out of the thickness
of the cliff and includes several halls: the largest
of them (18 by 16.69metres) has eight Osirian
pillars, against which stand Io-metre colossi
representing Osiris with the features of Rameses 11. The walls are decorated with scenes
illustrating the Pharaoh’s exploits.
The small temple, dedicated by Rameses to
his consort Queen Nefertari and the goddess
Hathor, is decorated outside by six colossi,
I O metres high, in two groups on either side of
the door. In each group, Queen Nefertari, identified with Hathor, is flanked by two statues of
Rameses.
The ground-levelof the small temple being I 2I,
and that of the large one 125, the whole group
will be submerged for ever in 1968. Even by
September 1963, the maximum water-level w
ill
reach these heights, and the very fragile red
sandstone of Abu Simbel will begin to disin-
tegrate.
The whole area between Philae and Abu
Simbel is rich in monuments, and many of them
13
are threatened. Among them are various stonebuilt temples, like the small New Kingdom
temple at Amada. with its remarkably wellpreserved reliefs, or the large sanctuary at
Kalabsha (to mention only two) ; temples partially
or entirely cut out of the cliff, like Bet a1 Wali,
Gerf Hussein, Derr or Wadi es Sebui; rock
tombs like that of Pennut at Aniba, etc. Each of
these monuments provides priceless information
for historians and bears witness to the art of a
great period. Reliefs in the temple of Bet a1 Wali
illustrate the relations of Rameses I1 with Nubia
and his first campaigns in Asia. Some of the
reliefs inside the speos still show the colours in
which they were painted. The great temple of
Wadi es Sebui still has its sacred avenue or
dromos, lined with sphinxes. The sanctuary,
which has also kept some of its old colours, is
adorned with very well preserved scenes carved
in the rock. At Derr, on the walls of the speos
dedicated to the god Ra, is an account 'ofsome
of the deeds of Rameses 11, etc.
Sudunese i\u~zu. The waters w
ill cover the temple
of Rameses at Aksha, the temple of Buhenwhich still has paintings and carvings in it-two
XVIIIth Dynasty temples at Semna, rock chapels, Middle Kingdom fortresses and some
twenty Christian churches adorned with frescoes.
111. The measures to be taken
The recommendations
of the experts' meeting in Cairo
14
Excavations. The experts at the meeting called by
the Director-Generalin Cairo felt that the necessary excavations could not be carried out in the
short time available without foreign help. They
recommended that the Antiquities Service of the
United Arab Republic should, starting in October 1960,organize an expedition, working for
two seasons of six months (October to March), in
which foreign experts on prehistory would help
to discover any Lower and Upper Palaeolithic
remains and any possible traces of the Neolithic,
and to decide on the sites where excavations
were to be conducted. These sites would then be
assigned by the Antiquities Service,after consultation with the Advisory Committee,to Egyptian
and foreign institutions. The experts considered
that the archaeological sites could be assigned in
the same manner. In their view, several sites
above level I Z I which had already been explored
should be investigated again, mainly with regard
to the Late Period and Coptic'Nubia;for this, the
collaboration of Egyptologists and Coptic and
Islamic scholars would be required. The first
necessity would be to revise the archaeological
map of the area, with the help of the photogrammetric surveys and systematic test excavations.
The experts gave priority to the study
of the various proposals for preserving Abu
Simbel and Philae in situ. For Abu Simbel,they
favoured the plan to build an earth-and rockfilled dam abutting on the rock face at two points
700 metres apart, to the north and south of the
temples. The whole group of rocky spurs out of
which the temples are cut would thus be protected from the water. The distance between the
temple facades and the crest of the dam,
300 metres, would be great enough to leave the
appearanceof the site as faras possible unimpaired.
At Philae,the experts were in favourof creating
an artificial lake which would never rise above
level IOZ and would be cut off from the Aswan
reservoir by low earth- and rock-filled dykes.
The experts pointed out that these two projects could be undertaken only after preliminary
topographical, geological and hydraulic surveys
and studies had been made, for which specialists
would be needed. By agreement between the
Monuments.
Photo Christmne Desroches-Noblecourt
Wadi es Sebui, 150 kllometres (94 miles) south of
the First Cataract. Inner court of the temple (which
was dedicated by Rameses I1 to the gods A m o n - R a
and Ra-Horakhti). This is the only temple which still
has its dromos. On either side of the peristyle are the
shafrs of Osirian pillars. The double doorway built in
the old Pharaonic entrance was that of the Coptic
church installed inside.
Temple of Wadi es Sebui. During the Coptic period,a
niche in the back wall of the Holy of Holies was
ornamented with a picmre of the apostle Peter.
Yet the Pharaonic effigies were allowed to remain:
Rameses I1 still venerates the sacred boat of the sun
god and offers flowers to the lord of the shrine.
The carved blocks would have to be cut out of the
rock. The pylons are in too bad a condition to
be dismantled. The colossi, some of which are
broken,and the statues of the dromos can be removed
to a museum.
w
Interior of the T o m b of Pennut, hollowed out of
a cliff near Aniba, 2 3 0 kilometres (144miles) south of
the First Cataract. A small room qf the funerary
chapel remains ; it contains painted low-relieffigures,
accompanied by inscriptions. This room will have
to be cut out of the rock and moved to the neighbourhood of the proposed oasis.
Photo Unesco-Mariani
16
A covered street in the Byzantine city of Ikhmindi.
These piled stones show how an ancient settlement
looks before systematic excavation. But the efforts
of excavators will not be fruitless. Even if the
work of levelling does not bring treasures or art
objects to light, it will certainly yield information
about this still little known period in the history of
ChristianNubia. Besides the city’s foundation stone,
other material essential to an understanding of the
way in which the towns of the period were laid out
has already been discovered;it will thus be easier to
explore similar sites elsewhere in Nubia profitably.
Ikhmindi,on the left bank of the river,is 1 2 0 kilometres (75 miles) from Aswan and not far from the
small temple of Maharraqah.
The rock of Ibrahim,about forty metres high, some
230 kilometres (144 miles) from Aswan, bears the
remains ofa huge fortress,the ruins of which should
be re-excavated.This fortified city once sheltered the
Roman soldiers of Petronius,and later the Bosnians
whom the Sultan Selim installed there in the sixteenth
4 century.In Pharaonic times, it defended the whole
region. O n the blocks of stone re-usedin the constructionofits public buildings,thenamesof Tuthmosis
(XVIIIth Dynasty) and Taharka (XXVth Dynasty)
have been discovered. The nearby burial grounds
should likewisebe excavated; they will certainly yield
tombs of the late Pharaonic period, Meroitic graves
and Christian and Arab tombs. The church,which
was converted into a mosque, will be taken down
and reassembled elsewhere.
Photo Unesco-Laurcnza
Photo Unesco-Laurenza.
Kasr Ibrim caves. In the lower part of the immense
cliff, four niches were hollowed out and decorated
under the New Kingdom. The first two go back
to Tuthmosis I11 and Rameses 11,the third to Queen
Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis 111. The last is dedicated
to Amenophis 11: the king is seen receiving tribute
from the peoples of the south. As the white line
marking the winter water-level indicates,two of the
niches are submerged almost throughout the year.
Several decorated niches exist along the banks of the
Nile; not all of them can be saved. The chapels
of Abu O d a and Jebel Shams, farther south, can
be cut out of the rock and moved to a nearby site.
- Y
... .
n2-I”’
’
.
-. ,... .
I
17
Government of the United Arab Republic and
Unesco, a consulting engineer has been appointed
to carry out this preliminary work during 1960.
Only when the results of these studies are available will it be possible to make an accurate estimate of the cost of the projects. Provisional
estimates would indicate that between 3 0 and
60 million dollars may be needed for Abu Simbel,
and 4 million dollars for Philae.
The experts drew up a list of some twenty
monuments to be transferred. The rock temples
will be cut out of the cliff and transported in one
or more sections, as may be decided by the
technicians responsible for the work after consultation with the Egyptian Antiquities Service.
be dismantled, transFree-standing temples
ported and reassembled. In order to obviate
difficultiesdue to the poor condition of the monuments, a mission consisting, for example, of a
geologist and an architect specializing in restoration work should spend at least two months on
a preliminary study.
The experts recommended that every effort
should be made to assign to each of the monuments removed a setting comparable with that
of the place where it originally stood.
The Egyptian Antiquities Service will have the
responsibility of drawing up a list of rock carvings
and inscriptions, deciding how they are to be
transferred, and choosing those to be offered in
return for foreign aid.
will
Docmzentation.The experts also considered that the
work being done by the Documentation and
Study Centre (epigraphic, archaeological,photographic and other surveys) should be continued.
They estimated that, for this purpose, the centre
18
would need the assistance of about forty experts
(epigraphists,archaeologists,architects).
Work planned by the Sudan
The Sudanese Antiquities Service first intends to
have a ground survey made simultaneously on
both banks of the Nile by two separate teams.
Since there are so many sites to be explored and
so little time remains, it wishes to send out two
excavating teams on each bank,with a prospecting
team making a general survey ahead of them.
Known sites would be excavated during the first
season, while the prospecting teams would prepare for the second year’s work. The latter, with
the help of prehistorians and epigraphists might
also survey the rock carvings and inscriptions,
photographing and copying them and possibly
removing some of them to safety.
Most of the monuments in Sudanese territory
are built of sun-dried brick and cannot be dismantled. But the four stone temples of Aksha,
Buhen, Semna West and K u m m a should be
moved.
These are the measures whereby it should be
possible to save, so that men may know and
admire it, a heritage shared by all. The task is
too great for the resources of the countries concerned but it is a matter of importance far beyond
their frontiers. A unified effort throughout mankind can and must make it a success:can,because
the most highly qualified experts have unhesitatingly pronounced the undertaking feasible; must,
because the representatives of the twenty-four
countries on the Executive Board have unanimously judged it necessary.
Abu Simbel
A b u Simbel is 280 kilometres (175 miles) from
the First Cataract. Both the great temple and
the small temple are foundations of Rameses 11.
