Elephantine Island

Elephantine Island

Elephantine Island - Elephantine is an island in the middle of the Nile at Aswan. It was the "border city" between Egypt and the Nubian lands to the south. In ancient times it was an important strategic place, both for the defence of the border and for the trade route. The island has been inhabited from the early Dynastic period through Roman times right up to the present day.

Its ancient name was "abu" or "yebu", meaning elephant, and probably comes from the shape of the grey, smooth boulders surrounding the island. Excavations and reconstructions have been carried out over the last 100 years by a team of German archaeologists, and the largest building surviving to this day is the temple dedicated to the god Khnum, at the southern end of the island.

The granite gates built by Alexander form part of the temple structure, which remains intact, while the ruins behind it are hard to identify because of ongoing excavations. At the front of the temple, which is oriented east-west, restored paving surrounds columns built by Ramesses II, which lead down to a Roman quay.