List of Egyptian obelisks explained

Obelisks had a prominent role in the architecture and religion of ancient Egypt.[1] This list contains all known remaining ancient Egyptian obelisks.[2] [3] 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 40 known obelisk fragments, catalogued by Hiroyuki Nagase and Shoji Okamoto.

Number

Only about 30 such obelisks are still in existence worldwide; figures vary between sources with different definitions of extant Egyptian obelisks. For example, David Allen states there are 29 such obelisks, with more in Italy than in Egypt. Only two known obelisks date prior to the New Kingdom, both of which were dedicated to the Middle Kingdom Pharaoh Senusret I. At least 22 of the known obelisks date to the New Kingdom, four date to the Late Period and one to the Ptolemaic period.

The international transportation of Egyptian obelisks dates to the Roman conquest of Egypt following the death of Cleopatra, and in modern times as Egyptian "gifts" to other major cities such as the Luxor Obelisk at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, and the Cleopatra's Needles on the Victoria Embankment and in Central Park in London and New York City respectively.[4] Only five obelisks still stand at the ruins of Ancient Egyptian temples.[5]

The largest known obelisk, the unfinished obelisk, was never erected and was discovered in its original quarry. It is nearly one-third larger than the largest ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected (the Lateran Obelisk in Rome); if finished it would have measured around [6] and would have weighed nearly 1090t, a weight equal to about 200 African elephants.[7]

The most recent ancient obelisk to be re-erected is the 17-metre-tall Ramses II obelisk in Tahrir Square, the main city square of Cairo, having been reassembled from eight blocks discovered at Tanis in the late 19th century. Dr Khaled El-Anany, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said, "When we go to European capitals like Rome or Paris or London, and also Washington, we see that they use Egyptian obelisks in decorating their major tourist squares, so why do we not do the same?"[8]

List

NameImageHeight (with base)PharaohOriginal locationCurrent location
NameReignPlace (since) City Sovereign state
Unfinished obelisk41.75 mHatshepsut1479 – 1458 BCAswan (in situ)Egypt
Lateran Obelisk32.18 m (45.70 m with base) Thutmose III / Thutmose IV1479 – 1425 BC / 1401 – 1391 BCKarnakItaly
Karnak obelisks of Hatshepsut29.56 mHatshepsut1479 – 1458 BCKarnak (in situ)Egypt
Vatican obelisk
25.5 m (41 m with base) UnknownUnknownAlexandriaSt. Peter's SquareVatican CityVatican City
Luxor obelisks
25.03 m and 22.83 mRamesses II1279–1213 BCLuxor TempleLuxor Temple (in situ)Egypt
Place de la Concorde (1833) Paris France
Flaminio Obelisk
24 m (36.5 m with base) Seti I / Ramesses II1294–1279 BC / 1279–1213 BCHeliopolisItaly
Obelisk of Montecitorio
21.79 m (33.97 m with base) Psamtik II595–589 BCHeliopolisItaly
Karnak obelisk of Thutmosis I21.20 m Thutmose I1506–1493 BCKarnak (in situ)Egypt
Cleopatra's Needles
21.00 mThutmose III1479 – 1425 BCHeliopolis (via Alexandria)Victoria Embankment (1878) London United Kingdom
Central Park (1881) New York City United States
Al-Masalla obelisk
20.40 mSenusret I1971–1926 BCHeliopolis (in situ)Egypt
Obelisk of Theodosius
18.54 m (25.6 m with base)Thutmose III1479 – 1425 BCKarnakTurkey
Tahrir obelisk17 m Ramesses II1279–1213 BCTanisTahrir Square (2020) Egypt[9] [10]
Cairo Airport obelisk16.97 m Ramesses II1279–1213 BCTanisCairo International Airport (1984) Egypt[11]
Pantheon obelisk
14.52 m (26.34 m with base) Ramesses II1279–1213 BCHeliopolisItaly
Gezira obelisk13.5 m (20.4 m with base) Ramesses II1279–1213 BCTanisGezira Island, Cairo Egypt[12]
Abgig obelisk
12.70 mSenusret I1971–1926 BCFaiyum (local area, found fallen)Abgig Egypt[13]
Philae obelisk6.70 mPtolemy IX116–107 BCPhilae (Temple of Isis)Kingston Lacy (1815) United Kingdom
Boboli Obelisk6.34 mRamesses II1279–1213 BCHeliopolis (via Rome)Boboli Gardens (1790) Italy
Elephant and Obelisk
5.47 m (12.69 m with base)Apries589–570 BCSaisPiazza della Minerva (Roman period, rediscovered 1665) Italy
Abu Simbel obelisks3.13 mRamesses II1279–1213 BCAbu Simbel (Great Temple)Nubian MuseumEgypt[14]
Urbino obelisk
3.00 mApries589–570 BCSais (via Rome)Italy
Poznań obelisk3.00 mRamesses II1279–1213 BCAthribis (via Berlin, 1895)Poznań Archaeological Museum (2002) Poland[15] [16] [17]
Matteiano obelisk
2.68 m (12.23 m with base) Ramesses II1279–1213 BCHeliopolisItaly
Durham obelisk
2.15 mAmenhotep II1427–1401 BCunknown (within the Thebaid)Oriental Museum, University of Durham (1838) United Kingdom
Dogali obelisk
2 m (6.34 m with base) Ramesses II1279–1213 BCHeliopolisItaly[18] [19]
Abishemu obelisk1.25 m (1.45 m with base)Abishemu (King of Byblos)1800s BCTemple of the ObelisksLebanon[20]
Karnak obelisk of Seti II0.95 mSeti II1203–1197 BCKarnak (in situ)Egypt[21]
Luxor obelisk0.95 m (original 3 m) Ramesses III1186–1155 BCKarnakLuxor Museum (1923) Egypt[22]
Obelisks of Nectanebo II0.95 m (original 5.5 m)Nectanebo II360–342 BCHermopolisLondon United Kingdom

