Nubiana

CHRISTIAN GRECO, DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEO EGIZIO OF TURIN, PREFACE

Even today, 50 years later, the rescue operation to save the temples of Abu Simbel and, more generally, the monuments of Nubia continues to arouse great interest due both to the complexity of the project and the worldwide attention it attracted. The huge lake that would be created by the construction of the Aswan High Dam threatened to destroy vast archaeological areas, some of them unexplored, forever, together with their antiquities and monuments. Thousands of years of history risked being erased in the name of progress!

The outcry that immediately ensued was backed up by appeals from the archaeological community, urging action to record and salvage as much as possible. The result was quite extraordinary, all the more so considering the resources and technologies available at the time.
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