Temple Of Ellesyia
During Akhenaten's reign (1352-1336), the decorations were chiseled at various points. Rameses II (1279-1213) later restored it, remodeling the triad in the rear niche with Amon, Horus, and the king. Eventually, it became a Christian place of worship, evident from crosses and five-pointed stars engraved on the entrance portal and interior walls.
Being within the area slated to be submerged by Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan High Dam, the temple of Ellesiya is also part of UNESCO's mission to rescue Nubian temples. Arriving in Turin in 1967, the structure was reconstructed in the museum's wing dedicated to Ernesto Schiaparelli.
During the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the Nubian monument salvage campaign guided by the UNESCO in the 1960s, the temple was moved to the Museo Egizio at Turin in order to save it from being submerged by Lake Nasser.
See also
The four temples donated to countries assisting the relocation are:
- Temple of Debod (Madrid, Spain)
- Temple of Dendur (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States)
- Temple of Taffeh (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, the Netherlands)
- Temple of Ellesyia (Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy)