a statue of Ramses II being rebuilt after being dismantled for transport

Meet the woman who helped save Egypt's temples from certain doom

Facing impossible odds, archaeologist Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt led efforts to rescue ancient monuments from the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam.

To save a colossal statue of pharaoh Ramses II from inundation, workers in the 1960s cut it into pieces and reassembled it on higher ground.
Photograph by Georg Gerster, Nat Geo Image Collection
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