The Abu Simbel Temples in Egypt Were Moved Like a Lego Set

A massive 3,000-year-old temple was cut into over a thousand pieces and moved uphill. This is the story of Egypt's Abu Simbel Temples. When the Aswan High Dam was built, the Nile River began to rise, creating the vast Lake Nasser. If the water filled completely, the temples of Ramesses II, carved directly into the rock face, would be submerged. Building a dam to hold back the water would mean constantly resisting immense water pressure. The temples, with their 21-meter-tall statues and numerous chambers carved into the cliffside, couldn't be lifted whole like a building. So, instead of moving the mountain, engineers turned it into a giant puzzle. Workers used wire saws to meticulously cut the temple and cliff into over a thousand stone blocks. Each block weighed about 30 tons. Each piece was numbered, moved to storage, and then transported one by one to a new location 64 meters higher than the original site. The temples reappeared on higher ground, 180 meters away from their original location, and were finally reopened in 1968.