Final answer:
The statement about the preservation of temples and cemeteries in the desert compared to the destruction of towns and villages by the Nile floods is true. Temples and cemeteries often built with stone and located away from flooding remained better preserved than settlements built along the fertile but flood-prone banks of the Nile.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that most towns and villages from pharaonic times have been destroyed or buried by the Nile's annual floods, whereas temples and cemeteries have been well preserved in the desert, is true. The fertile banks of the Nile were the center of Egyptian civilization and settlements due to the predictable flood patterns. However, these same floodwaters could also destroy structures close to the river over time.
Conversely, temples and cemeteries were commonly constructed in the desert areas, away from the flood plains. These structures were often built with more durable materials like stone and were thus better preserved. The evidence of survival of grand temples, and the existing Nubian Deffufa architecture, alongside the decay of other settlements due to later stone mining and natural wear, supports the survival of more religious and ceremonial structures in comparison to common dwellings and towns.