Following the successful removal of the Temple of Abu Simbel to higher ground a few years ago, work in now going ahead with the removal of the ancient monuments on the island of Philae. Both rescue operations were made necessary because of flooding by the waters of Lake Nasser, former by the Aswan Dam.

The Philae monuments currently undergoing this complex and expensive process include the temples of Isis and Osiris. A coffer dam has already been built around the island -- which lies a thousand kilometres south of Alexandria -- and the process of moving the monuments stone by stone has begun.

The operation involves not only the Egyptian Government, but also UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation), experts and contracting firms of several nationalities, and financial contributions from many countries.

Already stones and pillars are being moved to their new home on the nearby island of Agilkia, where the preparation of the new site is almost complete. As workmen continue to remove the remaining mud and silt from the old site, a small army of archaeologists, architects, photographers and draughtsmen have been examining, surveying and recording details about the monuments.

To the ancient Egyptians,f the island of Philae was sacred to the god Isis, who was for centuries linked with the concept of resurrection. Now the temples, built in her honour, are themselves to be resurrected. The international community has recognised that Philae is unique -- not only for its setting and its beauty, but also because of the combination of examples it offers of Pharoanic and Greek-Roman architectural styles which have been added to it during a history that stretches back to the fourth century B.C.

Experts are already numbering and cataloguing each of the 50,000 stone blocks before they are moved to Agilkia. They believe that once the rescue is complete, there will be no scientific reason why the ancient temples should not survive for several thousand years longer.

SYNOPSIS: The waters of Lake Nasser in Egypt have been pushed back from the island of Philae by a temporary coffer dam which has been built around the island. It is all part of the enormous operation that is underway to save the island's ancient temples and monuments.

The two thousand year-old temples are to be moved piece by piece to the nearby island of Agilkia.

The twin towers of the first pylon of Isis, and the Kiosk of Trajan, are just two of the enormous structures that have to be moved to the new site. Experts are already numbering and listing each of the 50,000 stone blocks before they are moved. The new site is already being prepared for the monuments.

The monuments have stood partly submerged for the past 70 years since the original Aswan dam was built. The recent removal of the Abu Simbel temple proved that such an operation was possible. The work involves not only the Egyptian Government, but also UNESCO, experts and contracting firms of several nationalities, and financial contributions from many countries.

A small army of archaeologists, architects, photographers and draughtsmen have been examining, surveying and recording details of the monuments for when they are reassembling -- to stand hopefully for several more thousand years.