A last regrouping was placed behind the High Dam of Aswan with the temple of Kalabsha as its main feature.

The temple of Kalabsha

Originally this temple was located on the Tropic of Cancer some 50 km south of Aswan. On each side of the river the rocks formed a defile that the locals called the 'Gate of Kalabsha'. In the Greek period, the town was called Talmis.

The rescue excavations of the R.F.A. continued a tradition begun in the middle of the XIX Century (Lepsius expedition between 1843 and 1848). In 1819, Kalabsha was inventoried by the architect Franz Gau. Maspero described it as one of the most beautiful Nubian temples of the Late Period and Henri Gauthier published it (Submerged temples of Nubia 1911-1914).

Today it is located on the site of Khor Ingi behind the High Dam. More than sixteen thousand blocks weighing some thirty tons were dismantled. The rescue excavations found the remains of a Ptolemaic gate, today re-erected in the Museum of Berlin. The king Ergamenes and the emperor Augustus participated in the reconstruction of the temple, whose first version was built under Amenhotep II, a ruler of the XVII Dynasty.

The temple, oriented east-west, has an entrance pylon slightly out of alignment in relation to the central axis. A landing stage with a 72 m long staircase gave access. The temple was built on a Greco-Roman model with intercolumnar walls and composite capitals. The walls are covered with reliefs and numerous hieroglyphic texts.

The main god, Mandulis, is represented under form of the falcon assimilated to Horus (son of Isis and Osiris).

The peristyle court presents some reliefs, among which Ptolemy IX offering a field to Isis, Mandulis and Horus, while Amenhotep II faces the gods Mandulis and Min. There are also Roman inscriptions from the II and III Centuries when the empire had garrisons in Lower Nubia. The decurion Maximos had this prayer inscribed: 'Be merciful, o Mandulis, and incline your head towards me to express your blessing! Save me and save my beloved spouse and my dear children! I constantly appeal to You that my companions should be delivered from all sickness and all hard work and that we should be able to return to our country. How happy are the people that live in the holy city of Talmis, beloved of Mandulis, the sun god who is under the sovereign authority of Isis, the goddess with the beautiful hair and with the many names!'

The decoration of the hypostyle hall was carried out under the reigns of Trajan and Antoninus Pius (II Century AD). There are scenes of ritual adoration and offerings to the gods Mandulis, Min, and Khnum. Also present is the god Dedun, god of incense and the venerated Imhotep, considered during the Late Period as a healing god assimilated with Aesculapius.

Two vestibules lead to the Holy of Holies. The decoration consists of scenes of adoration and classic offerings. On the rear side of the back wall of the sanctuary, Mandulis is depicted on the right as a king with a crown, sceptre and ankh sign and on the left as divine, wearing a headdress with rams horns, solar disc and uraeus.

During his visit to Kalabsha on the 27th of January 1829, Champollion showed his understanding of the complexity of the Egyptian pantheon, beginning with the 'Great Being' because 'these secondary forms establish a broken chain that descends from the heavens and materialises as incarnations on earth and under human form. The last of these incarnations is that of Horus'.

The kiosk of Kertassi

This kiosk, a barque repository, is part of the remains of a small ancient temple dedicated to Isis. It lay some 10 km north of Talmis (Kalabsha) and 30 km from Aswan, between the temples of Debod (given to Spain) and Taffe (today in Leiden, Holland).

It was built under Trajan (AD 98-117) by the architects of Philae. Four columns with composite capitals and two Hathor pillars are all that remains; today its location on a slight rise reproduces the impression that it gave in its original setting.

It is very likely that this small structure is part of the Isis sanctuaries that were the focus of pilgrimages organised by the local Nubian populations. The statue of the Philae temple was carried through all of Nubia to bless the land.

This small temple, to the north of the pass of Kalabsha, was built under Ramses II. The entrance, flanked by two towers, gave access to a court and then to a vestibule and a sanctuary excavated from the rock.

This construction seems to enthuse Champollion: 'there, my eyes were consoled after the barbaric sculptures of the temple of Kalabsha, that were made rich because one no longer knew how to make them beautiful (at Talmis, there were still colours on the walls, including gold), in contemplating the historical reliefs that decorate this speos in a very beautiful style, which we have complete copies of. These tableaux relate to the campaigns against the Arabs (Semites from Canaan, Syro-Palestinians) and the African peoples of the land of Kush at the Third Cataract'.

Its distinctive feature is the historic narrative illustrated in the courtyard, today open to the skies. The Asiatic and African peoples are dominated by the great Ramses. On the south wall, the viceroy of Nubia is escorted by his officers, presenting the Nubians' tribute: cattle, wild animals, monkeys, gazelle, giraffes and precious metals in the form of circular gold ingots. On the north wall are Syrian war scenes. The king is mounted on his chariot and pursues the fleeing population. He attacks a fortress and the Syrians implore his clemency. He treads the vanquished populations underfoot.

In the vestibule are classic scenes of offerings that show Ramses in the company of deities such as Isis and Anukis facing Horus of Buhen and Selkis, or Satis and Khnum.

The sanctuary shelters three much deteriorated statues, but at the by comparison with other speos, we may suppose that the ruler was flanked by Amun and Ra-Horakhty.

The dismantling and re-erection of this speos were carried out thanks to a grant from the United States. Between 1961 and 1965 Egypt undertook the work.