The king’s image is to be seen everywhere on
the walls and pillars; his mother, wife, daughters
and sons also appear. The experts consider that
the two sanctuaries surrounded by steles carved
in the rock must be preserved in their original setting.
They have recommended that an earth and rock-fill
d a m be built so as to keep intact the cliffs in which
the temples have been hollowed out. The trees
which are a feature of the landscape and the stretch
of water not far from the terrace of the great temple
could remain. A pumping station, as for all dams,
would provide protection against the inevitable slight
infiltration. A s a first step, the mountain and subsoil must be entirely consolidated and made watertight. A preliminary study will be made before
the plans for the work are prepared. The Government of the United Arab Republic is bearing twothirds, and Unesco one-third,of the cost of the study.
With the proposed dam, the sun’s rays will no longer
reach as far as the inner sanctuary, but somewhat
i
l
l still touch the faGade and will
later in the day, w
Photo Docurnencarion and 5rudy Lenrrc on Ancient txypt, Cairo.
just enter the large sanctuary. The gentle slope of
the d a m will, as far as possible, avoid giving the site
the enclosed tank appearance which might be created
by other methods of protection in sittr. The temples
and chapels in the neighbourhood, dismantled or
cut out of the rock, could be given n e w positions in
the oasis planned to the west of Abu Simbel.
General view of the site of A b u Simbel. Philo of
Byzantium would certainly have included this spot
among the Wonders of the World if he had known
of its existence. The study being made by the
Documentation and Study Centre for Ancient Egypt
will probably reveal what political and religious,
as well as aesthetic, reasons Rameses I1 had for
choosing this site.
Photo Unesco-Laurenza.
Fasade of the great temple of A b u Simbel. The
fasade is 33 metres high and 38 metres wide. It may
be compared to a pylon cut into the pink sandstone.
Above the monumental entry flanked by four colossi,
the morning sun god, Ra-Horakhti, is depicted.
On the leg of the first colossus to the left of the
door, a Greek inscription (the oldest in Egypt)
reveals that the armies of Psammetichus I1 passed
this way.
20
Osirian pillars of the inner entrance hall of the great
temple. They line the central bay leading to the
hypostyle hall, and are as famous as the colossi of
the fagade. Their colour is almost entirely gone, but
they have preserved the likeness of Rameses. In
this photograph, they are lighted by the sun’s rays
which, in the morning, strike into the interior of
the temple, which extends 63 metres into the rock.
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN
F O R T H E PRESERVATION
O F ’ T H EM O N U M E N T S O F N U B I A
A N APPEAL
LAUNCHED O N 8 M A R C H 1960
BY T H E D I R E C T O R - G E N E R A L
O F UNESCO
U N E S C O
W
has begun on the great Aswan
dam. Within five years,the Middle Valley of the Nile will be turned into a
vast lake. Wondrous structures,ranking among the most magnificent on
earth,are in danger of disappearing beneath the waters. The dam will bring
ORK
fertility to huge stretchesof desert; but the opening up of new fields to the
tractors,the provision of new sources of power to future factoriesthreatens
to exact a terrible price.
True, when the welfare of suffering human beings is at stake, then,
if need be,images of granite and porphyry must be sacrificedunhesitatingly.
But no one forced to make such a choice could contemplate without
anguish the necessity for making it.
It is not easy to choose between a heritage of the past and the present
well-being of a people, living in need in the shadow of one of history’s
most splendid legacies,it is not easy to choose between temples and crops.
I would be sorry for any man called on to make that choice who could
do so without a feeling of despair; I would be sorry for any man who,
whatever decision he might reach, could bear the responsibility for that
decision without a feeling of remorse.
It is not surprising,therefore,that the governments of the United Arab
Republic and Sudan have called on an international body,on Unesco,to
try to save the threatened monuments. These monuments,whose loss may
be tragically near,do not belong solely to the countries who hold them in
trust. The whole world has the right to see them endure. They are part of
a common heritage which comprises Socrates’ message and the Ajanta
frescoes, the walls of Uxmal and Beethoven’s symphonies. Treasures of
universal value are entitled to universal protection.When a thing of beauty,
whose loveliness increases rather than diminishes by being shared,is lost,
then all men alike are the losers.
Moreover, it is not merely a question of preserving something which
may otherwise be lost;it is a question of bringing to light an as yet undiscovered wealth for the benefit of all. In return for the help the world gives
ill open the whole of their
them,the governments of Cairo and Khartoum w
countries to archaeological excavation and w
ill allow half of whatever
works of art may be unearthed by science or by hazard to go to foreign
museums. They will even agree to the transport,stone by stone,of certain
monuments of Nubia.
A new era of magnificent enrichment is thus opened in the field of
Egyptology. Instead of a world deprived of a part of its wonders, mankind may hope for the revelation of hitherto unknown marvels.
So noble a cause deserves a no less generous response.It is, therefore,
with every confidence that I invite governments, institutions,public or
private foundations and men of goodwill everywhere to contribute to the
success of a task without parallel in history.Services,equipment and money
are all needed. There are innumerable ways in which all can help.It is fitting
that from a land which throughout the centuries has been the scene ofor the stake in-so many covetous disputes should spring a convincing
proof of internationalsolidarity.
