Austrian Academy launches antiquities project

CAIRO – 27 September 2017: The archaeological mission supervised by the Austrian Academy for Sciences started a project for moving and studying antiquities from El Shalal archeological site in Philae Island, Aswan.

This project is part of the Austrian project aimed at saving 200 archaeological rubbles and stones in El Shalal.



The Ministry of Antiquities agreed to the project and designated the Aswan Antiquities section and Nubba fund to supervise the project.

The rubble belonged to many historical constructions as temples were built on Philae Island, according to Nasr Salama, director of Aswan Antiquities section explained.



They were found in 1947 by an international campaign to save Aswan antiquities. Since then the antiquities have been kept at El Shalal site.

Holger Kockelmann, the director of the mission, said they will study the pieces and categorize them according to their respective time periods.

Philae site is one of the most important archaeological sites in Aswan.



It has an outstanding location in the heart of the Nile, behind Aswan’s old dam.

The site contains a number of attractive places such as the temples of Isis and Hathor.