View of the kiosk of Trajan on the Island of Philae from the north-east. The structure was erected under Emperor Trajan (AD 53-117) near the eastern bank of the island to house the bark of Isis. It measures 15 by 20 meters and has fourteen columns with different composite capitals. Despite being described as a hypaethral (under-the-sky, i.e. roof-less) structure, there is evidence that the kiosk did have a roof. Nectanebo I (380-362 BC) was responsible for the earliest visible remains of the temple complex on the island but traces of worship of Isis at Philae can be dated back as early as the XXV Dynasty (747-656 BC). Most of the temple, though, was built between the reigns of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC) and Diocletian (AD 284-305) while the cult of Isis seems to have survived on the site until at least the 6th century and it was indeed in Philae that the latest surviving hieroglyphic inscription was found. In the 1970s the whole complex was dismantled and relocated to the nearby island of Agilqiyya during a UNESCO project to save a series of ancient monuments from the rising waters of Lake Nasser, following the construction of the Aswan High Dam.