‘Egypt is a gift of the Nile’;for countless students this was the first
Greek phrase which they learnt to translate. May the peoples of the world
unite to ensure that the Nile,in becoming a greater source of fertility and
power does not bury beneath its waters marvels which w e of today have
inherited from generations long since vanished.
n
U
e
S
C
0
International campaign
to save
monuments of Nubia
Donations to save the monuments of Nubia may
be sent to Unesco, place de Fontenoy, Paris-7e
or to any of the banks listed below. Cheques,
money orders, etc., should be made payable to
Unesco (Nubia Account). Donations may be
made in any currency.
Campagne internationale
pour la sauvegarde des
monuments de la Nubie
Les dons destints h la sauvegarde des monuments
de la Nubie peuvent stre adressts ?i l'Unesco,
place de Fontenoy,Paris-7e,ou stre versts l'une
des banques dont la liste suit. Les chtques,mandats, etc., doivent etre ttablis h l'ordrede 1'Unesco
(Compte Nubie). Les dons sont recevables en
toutes monnaies.
Afghanistan, D a Afghanistan Bank, Kabul.
Albanie, State Bank of Albania, Tirana.
Argentina, The First National City Bank of New
York, Buenos Aires.
Australia, Commonwealth Trading Bank of Australia, Sydney, N SW.
Austria, Creditanstalt-Bankverein,Wien I.
Belgique, Banque de la Socittt gtntrale de Belgique,
Bruxelles
I.
Bie'lorussie (RSS de), Banque d'8tat
de YURSS,
Mos kva.
Bolivia, Banco Central de Bolivia, La Paz.
Bre'sil, The First National City Bank of New York,
Rio de Janeiro.
Bukarie, Banque nationale de Bulgarie, Sofia.
Burma, Lloyds Bank Limited, Rangoon.
Cambodge, Banque de l'Indochine, Phnom-Penh.
Canada, The Royal Bank of Canada,Ottawa, Onta-
rio.
Ceylon, The Chartered Bank, Colombo I.
Chile, The First National City Bank of New York,
Santiago de Chile.
China, Bank of Taiwan, Taipeh.
The First National City Bank of New
York, Bogot6.
Costa Rica, Banco Anglo-Costarricense, San
Jost.
Cuba, The First National City Bank of New York,
La Habana.
Denmark, Kjobenhavns Handelsbank A/S,K$benhavn.
Ecuador, Banco Central del Ecuador, Quito.
El Salvador, Banco de Comercio de El Salvador,
San Salvador.
EspZna, Banco Hispano-Americano,Madrid.
Ethiopia, State Bank of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
Finland, Helsingfors Aktiebank, Helsinki.
France, Socittt gtntrale, Agence AG, Paris;
Paris.
Compte courant postal no 11.723-16,
Germany (Federal Republic of), Deutsche Bank AG,
Frankfurt a m Main.
Ghana, Barclays Bank DCO,Accra.
Grdce, Banque commerciale de Grkce, AthCnai.
Guatemala, Bank of London 8c Montreal Ltd.,
Guatemala.
Guine'e,BNCI,Konakry.
Colombia,
Haiti, Banque nationale de la Rtpublique $Haiti,
Perk, The First National City Bank of New York
Port-au-Prince.
Honduras, Banco de Honduras, Tegucigalpa,
Phil@pines, The First National City Bank of New
York, Manila.
DC.
Hongrie, National Bank of Hungary, Budapest.
India, Lloyds Bank Ltd. New Delhi I.
Indonesia, Bank’of Indonesia, Djakarta.
Iran, Bank Melli, Head Office,Tthtran.
Iraq, Ottoman Bank, Baghdad.
Israel, Bank Leumi Le-Israel,BM, Haifa.
Italie, Banco di Roma, Roma.
Japan, The First National City Bank of New York,
TBkyB.
Jordan, Ottoman Bank, Amman.
Korea, The Bank of Korea, Seoul.
Kuwait, British Bank of the Middle East,
Lima.
AI
Kuwait.
Laos, Banque de l’Indochine,Vientiane.
Liban, The First National City Bank of New York,
Beyrouth.
Liberia, The Bank of Monrovia,Monrovia,
Libya, BarclaysBank DCO,Tripoli
Luxembourg, Banque gtntrale du Luxembourg.
Luxembourg.
Malaya (Federated States of), The First National
City Bank of New York,Kuala Lumpur.
Maroc, BNCI (Afrique), Rabat.
Mixico, The First National City Bank of New
York, Mtxico DF.
Monaco, Lloyds Bank (Foreign) Ltd., MonteCarlo.
Nepal, Nepal Bank, Katmandu.
Netherlands, Amsterdamsche Bank NV, ’s-Gravenhage.
N e w Zealand, Bank of New Zealand,Wellington,
Cr.
Nicaragua, Banco National de Nicaragua,Managua.
Nigeria (Federation of), British Bank of West
Africa, Lagos.
Norway, Den Norske Creditbank, Oslo.
Pakistan, Lloyds Bank Ltd., Karachi.
