Abu Simbel

The two temples Ramesses II cut into this cliff were sawn into more than a thousand blocks between 1964 and 1968 and rebuilt 65 metres higher and 200 metres back, ahead of Lake Nasser rising behind the Aswan High Dam. The reconstruction is exact enough that the solar alignment still works: twice a year the sun reaches the sanctuary 60 metres inside and lights three of the four seated gods, leaving Ptah, a god of the underworld, in shadow.