Temple of Horus at Edfu

Edfu survived because it was buried. Silt and village houses covered it to the tops of the pylons until Auguste Mariette cleared it in the 1860s, which is why the roof remains, the colours survive in the inner rooms and the reliefs are sharp enough to read.

The pylon is 36 metres high. A black granite falcon in the courtyard is among the most photographed statues in Egypt. Inside, the walls carry the complete text of the temple's founding rituals and the myth of Horus defeating Set — effectively an operating manual for an ancient Egyptian temple.

Built between 237 and 57 BC under the Ptolemies on the site of a much older temple, aligned to the older axis rather than the river.