Paraguay, The First National City Bank of New
York, Asunci6n.
Pologne, Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SA,Wars-
zawa.
Repkblica Dominicana, Banco de Reservas de la
Rep6blica Dominicana, Ciudad Trujillo.
First National City
Bank of New York,Cairo (Ggypte); Banque de
Syrie et du Liban, Damas (Syrie).
Roumanie, Banque d’fitat de la Rtpublique populaire roumaine,Bucuresti.
Saudi Arabia, The First National City Bank of
New York, Jeddah.
Sierra Leone, Barclays Bank D C O ,Freetown.
Singapore, The First National City Bank of New
York, Singapore.
Somaliland, Banco di Roma,Mogadiscio.
Sudan, Barclays Bank D C O , Khartoum.
Sweden, Stockholms Enskilda Bank,Stockholm 16.
Suisse, Banque populaire suisse, Zurich.
Tchicoslovaquie, Sthtnf Banka Ceskoslovenska,
Praha 3.
Thailand, The Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok.
Tunisie, BNCI (Afrique), Tunis.
Turquie, Banque ottomane, direction, Ankara.
Ukraine (RSS d’), Banque d’8tat de I’URSS,
Moskva.
United Kingdom, Lloyds Bank (Foreign) Ltd., IO
Moorgate,London ECz.
U R S S , Banque d’atat de l’URSS,Moskva.
Uruguay, The First National City Bank of New
York, Montevideo.
U S A , The First National City Bank of New York,
1 5 Wall Street, New York ~ j .
Venextiela, The First National City Bank of New
York, Caracas.
Vitt-nam, Banque franGaise de l’Asie, Saigon.
West Indies (Federation of the), Barclays Bank
D C O , Port of Spain (Trinidad).
Yougodavie, Banque nationale de la Rtpublique
ftdtrative populaire de Yougoslavie,Beograd.
Rdpublique arabe unie, The
Printed in France by Paul Dupont, Paris.
21
Photo Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt.
22
Faqade of the small temple consecrated to Queen
Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. The queen,
between two statues of the king, seems to be walking
out of the mountain. The royal couple’s children
are shown at their feet.
The crowning of Nefertari. The queen’s headdress is supported and protected by the two goddesses.
This scene on one of the walls of the pronaos has
kept its colours, as have most of the reliefs in the
temple. The wall decoration is almost entirely
devoted to the queen; her husband appears when
tradition requires, for example, when he is crushing
the empire’s enemies, and he is then accompanied
by his consort. The style is evolving towards long,
elegant forms.
23
0
1
4
0
Semna. A wall partly rebuilt by Pharaoh Amenophis I1 shows the king offering a vase to the god
Knoum of the First Cataract.
4 Aerial view of the fortress of Mirgissa in the Sudan.
It stands on a steep rock near the Nile south of
Buhen. A postmaster’s records, dating back 4,000
years,were recently discovered there. The surrounding wall is of dried brick. The same site contains
the ruins of a small temple built by Sesostris 111.
25
Photo The Oriental Institute. Chicago.
The fortresses of Semna and K u m m a , 70 kilometres
(44 miles) south of the Second Cataract, date from
the Middle Kingdom. Each of them has a small
temple founded by Queen Hatshepsut and King
Temple south of Buhen, founded by Hatshepsut
and Tuthmosis 11, completed by Tuthmosis 111.
Some of the protodoric columns which surrounded
three sides of the main part of the sanctuary have
survived.
26
Tuthmosis 111.
Declaration by the Government of the United Arab Republic
concerning the international action to be taken
to safeguard <he monuments and sites of ancient Nubia
Whereas the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization has signified its agreement,
in principle, to the proposals of the Government of
the United Arab Republic concerning international
action for the study and protection of the archaeological monuments of ancient Nubia threatened by
submergence as a result of the construction of the
Aswan High D a m ;
Whereas a meeting of experts appointed by the
Director-General of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization was entrusted
with the task of drawing up a plan of international
action for this purpose;
Whereas this plan of action is to be submitted to
the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization,for consideration at its next session, with a view to a final
decision regarding the assistance which might be
given by this Organization to the proposed international action;
The Government of the United Arab Republic,
Desirous of expressing their gratitude to all such
governments, public foundations and institutions
and private undertakings and persons as, in response
to an appeal by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization,shall have taken
part in this internationalaction,
Hereby declare as follows:
I. Those taking part in the international action may
adopt one or other of the following procedures:
(a) They may assume scientific, technical 'and
financial responsibility for the missions which
are sent to undertake excavation work, in the
threatened area, on sites where inadequate or
no surveys at all have as yet been carried out.
(b) They may assume scientific, technical and
financial responsibility for the preservation,
in their original setting in the threatened area,
of monuments which cannot be removed.
(c) They may assume scientific, technical and
financial responsibility for the transfer, from
the threatened area, of specified items (removal of a temple or part thereof, reliefs of a
speos,a chapel, a wall painting, a statue,etc.).
(d) They may provide scientific, technical or
financial assistance for the work of the Documentation and Study Centre for the History
of the Art and Civilization of Ancient Egypt,
established by the Government of the United
Arab Republic with the aid of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, and responsible for surveys of
the threatened monuments and sites and for
the assembly and co-ordination of all reference material on them.
