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Obelisks had a prominent role in the architecture and religion of ancient Egypt. [3] This list contains all known remaining ancient Egyptian obelisks. [1] [2] The list does not include modern or pre-modern pseudo-Egyptian obelisks, such as the numerous Egyptian-style obelisks commissioned by Roman Emperors. The list also excludes approximately ...
The unfinished obelisk is nearly one-third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected. If finished it would have measured around 41.75 metres (137.0 ft) [ 1 ] and would have weighed nearly 1,090 tonnes (1,200 short tons).
Obelisks were prominent in the architecture of the ancient Egyptians, and played a vital role in their religion placing them in pairs at the entrance of the temples.The word "obelisk" as used in English today is of Greek rather than Egyptian origin because Herodotus, the Greek traveler, was one of the first classical writers to describe the objects.
Made of red granite, the obelisk stands about 21 metres (69 ft) high, weighs about 200 tons, [4] and is inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs.Originally erected in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis on the orders of Thutmose III, in 1475 BC, [4] the obelisk's granite was mined from the quarries of Aswan near the first cataract of the Nile.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo. A pyramidion (plural: pyramidia) is the capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or the upper section of an obelisk. [1] Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as benbenet [2] and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone. [3]
The obelisk and its base contain a number of inscriptions. Two ancient inscriptions at the base of the shaft describe its original dedication in Rome, four inscriptions on the pedestal composed by Cardinal Silvio Antoniano describe its rededication in 1586, and lower down, in smaller script, is an acknowledgement of Domenico Fontana's role in the moving of the obelisk.