Bibliography

. Cooper. William Ricketts . Chabas . François . François Chabas . A Short History of the Egyptian Obelisks . Bagster . 1877 .

. Labib Habachi . The obelisks of Egypt : skyscrapers of the past . Scribner . New York . 1977 . 978-0-684-14805-2 . 2614302.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Mark . Joshua J. . November 6, 2016 . Egyptian Obelisk . World History Encyclopedia . World History Publishing.
  2. Book: Joseph Bonomi the Younger

    . Joseph Bonomi the Younger . Joseph Bonomi the Younger . 1843 . Notes on Obelisks . 40 v . Hathi Trust.

  3. Book: Gorringe, Henry Honychurch . Henry Honychurch Gorringe

    . Henry Honychurch Gorringe. Egyptian Obelisks . John C. Nimmo . Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO): Photography: The World through the Lens . 1885 . Google Books.

  4. Book: Allen, D. . How Mechanics Shaped the Modern World . Springer International Publishing . 2013 . 978-3-319-01701-3 . 2022-01-23. By the way, there are 29 extant Egyptian obelisks in the world today. Nine are in Egypt, and eleven in Italy (eight of which are in Rome, having been pilfered by the Romans after Augustus defeated Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE, thereby conquering Egypt). Others are scattered across the world..
  5. Hiroyuki Nagase and Shoji Okamoto, 2017, Obelisks of the World: "Although about 30 ancient obelisks are currently well maintained and stand at the public places (plaza, square, park, etc.), but only 5 remain at the ruins of Ancient Temple in Egypt. And two more obelisks stand at the public space in Egypt. So 7 obelisks in total in Egypt."
  6. [Reginald Engelbach]
  7. Book: Bard, Kathryn . 1999 . Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt . Routledge . 978-0-415-18589-9 . 587 .
  8. Machemer . Theresa . May 11, 2020 . Egypt Defies Archaeologists' Protests by Relocating Four Ancient Sphinxes . Smithsonian Magazine . Smithsonian Institution.
  9. Mira Maged, Feb 2020, Ramses II obelisk to be fully reassembled in Cairo's Tahrir Square "...with Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities having transported eight blocks of the statue unearthed in August 2019 at Zagazig, a city in Lower Egypt"
  10. Nevine El-Aref, Sep 2019, An obelisk in Tahrir "After centuries of being scattered in eight large blocks on the sands at San Al-Haggar archaeological site in Zagazig, a 17 m-tall obelisk of King Ramses II will be restored, re-assembled and re-erected to decorate the historic Tahrir Square"
  11. [Flinders Petrie]
  12. [Flinders Petrie]
  13. 1809: Description de l'Égypte, IV, plate 71, Text II, ch. XVII, 43–45
  14. Charles Kuentz (1932) Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire N°1308–1315 et 17001-17036 Obélisques, 45–50, plate XIII (Cairo Museum JE 42955 C, CG 17023 & 17024)
  15. http://www.old.muzarp.poznan.pl/muzeum_new/muz_eng/wystawy_stale/obelisk/obelisk_inf.html Obelisk of Ramesses II in the Museum's courtyard
  16. Königliche Museen Berlin, Ägyptische und Vorderasiatische Altertümer II (1897), pl.116
  17. Ausführliches Verzeichnis der Ägyptischen Altertümer (1899), pp.124–125, fig.26.
  18. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, II, 483, § 183 C
  19. [Orazio Marucchi]
  20. [Maurice Dunand]
  21. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, IV, 250:12–16
  22. Maurice Pillet, Rapport sur les travaux de Karnak. X, "Un petit obélisque de Ramsès III." Annales Du Service Des Antiquités de L'Egypte 24 (1924): 82–3