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Not a soul had stepped there for thousands of years. Everything, even the air inside, was a relic of a bygone era, a beautiful remnant of times past.
Outside sat four giant kings, and inside a walkway of gods lined the entrance, standing side by side, flanking all those that had once entered and guiding them with their gently smiling faces to the end. To the pinnacle, to the sanctuary all were seeking - the four sitting gods, bidding them welcome, their hands on their laps, waiting.810Please respect copyright.PENANAF3Xx5pmqFo
The walls, now crumbling, held great carved stories. Painstakingly chiseled battle scenes illustrate his grand victory, the king firing arrows from his chariot.810Please respect copyright.PENANAJYmMwLpEUO
Each detail glorified, magnified, sculpted on the walls of his temple for all to see. And inside he sits beside Amun and Ra, sitting as a god, with the rays of sunlight shining upon him.810Please respect copyright.PENANAnI0olwLEOv
Rameses II had his temple brought forth from the rock and decorated it with tales of the grandeur of the past.
The hieroglyphs at his side and at his feet once all coloured in reds and blues, now waning in the desert sun.The cruel hand of time leaves nothing behind but rock. No trace of colour remains, and all within the temple the gods that serve as columns have been drained of their brightness.
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The circus man was sitting on the ground. He had come to Egypt in hope and she had not yet disappointed him.810Please respect copyright.PENANAj8zRbClXCb
The passing of thousands of years had quite concealed the temple and all that remained visible was the tops of the statues that guarded the entrance.810Please respect copyright.PENANAKbOzZCbzvs
The sand inside reached the knees of the statues within, and Belzoni noted with a sigh that more clearing would be required.810Please respect copyright.PENANAQ5tXKYwqdp
But before setting to work, before calling the workmen back, he stood for a moment in the entryway, where the sand was not so deep.810Please respect copyright.PENANAX2I5DME664
Not a single soul had touched the air within for thousands of years. Not a single soul had gazed upon these figures or looked at these carvings.810Please respect copyright.PENANAKXr4YSXBRq
Whole eras and dynasties had been and gone the world over, and not one person had stepped inside this temple since its decline.810Please respect copyright.PENANAWWNAdwxg8Q
The desert had claimed the temple as its own. Her reach being far and wide, the sand was able to seep into every crevice. She had noted the lack of interest in the temple and had decided that it was to be hers, forever lost to the sands of time.
Belzoni shook his head and the stone face of Rameses smiled on as the sand was cleared.810Please respect copyright.PENANACHc5rZUI4D
This was one site that would be reclaimed for humanity, for history and for knowledge.810Please respect copyright.PENANA1FXxX6I7MG
Everything else may already be lost under the sands, but this was one site that the desert could not lay claim to.810Please respect copyright.PENANAazZN5o14dU
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