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1 of 253523 objects
The Island of Philae 1857-59
Albumen print | 15.7 x 20.6 cm (image) | RCIN 2701180
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View of the Island of Philae from the south-west with the temple of Isis in its original location. Tall, rocky bank in the foreground with shrubs along the shore; plains and hills in the background with a clutch of palm trees on the right-hand side. Nectanebo I (380-362 BC) was responsible for the earliest visible remains of the temple complex on the island but traces of worship of Isis at Philae can be dated back as early as the XXV Dynasty (747-656 BC). Most of the temple, though, was built between the reigns of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC) and Diocletian (AD 284-305) while the cult of Isis seems to have survived on the site until at least the 6th century and it was indeed in Philae that the latest surviving hieroglyphic inscription was found. In the 1970s the whole complex was dismantled and relocated to the nearby island of Agilqiyya during a UNESCO project to save a series of ancient monuments from the rising waters of Lake Nasser, following the construction of the Aswan High Dam.
Provenance
Acquired by King Edward VII when Prince of Wales
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Creator(s)
(photographer)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Albumen print
Measurements
15.7 x 20.6 cm (image)
37.5 x 28.0 cm (page dimensions)