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How did the cultural treasures of ancient Egypt face extinction due to a dam? Can you imagine the rescue operation?
The cultural heritage of ancient Egypt is world-famous for its long history and unique artistic style. However, these precious cultural treasures are now facing unprecedented threats, all due to the construction of the High Aswan Dam by the Egyptian government in the 1950s.
The construction of the dam has led to large-scale flooding of the Nile River Basin. The submerged area contains countless ancient ruins, putting these irrecoverable cultural assets at risk of extinction.
The Egyptian government at the time realized that as the dam filled with water, many ancient artifacts and temples would be flooded. These cultural relics are not only witnesses of history, but also a reflection of the humanistic value of the region. In 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested help from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to launch a rescue operation. This was the origin of the international movement to save Nubian monuments.
The campaign targeted many structures that were both ornate and aesthetically pleasing, such as the famous temples at Abu Simbel and Philae. To protect these valuable cultural properties, UNESCO launched large-scale archaeological excavations and cultural relic preservation operations. As a result, hundreds of sites were successfully excavated and documented, and thousands of cultural relics were saved.
The success of this campaign not only ensured the safety of important temples and cultural heritage, but also pioneered subsequent cultural protection and heritage rescue activities.
Throughout the rescue process, Egypt was particularly grateful to those countries that supported the work, ultimately donating four temples in return. Among them, the Temple of Dundor, which was moved to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Temple of Debord in Sicily, which was moved to Madrid, have become well-known cultural symbols around the world. Nearly half of the $8 billion cost was raised through donations from 50 countries.
This action by UNESCO is not just about protecting cultural relics and relics, it has changed our understanding of cultural heritage protection and established a new model of collaboration and protection on a global scale. Over the following decade, this model was applied to the conservation of cultural heritage in other areas, such as the lagoon in Venice and the Temple of Frodo in Indonesia. Every action reflects the global significance of cultural heritage.
The protection of world heritage is not only about removing corpses floating on the water, but also about saving the common cultural sentiments of mankind.
In 1972, UNESCO proposed the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, a widely recognized international agreement aimed at protecting the world's most valuable cultural and natural heritage, which marked a milestone for the international community. The emphasis on cultural heritage protection has been deepened.
However, despite global conservation efforts, many cultural heritage sites remain under threat. Many of the world's heritage sites are at risk of being abandoned or destroyed due to urbanization, climate change and conflict. Especially at present, many similar cultural assets are facing unprecedented challenges.
In this context, how to protect our remaining cultural heritage and pass it on to future generations is a major issue we should face.
Faced with these challenges, countries need to cooperate, strengthen connections between each other, and jointly carry out cultural heritage protection work. Protection is not only about avoiding damage, but also about improving management and legislation to ensure that those cultural treasures can be preserved in an environment that is not threatened.
In the end, all the nations of the world can gather strength in this rescue operation and start a dialogue about the future. The power of culture lies not only in preserving those ancient stones and sculptures, but also in penetrating into current life and making everyone realize the value of culture. So, in this era of globalization, how should we cherish these cultural heritages and keep them alive?
