The temple of Luxor

The temple of Luxor

The obelisk and first pylon of the temple of Luxor, with the two colossi, partially buried by sand, depicting Ramesses II, painted by David Robert.

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The temple of Esna

The temple of Esna

Nothing remains of the temple of Esna, built during the Ptolemic Period, but this hypostyle hall, dating to the rules of Tiberius and Vespasian. It was used as late as the end of the nineteenth century as a cotton warehouse and later still as an arsenal.

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The Ramesseum

The Ramesseum

The second courtyard of the Ramesseum, the memorial temple of Ramesses II in western Thebes, which Roberts called the Memnonium. The giant colossus of Ramesses II, the 'Sun of the rulers', lies toppled in the sand.

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The kiosk of Trajan on the island of Philae

The kiosk of Trajan on the island of Philae

The kiosk of Trajan on the island of Philae, It was called by David Roberts an 'hypaethral temple', since it had no roof, and was described by the natives of the area as the ‘bed of the pharaoh’. In reality, the building, with perfect architectural proportions, was originally covered by a wooden roof, and was a wayside chapel for the sacred barque of Isis carried in procession during the great ceremonies held in honour of the goddess.

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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.

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Temple of Horus at Edfu

Temple of Horus at Edfu

When Roberts painted the portico of the temple of Horus at Edfu it was still partly buried in sand. This Ptolemaic temple was not uncovered until 1860, when it was excavated by the Egyptologist Auguste Mariette.

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Temple of Abu Simbel

Temple of Abu Simbel

The interior of the impressive temple of Abu Simbel has a pronaos with eight giant Osiride pillars, each standing about 10 m (33 ft) tall, depicting the pharaoh as Osiris, Lord of the Under-world.

Although it had been discovered only 25 years prior to the visit by David Roberts, the temple was a popular destination for many visitors, and the Scottish painter was shocked at the amount of graffiti left by tourists orb the walls of the monument, which, according to Roberts, was alone worth the difficult trip to Nubia.

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