The Emperors' Needles: Egyptian Obelisks and Rome
Published:
05 March 2010
Online ISBN:
9781781380772
Print ISBN:
9781904675518
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Contents
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The Excavation and Removal of the Obelisks The Excavation and Removal of the Obelisks
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Transporting and Erecting the Obelisk Transporting and Erecting the Obelisk
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The Final Touch The Final Touch
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As an Amazon Associate OUP earns from qualifying purchases.
Chapter
2 Created from Stone: How Egyptian Obelisks Were Made
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Pages
17–28
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Published:05 March 2010
Cite
Sorek, Susan, 'Created from Stone: How Egyptian Obelisks Were Made', The Emperors' Needles: Egyptian Obelisks and Rome (Liverpool , 2010; online edn, Liverpool Scholarship Online, 29 May 2014), https://doi.org/10.5949/liverpool/9781904675518.003.0003, accessed 11 July 2026.
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Abstract
This chapter discusses how obelisks were made and transported to their original locations by the ancient Egyptians. Most Egyptian obelisks are made from red granite, called mat in Egyptian. The granite was hewn from the great quarries on the east bank of the Nile, near modern Aswan. The blocks of granite were detached from their beds by using fire to create fissures, or wooden wedges that were soaked with water to make them expand and so crack the rock. The obelisk was transported down the Nile probably during the annual flood. Upon reaching its destination, there remained the mammoth task of erecting the obelisk. There is still no consensus among archaeologists, engineers, and architects about how this was done.
Collection:
Liverpool Scholarship Online
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