(e) They may make financial contributions towards the carrying out of one or other of the
above-mentioned tasks or towards the whole
series of operations involved in the safeguarding of the monuments.
2. Subject to the approval of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
offers for participation shall be addressed to that
Organization and transmitted by it to the Government of the United Arab Republic, which will
submit them, for its study and advice,to an Advisory Committee of Experts of different nationalities, the membership and terms of reference of
which will be laid d o w n by this Government in
agreement with the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization. This committee shall be consulted on the location of operations for the safeguarding of cultural prospect,
the utilization of financial contributions and the
distribution of the grants in return offered by
the Government of the United Arab Republic,
as described hereunder.
3 . Offers should contain particulars regarding the
proposed form of participation and the nature
of any grant in return which may be desired.
4. The Government of the United Arab Republic
undertake to grant to parties,whose offers of participation have been accepted, all possible administrative, customs, material and other facilities to
ensure that their contribution to the operations
involved is as effective as possible.
J . Guided by the provisions of the Recommendation,
adopted by the General Conference of the United
Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization on J December 1956, and, in particular,
by paragraph 23 of this Recommendation, concerning the assignment of finds, the Government of
the United Arab Republic will apply the following
provisions in favour of the parties which have
effectively contributed towards the international
action, as a grant in return for this contribution
27
and in the light of the recommendations of the
Advisory Committee of Experts:
(a) The Government w
ill cede at least half the
proceeds of their finds to parties which have
carried out excavations in Nubia, in the
threatened area, on the understanding that
certain items which are unique or essential
for completing the collections most representative of the civilization,history or art of Nubia
shall, in accordance with the provisions of the
above-mentionedRecommendation, be assigned to the museums of the United Arab Republic (Province of Egypt).
(b) The Government will, furthermore,authorize
excavations outside the threatened area, in the
sites of Lower, Middle and Upper Egypt, not
at present forming part of recognized concessions. Assignment of these finds w
ill be .as
specified in sub-paragraph (a) above in the
case of excavationscarried out in the threatened
area. The proposed sites include the Royal
Necropolis of Sakkara.
(c) Lastly, the Government is prepared to cede,
with a view to their transfer abroad, certain
Nubian temples and a large collection of
antiquities from other regions of Egypt,
which are State property. The items which
may be ceded include the Temples of Debod,
Taffeh, Dendur, Ellesya, Derr and certain
inscriptions on rocks and in quarries in the
threatened area, together with statues, steles,
etc., n o w in the State reserves.
6. The transfer abroad of proceeds of excavations or
temples and other antiquities ceded with a view
to such transfer shall be in accordance with the
conditions laid d o w n in paragraph 23(c) of the
above-mentioned Recommendation. In particular,
this property must be allocated within a specific
period of time to museums or scientificcentresopen
to the public, with the proviso that if, without
the consent of the Government of the United
Arab Republic, these conditions are not fulfilled
or cease to be carried out, the released objects w
ill
be returned to the Government.
D o n e at Cairo, on I October 1959
The Minister of Culture and National Guidance
for Egypt,
S A R O ~ TOKACHA
Extract from a letter from the Minister of Education of the Sudan
28
Khartoum, 24 October 1959
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7. [..I In our country, according to the Antiquities
Ordinance (I 95 z Ordinance z)1 every excavator has
always been, and is still, entitled to 50 per cent of
the objects discovered by him; but this is the only
counterpart w e can offer. W e do not possess important reserves in our museum which w e could cede;
w e have no attractive sites like Sakkara to offer as a
favour in return if the finds from an endangered site
are insufficient; furthermore, w e have not enough
temples and chapels in the threatened area to allow
some of them to be transported to foreign countries.
So the only hope that is left to us, after the UAR’s
offer, lies in the fact that the prehistory, history and
archaeology of the area endangered in our territory are
much less-known than Egyptian Nubia and for~this
they might attractenough scholars help us
to undertake,in the short time available,the necessary
work of survey, prospection, excavation, removal
and documentation,necessary to ensure that at least
a part of the history of our country-and thus of the
world in general-will be safeguarded for future
generations.
8. It is because w e need considerable aid from abroad
to accomplish the above-mentioned work that our
Government applies to your Organizatian in order
that they may launch an appeal for financial,technical
and scientific participation in the action our Government is planning for this purpose. It would be of the
utmost help to us if participants would be prepared
to undertake-under the general direction of our
Antiquities Service-a specific part of the work to
be done,for instance the prehistoric and archaeological
survey of a definite part of the threatened area, or
the removal of a certain temple from that zone.
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ZIADA
ARBAB
Minister of Education, Republic of the Sudan
I.
17.
The relevant provisions in this Ordinance are as follows:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Upon the ending of the excavations and at such time or times, if any,
during the course thereof as he may think fit,the Commissioner [for
Archaeology] shall select and claimon behalf ofthe Sudan Government
such of the antiquities discovered as are in his opinion indispensable
either for the scientific completeness of the Sudan Government
Museum or for the purpose of illustrating the history of art of the
Sudan.
z. Upon the ending of the excavations the Commissioner shall divide the
antiquities other than those selected under suh-section 1 of this section
into tvo groups as nearly as possible equal in intrinsic and archaeological value and shall allow the licensee to choose one such group.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I.
