The four colossi depicting Ramesses II

The four colossi depicting Ramesses II

The four colossi depicting Ramesses II, carved into the rock and almost covered by sand, adorned the façade of the great temple of Abu Simbel built by Ramesses II. It was rediscovered by the Swiss orientalist and traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1813. Four years later, in 1817, the first Europeans penetrated the interior of the temple. One of Belzoni’s feats was to free façade of the monument from the enormous mass of sand engulfing it.