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Philae: Kiosk of Trajan (French Exped. 1799)    .



Drawing of the the south portico of the Kiosk of Trajan at Philae (Description de l'Egypte 1809).


Although Philae had monuments dating from the Nubian-ruled 25th Dynasty, during the reign of Taharqa (690-664 BC), and from the final, 30th Egyptian Dynasty in the reign of Nectenebo I (380-362 BC), most of the visible monuments at Philae date from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, after 300 BC. One of the best preserved structures on the island was the so-called Kiosk of Trajan, built during the Roman period in the late 1st century AD. This building was located at the eastern edge of the island, next to the Temple of Isis and the smaller Temple of Hathor.

This drawing by an artist of the 1799 French expedition shows the south portico of Trajan's Kiosk, with column capitals typically shaped like papyrus plants. Just visible on the eastern side of the building, at right in the drawing, is an eagle standard in relief at at the top of the main portal. At left, portions of the first and second pylons of the Temple of Isis may also be seen.

With the flooding of Lake Nassar in the 1960s, the monuments of Philae including the Kiosk of Trajan were moved to higher ground on the nearby island of Agilkia.
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