4 Monumental gate of Debod, a small temple zo kilornctres (I? miles) from Philae. O n the fasade,
Augustus and Tiberius are portrayed in the company
of the gods. Several peculiar architectural features
(including two communicating niches) add to the
interest of the monument.
Temples and objects offered
as a counterpart
by the United Arab Republic
Dendur, a small sanctuary 77 kilometres (48 miles)
from Aswan, dcdicared by Augustus to several
divinities and to two heroes w h o had perished
by drowning. It still has most of its component
parts: platfiorm serving as a quay, monumental entry,
sanctuary proper.
Photo.Christime Desroches-Noblecourt.
The Government of the United Arab Republic
is prepared to offer, in return for foreign aid: the
temple of Debod, built by a Nubian king contemporary with the first Ptolemies, with a m o n u m e n tal gate and sanctuary dating from the time of
Evergetes I1 and Cleopatra; the Taffeh chapel of
the R o m a n period; the temple of Dendur, built
(continued on page 30)
Great rock temple of Derr, zoo kilometres (123 miles)
from Aswan, dedicated by Rameses I1 to the god RaHorakhti. The Government of the United Arab
Republic is offering the whole monument to those
taking part in the work for saving it. The reliefs
and pillars can be taken away and will be important
items in various museums. They will have to be cut
out of the rock. Traditional scenes of the reign of
Rameses-which no museum yet possesses-providc
a rich store of historical, artistic and religious data.
Scenes from Nubian life are also found.
29
by Augustus and later converted into a Christian
chapel; the great temple of Derr, a foundation
of Rameses 11, dedicated by him to the god Ra;
the rock temple of,Ellesya.
It also offers many objects from the State
reserves, including: a bust of Amenophis I1 in
red granite, three sandstone heads and a bust of
Amenophis IV,a sandstone statue of King Senusert I, represented as Osiris with the crown of
Upper Egypt, and a sandstone head of the same
king (all these items being from Karnak) ; tables
for offerings, wooden statues, alabaster vases,
earthenware, jewellery found in the Sakkara
tombs;a granite statue and a bust of the goddess
Sekhmet from Gurnah;sarcophagi from the same
site; alabaster vases and tables from the Step
Pyramid of Zoser at Sakkara, etc.
A m o n g the busts and statues from the reserves of the
great temple at Karnak which are being offered in
return for foreign aid (including a monumental statue
of Sesostris I portrayed as Osiris, and images of New
Kingdom sovereigns) is this very fine head of the great
Tuthmosis 111.
30
The religious reform which the heretic king Amenophis IV tried to impose at Thebes left but few
traces behind, among them the pseudo-Osiriancolossi
of the temple which he consecrated to the rising sun,
east of Karnak. The Government of the United
Arab Republic is offering four fragments of these
colossi; one of them still has the head and bust (I. 34
metres high).
Alabaster vessels found in underground chambers
of the Step Pyramid of King Zoser at Sakkara. The
most recent of these items go back to the IIlrd
Dynasty.
Phoro tgyptian Antiquities Scrvicc.
Sarcophagus in painted, stuccoed wood, dating from
the end of the N e w Kingdom, with the likeness of
a noble lady, buried in a tomb which had already
been used under the XVIIIth Dynasty for Kheruef, a high official of Amenophis 111.
This is one of the most original of the ancient Coptic
items offered, bearing crosses which are not always
found on the monuments of this period. The lintel
m7as discovered at Karnak.
Photo hgyptian Antiquities kerviu.
This offering table is among various objects from
Sakkara which are being offered, dating from the
IVth Dynasty to the end of the VIth.
Access to temples threatened with submersion
The periods during which the ground-level of the
various temples will be above water are given below,
on the basis of information supplied on 1 2 December
1959 by the President of the Sadd el Aali Department.
Each temple’s name is followed by a figureindicating,in metres, the altitude ofits ground-level;next are
indicated the days of each year during which the
ground will be dry if the floods should be abnormal
and, in parentheses, the days if the floods should
be normal.From 1968 onwards,the ground-levelof
all the temples is expected to be permanently under
water.
PMae
IO^]
1960: zo July-31August (20 July-io September);
1961to 1963 : zo July-5August (15 July-5August);
1964:z5 July-5August (15 July-5August); 1965 and
thereafter: never.
Debod [1051
1960: zo July-z5 August (IO July-30 September);
1961 to 1966:20 July-5August (15 July-5August);
1967 and thereafter: never.
Kertassi [I I 51
1960: I 5 June-r5 September (IO June-5November);
1961and 1962:1 5 June-IoSeptember (IO June-zoOctober); 1963:1 5 June-z5August (IO June-zjAugust);
1964: 1 5 June-15 August (IO June-15 August);
1965:I July-15August (20 June-15August); 1966:
5 July-15
August (zj June-15August); 1967:IO July-15
August (I July-15August); 1968and thereafter:never.
