Nubia Museum
Founded in 1997, the Nubian Museum is the result of ten years of work and today is considered one of the most important museums in Egypt. Aimed at preserving ancient Egyptian monuments that had been rescued from the waters of the Nile and those that had been discovered during operations, the creation of the museum combined the efforts of local researchers with the assistance of UNESCO.
The area now known as Nubia extends along the Nile River, at the height of the fourth waterfall. According to the documents found in hieroglyphics, its name derives from but – an ancient Egyptian word for gold – since it was from here that Egypt obtained most of its gold wealth. Many pharaohs built small temples and fortresses in Nubia along the banks of the Nile. Of particular note are the Temple of Abu Simbel and the one now called the Temple of Kalabsha.
In 1959, the Egyptian government appealed to the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) to put the magnificent monuments of Nubia under protection from the floods of the Nile, which had worsened after the construction of the Aswan Dam. The operations consisted of dismantling and relocating in safe areas the endangered buildings, which included prehistoric, pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Islamic, and Coptic constructions. During the excavations, many fossils were found that increased the knowledge about life in Nubia and its development through time.
In 1975, the Egyptian General Authority of Antiquities requested UNESCO’s help in preserving the monuments and pieces found and rescued by opening a museum to display those that were rarer and of greater testimonial value. Since 1981, numerous symposia and seminars have been held to contribute to this major project. In 1986, the foundation stone of the Nubian Museum was laid.
Today, the museum is located in Aswan, in an area of 50,000 square kilometers, and consists of a three-story building and an open-air exhibition.
The Museum’s collections
In this small museum, many examples of Nubian art are collected and various moments of the daily life of this culture have been reconstructed. At the entrance stands a large statue of Ramesses II, which welcomes visitors.
Walking through the rooms of the museum you can admire various exhibits dating back to different periods, from the Egyptian period until the Islamic conquest of these territories. A splendid example of this period is a beautiful gold amphora decorated with stylized Arabic inscriptions. The same amphora is represented in an Egyptian banknote.
Opened in 1997, the Nubian Museum is an excellent, albeit late, contribution to the history and culture of ancient Nubia and its people in Egyptian history. This culture, no less ancient than that of Pharaonic Egypt, has occupied the banks of the Nile for millennia in the area now defined as southern Egypt or northern Sudan. This civilization was almost destroyed by the construction of the High Dam, which caused the flooding of the ancient center of Nubia, and the consequently forced displacement of more than 100,000 people. The museum houses the collection of artifacts found in the Nubian region, and tells the story of the development of civilization in the southern Nile valley, from prehistory through the Pharaonic ages, the advent of Christianity and Islam, and finally the construction of the dam in the 1960s.
The Nubian question has become a matter of great political interest. In the race to develop the country in the 50s and 60s, the Egyptian government neither compensated nor adequately planned the reorganization of the population affected by the consequences of the High Dam. The protection of the heritage of the Nubian culture was equally neglected. Some international organizations were willing to relocate some of the most important monuments of Nubia to neighboring areas, such as the temples of Abu Simbel. Others were dismantled and sent abroad as compensation for the aid received. The temple of Dendur now on display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York is an example.
The Nubian museum wanted to make its contribution against this injustice, even if it was only partially successful, especially because it still makes no mention in its exhibitions of the consequences of the dam on the Nubian population; on the other ht is one of the only institutions that continue to provide a picture of the history of the region and this fascinating culture of particular value are the traditional houses, recovered from areas curreand6, intly submerged.
The museum is located near the Fatimid cemetery, which houses a considerable number of small mausoleums dating back to the 9th century. Some of the tombs here belong to local saints and are decorated according to the motifs of traditional flags and often visited by the local population.
The cemetery is located next to the old granite quarry where the unfinished obelisk stands. Almost 2 meters high, this would have been the largest obelisk ever carved in antiquity. Completed on three sides, it remained anchored to the bed of rock when cracks were discovered along with its structure.
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