Pharaonic era The ancient Egyptian name of the smaller island meant "boundary". As their southern frontier, the
pharaohs of Egypt kept there a strong garrison, and it was also a barracks for Greek and
Roman soldiers in their turn. The first religious building on Philae was likely a shrine built by Pharaoh
Taharqa of the
25th Dynasty, which was probably dedicated to
Amun. However this structure is only known from a few blocks reused in later buildings, which Gerhard Haeny suspects may have been brought over for reuse from structures elsewhere. The oldest temple to have undoubtedly stood on the island, as well as the first evidence of Isis-worship there, was a small kiosk built by
Psamtik II of the
26th Dynasty. This was followed by contributions from
Amasis II (26th Dynasty) and
Nectanebo I (
30th Dynasty). Some of these pilgrims marked their presence with inscriptions on the temple walls, including votive inscriptions known as
proskynemata, as well as other types. Along with the various contributions of Ptolemaic rulers, Philae also received additions from the Nubian king
Arqamani, who contributed to the Temple of Arensnuphis and the
mammisi, and his successor
Adikhalamani, whose name has been found on a
stela on the island. Some experts have interpreted these additions as signs of collaboration between the Nubian and Ptolemaic governments, but others consider them to represent a period of Nubian occupation of the region, likely enabled by the revolt of
Hugronaphor in Upper Egypt. In AD 298, Diocletian ceded Roman territory south of the First Cataract as part of an agreement made with the neighboring
Nobades, withdrawing the border to about the area of Philae itself. The Kushite king
Yesebokheamani made a pilgrimage to Philae in this period and may have taken over the Roman hegemony.
Christianization Christianity seems to have been present at Philae by the fourth century, at which point it coexisted with traditional Egyptian religion. This event is conventionally considered to mark the end of
ancient Egyptian religion. However, its importance has recently come into question, following a major study by Jitse Dijkstra who argues that organised paganism at Philae ended in the fifth century, based on the fact that the last inscriptional evidence of an active pagan priesthood there dates to the 450s.
1800s The island of Philae attracted much attention in the 19th century. In the 1820s,
Joseph Bonomi the Younger, a British
Egyptologist and museum
curator visited the island. So did
Amelia Edwards, a British
novelist in 1873–1874. These visits are only a small sample of the great interest that
Victorian-era Britain had for Egypt. Soon,
tourism to Philae became common.
1900s Aswan Low Dam in 1906 '' In 1902, the
Aswan Low Dam was completed on the Nile River by the
British. This threatened to submerge many ancient landmarks, including the temple complex of Philae. However, the British prioritized the advancement of Modern Egypt at the expense of the complex. The height of the dam was raised twice, from 1907 to 1912 and from 1929 to 1934, and the island of Philae was nearly always flooded. In fact, the only times that the complex was not underwater was when the
dam's
sluices were open from July to October. It was proposed that the temples be relocated, piece by piece, to nearby islands, such as
Bigeh or
Elephantine. However, the temples'
foundations and other
architectural supporting structures were strengthened instead. Although the buildings were physically secure, the island's attractive
vegetation and the colors of the temples'
reliefs were washed away. Also, the bricks of the Philae temples soon became encrusted with
silt and other debris carried by the Nile.
Rescue project The temples had been practically intact since the ancient days, but with each inundation the situation worsened and in the 1960s the island was submerged up to a third of the buildings all year round. In 1960
UNESCO started a project to try to save the buildings on the island from the destructive effect of the ever-increasing waters of the
Nile. First, building three dams and creating a separate lake with lower water levels was considered. First, a large
coffer dam was built, constructed of two rows of steel plates between which a of sand was tipped. Any water that seeped through was pumped away. Next, the monuments were cleaned and measured using
photogrammetry, a method that enables the exact reconstruction of the original size of the building blocks that were used by the ancients. Then every building was dismantled into about 40,000 units from 2 to 25 tons, and then transported to the nearby
Island of Agilkia, situated on higher ground some away. To allow Agilkia island to accommodate the relocated temple, the island was leveled to match the old contours of Philae island as best as possible, which required the removal of the top of the island. The transfer itself took place between 1977 and 1979. ==Nearby locations of interest==