Taffeh [IOZ]
Never.
Bet al Wali
[IZZ]
1960to 1963:at all times; 1964:I January-IoOctober
(I January-3
I October); I965: I June-5 September
(25 May-Io October); 1966: IO June-5 September
(5 June-5 September); 1967: 20 June-5 September
(IO June-5September); thereafter: never.
Kalabsha [I I01
1960: 5 July-31August (zj June-zoOctober); 1961
32
and 1962: 5 July-zoAugust (zj June-25 August);
1963:5 July-zoAugust (25 June-zoAugust); 1964:
5 July-5August (25 June-IoAugust); 1965:15 July5 August (5 July-5August); 1966: 15 July-5August
(IO
July-5August); 1967: 20 July-5August ( 1 5 July-
5 August); thereafter:never.
Dendur [ I I ~ ]
1960:1 5 June-roSeptember (IO June-5November);
1961and 1962:z5 June-5September (IO June-15October); 1963: 1 5 June-zjAugust (IO June-zjAugust);
1964: 1 5 June-IoAugust (IO June-13August); 1965:
I July-r5August (20 June-15August); 1966:5 July1 5 August (zj June-15August); 1967: IO July-15August (I July-I5 August); 1968 and thereafter: never.
Gerj Hussein [IZJ]
1960 to 1963:at all times; 1964:I January-25October
(I January-15November); 1965: I May-zoSeptember
(25 April-31 October); 1966: 20 May-zo September
(I 5 May-zo September); I 967: 5 June-zo September
(I June-zo September); thereafter: never.
Maharraqah [I I4
1
1960:I 5 June-IoSeptember (IO June-5 November);
1961and 1962:I ) June-5September (IO June-IoOctober); 1963: 1 5 June-zyAugust (IO June-z>August);
1964:1 5 June-IoAugust (IO June-IoAugust); 1965:
I July-rjAugust (20 June-15August); 1966:5 July1 5 August (zj June-15 August); 1967: IO July-15
August (I July-I5 August); 1968 and thereafter:
never.
Dakka
[IIO]
1960:5 July-25August (zs June-zoOctober); 1961
and 1962:5 July-zoAugust (25 June-25August);
1963: 5 July-roAugust (zj June-zoAugust); 1964:
5 July-5August (25 June-IoAugust); 1965:1 5 July-5
August (5 July-5Aug-ast); 1966: 1 5 July-5August
(IO July-5August); 1967:20 July-5August (15 July5 August); 1968 and thereafter: never.
Wadi es Sebui [IZI]
1960to 1963:at alltimes; 1964:I January-IoSeptember
(I January-zo October); 1965: 25 June-31August
(5 June-Io September); 1966: 1 5 June-31 August
(IO June-31
August); 1967:zj June-31August in both
cases ; I968 and thereafter: never.
A m a d a [IZ~]
1960to 1964:at all times;1965:I January-5November
(I
(I
(I
January-5December); 1966: IO April-Io October
March-5 November); 1967:5 March-Io October
March-5November); 1968and thereafter:never.
Derr
[IZI]
1960to 1963:at all times; 1964: I January-IoSeptember (I January-zoOctober); 196j: zj June-31August
(IO June-Io September); 1966: 1 5 June-31 August
(IO June-31 August); 1967: zs June-?' August
(IS June-31 August); 1968 and thereafter: never.
Ehya
*4niDn [ I Z ~ ]
1960 to 1963:at all times: 1964: I January-IjOctober
(I January15 November); 1965: I &larch-rj September (zj February-31 October); 1966: 20 May-ry September (I j May-Ij September); I 967: 5 June-1j September (zj May-15 September); 1968 and thereafter:
never.
[I I01
1960 to 1962: j July-jAugust (zj June-zoAugust);
1963 and 1964: j July-5 August (zj June-jAugust);
1965; 1 5 July-j August (j July-jAugust); 1966 and
1967:20 July->August (IO July-jAugust); 1968 and
thereafter: never.
I h r h (Chapels) [I I 3-1 I j]
1960: 20 June-no August (15 June-zo October);
1961to 1963:20 June-rjAugust (15 June-zoAugust);
1964: 20 June-j August (15 June-Io August); 1965:
5 July-jAugust (25 June-IoAugust); 1966: IO Julyj August (I July-IoAugust); 1967: 15 July-jAugust
(5 July-Io August); 1968 and thereafter: never.
Abu Simbel [ I Z ~ ]
1960 to 1963: at all times; 1964: I January-15October
(I January-rjNovember); 196j: I March-Ij September (zj February-31October); 1966: 20 May-Io September (IS May-Io September); 1967: 5 JuneIO September (zj May-Io September); 1968 and
thereafter: never.
A d a [14j];A b i i Odu [I~o];Ballatja [I~o-1601
Until 1968, the ground-level of these three temples
will at all times be above water.
Cover: photos by Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt
Titer page: photo by IGN
Published in 1960 by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
Place de Fontenoy, Paris-7e. Printed in France
by Paul Dupont, Paris.
(3)
Unesco
1960
CUA.60/D.ZZ/A