Tuthmosis III (1479-1425 BC) ordered a small temple to be carved out of the rock at Ellesiya, not far from Abu Simbel. It was dedicated to Horus of Miam and Satet, and was only accessible from the river. The inside had an inverted T-plan formed of a corridor and two side chambers. On the walls are scenes showing the king offering to Egyptian and Nubian deities. The images face towards the back wall, against which are half-in-the-round statues of Horus, Satet and Tuthmosis III enthroned.
The decoration was hammered out in places during the reign of Akhenaten (1352-1336), and subsequently restored by Ramesses II (1279-1213), who had the triad in the niche at the back reworked to depict Amon, Horus, and the king. The temple eventually became a Christian cult place, as the crosses and five-point stars carved in the entrance portal and on the inner walls bear out.
The temple lay inside the region destined to be submerged by lake Nasser, following the construction of the Great Aswan Dam. It was hence among the monuments salvaged by the UNESCO mission to rescue the Nubian temples. It was brought to Turin in 1967, and reassembled in the wing of the museum dedicated to Ernesto Schiaparelli.
