Philae temple complex

Philae temple complex

Greek: Φιλαί; Arabic: فيلة; Coptic: ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ
The temple of Isis from Philae at its current location on Agilkia Island in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam
Shown within Egypt
Location	Aswan, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
Region	Nubia
Coordinates	24°1′15″N 32°53′22″E / 24.02083°N 32.88944°E / 24.02083; 32.88944
Type	Sanctuary
History
Builder	Taharqa or Psamtik II
Founded	7th or 6th century BC
Abandoned	6th century AD
Periods	Third Intermediate Period or Late Period to Byzantine Empire
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iii, vi
Designated	1979 (3rd session)
Reference no.	88
Region	Arab States

The Philae temple complex (/ˈfaɪliː/; Greek: Φιλαί or Φιλή and Πιλάχ, Arabic: فيلة  Egyptian Arabic: [fiːlæ], Egyptian: p3-jw-rķ' or 'pA-jw-rq; Coptic: ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕϩ,^[1][2] Coptic pronunciation: [ˈpilɑk, ˈpilɑkh]) is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt.

Until the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the temple complex was located on Philae Island, near the expansive First Cataract of the Nile in Upper Egypt. These rapids and the surrounding area have been variously flooded since the initial construction of the Aswan Low Dam in 1902.^[3] The temple complex was dismantled and moved to nearby Agilkia Island as part of the UNESCO Nubia Campaign project, protecting this and other complexes before the 1970 completion of the Aswan High Dam.^[4] The hieroglyphic reliefs of the temple complex are being studied and published by the Philae Temple Text Project of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Institute OREA).^[5]