New Amada was designed to maintain the spatial coherence and environmental setting of the original Amada complex while making the monuments accessible for study and limited visitation. The temple itself was moved intact, rather than dismantled, to protect its fragile painted reliefs. Engineers encased the structure in a protective shell and transported it on rails to its present platform. The reinstallation replicated the temple’s alignment and ground level, allowing archaeologists to continue examining its architectural and artistic features with minimal distortion from the move.

Today, New Amada stands as one of the most significant clusters of rescued Nubian monuments. The site preserves some of the best examples of New Kingdom temple art south of Aswan, with interior reliefs dating to the reigns of Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, and Thutmose IV. Although smaller in scale than the better-known complexes of Abu Simbel or Kalabsha, New Amada provides critical evidence for ancient Egypt’s religious and administrative expansion into Nubia during the Eighteenth Dynasty. Its careful relocation and conservation also make it an instructive example of twentieth-century CE archaeological engineering, where precision in preservation was prioritized over monumental scale.

The present environment of New Amada—arid, quiet, and isolated—resembles the landscape that surrounded the original temples before the flooding of Lower Nubia. The monuments remain under the supervision of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and form part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing “Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae”.

circa 1450 BCE

Temple of Amada
The Amada Temple, built by the 18th Dynasty pharaohs Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, was originally dedicated to the gods Amun and Ra-Horakhty. Later, Thutmose IV added a graceful hypostyle hall to the structure. The temple's exterior is unassuming, but its well-preserved interior features vibrant and finely detailed reliefs. These reliefs depict important rituals, divine encounters, and military campaigns, including one where Amenhotep II brags about hanging seven conquered Syrian princes as a warning to rebellious Nubians.

The remarkable preservation of the temple's artwork can be attributed to an unexpected historical event. Centuries after its construction, likely in the 6th century CE, the temple was converted into a Christian church. Christian artists covered the original hieroglyphs and pagan imagery with plaster before painting over them. This plaster remained in place for over a thousand years, shielding the reliefs from the elements. When archaeologists eventually removed it, they found the vibrant original colors still intact, offering a unique glimpse into ancient artistry.

circa 1260 BCE

Temple of Derr
The temple of Derr cut into the rock was commissioned by the great 19th Dynasty king Ramesses II (circa 1279-1213 BCE). Its ancient Egyptian name was "The Temple of Rameses the Beloved of Amun in the Domain of Ra". Essentially consisting/of two pillared halls and terminating in a sanctuary, it has several interesting similarities with the most famous of Rameses II rock-cut temples, the Great Temple of Abu Simbel. Here too in the temple of al-Derr, the figures of the same four gods can be seen in the sanctuary, cut into the rock: Ptah, Ra-Horakhty, the deified Rameses Il, and Amun-Ra. Although some scenes in the first pillared hall depict some of Rameses II's military campaigns, most of the temple's w3!l decoration shows him in the company of the gods, performing temple rituals. The colours of the reliefs in the second pillared hall are very well preserved.

Later in its history, the temple of al-Derr was transformed into a church and, much later, in 1964 CE, it was dismantled and mdved from its original location in al-Derr on the other side of the river Nile. Today, it stands near the relocated temple of Amada in New Amada. This operation was undertaken to rescue the temple from being permanently underwater as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s CE.

circa 1143-1136 BCE

Tomb of Pennut
Pennut was an important official during the reign of the 20th Dynasty king Rameses VI (circa 1143-1136 BCE). Although his tomb stands today at New Amada, it was originally located 25 kilometers west, in Aniba. Because of its beautiful decoration and great historical value, it was rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser in 1964 CE. As the Deputy of Wawat (the ancient Egyptian name for Lower Nubia), Pennut played a key role in Nubia, as he was also Overseer of the Temple of Horus of Aniba, where his wife Takha was a singer.

His beautiful tomb reflects his important status, which is highlighted further by the east wall (on the right), where the king was depicted—a very high honour. This scene, which is unfortunatly poorly preserved, shows Pennut being rewarded by Rameses VI (figure destroyed) for, as the accompanying text reveals, Pennut having commissioned a statue of him. In another interesting inscription, the temple of Rameses Il at al-Derr is mentioned.

In the rest of the tomb decoration, Pennut can be seen adoring various deities, and there are many scenes from the Book of the Dead, their goal being to ensure that Pennut and Takha lead a blissful existence in the afterlife. A niche in the centre of the north wall contains three rock-cut figures, the central one being a female cow-headed deity.