Beginning in 1902, the archaeological sites and monuments of Lower Nubia were increasingly threatened by the construction of the series of dams on the Nile River at Aswan. By the early 1960s, the ancient land of Lower Nubia had vanished forever beneath the waters of Lake Nasser. Through international efforts, some of the cultural heritage of Lower Nubia was saved (including monuments like the temples of Abu Simbel and Philae); most other sites, such as the fortress of Buhen, a focus of work for the Penn Museum, were destroyed. This talk will examine these sites, the program of rescue archaeology, and the role of the Penn Museum in rescuing the archaeological heritage of Lower Nubia.

Speaker: Josef Wegner, Associate Professor of Egyptian Archaeology, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Curator, Egyptian Section, Penn Museum