International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia
In 1959 Egypt and Sudan asked UNESCO for help: the Aswan High Dam, decided in 1954, would flood Lower Nubia and the monuments standing in it. In 1960 the Director-General of UNESCO issued an appeal to Member States, and the resulting campaign excavated and recorded hundreds of sites, recovered thousands of objects, and relocated 22 monuments to higher ground. It closed on 10 March 1980. The campaign established, in practice before it existed in law, the proposition that a monument on one State's territory can be a matter for all States — and it is directly credited with the 'World Heritage Trust' proposal of the mid-1960s and thence with the Convention itself.
Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.
Subjects
- UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) · organisation · France (headquarters); global mandate
- Abu Simbel temples (Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae) · site · Egypt
- Philae temple complex (relocated to Agilkia Island) · site · Egypt
- Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) · treaty · Global · not located
Evidence
Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.
International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia — library and archival resources
Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO assistance in 1959; the Director-General launched an international appeal in 1960; the campaign relocated 22 monuments in Lower Nubia, closed on 10 March 1980, and is credited with prompting the 'World Heritage Trust' concept and ultimately the 1972 Convention. ALSO: Engineers dismantled and re-erected the Abu Simbel temples on higher ground between 1964 and 1968, with work concluding on 22 September 1968, in response to the reservoir created by the Aswan High Dam.
ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property); with SARAT (Safeguarding Archaeological Assets of Türkiye) project resources · campaign 1960–1980; resource compilation undated · Partly verified
https://www.iccrom.org/resources/resources-of-the-month/iccrom-library-resources-safeguarding-nubian-monuments — ICCROM library resources on the safeguarding of the Nubian monuments | also: https://saratprojesi.com/en/resources/sarats-features/a-salvage-operation-that-inspired-the-world-abu-simbel-and-the-world-heritage
Recorded on UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- ICC convicts Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi for the destruction of Timbuktu's mausoleums · 2016-09-27
- The Convention enters into force · 1975-12-17
- UNESCO General Conference adopts the World Heritage Convention · 1972-11-16
- Abu Simbel cut apart and rebuilt on higher ground · 1964/1968-09-22