How tall are obelisks

There it stood for 15 centuries until Pope Sixtus V built St. Domenico Fontana was the engineer chosen to move the foot-tall Vatican Obelisk about yards to the square in front of the cathedral.

Image courtesy of the New York Public Library. Skip to main content. Login Register. The Greeks, Romans, Assyrians and many other cultures began to use obelisks to honor and elevate their deities and royalty. The Obelisk of Senusret I , who ruled from to BC, is one of the oldest surviving Egyptian temple obelisks still at the original location. Located in Heliopolis, it was a symbol of the sun god Ra and he was thought to inhabit the monolith.

Some scientists hypothesize that this obelisk was connected to the astronomical phenomena associated with the zodiacal light of sunrise and sunset. The tallest known Egyptian obelisk, the Unfinished Obelisk , was abandoned when it was about 75 percent completed due to cracks that appeared in it. At completion, the monolith would have been have been about feet tall and would have weighed in excess of tons; it is thought to have been the companion of the Lateran Obelisk at Karnak.

The obelisk is believed to have been erected in BC and inscriptions on its base indicated that it took seven months to construct. There are two obelisks in the Karnack Temple complex. The Queen Hatshepsut Obelisk is located on the left hand side as you continue to walk through the complex from the main gate whilst the Thutmose I Obelisk is located on the right and is the first obelisk you encounter. Quite magnificent structures believed to have been erected to Ra, the Sun God.

Skip to main content. Sign in to get trip updates and message other travelers. Tallest of the 8 ancient obelisks in Obelisk of Queen Hapshetsut,. Karnak , Luxor, Egypt. Book In Advance. See More Tours. Tallest of the 8 ancient obelisks in Egypt. It is located in the Karnak Temple complex in Luxor. Review of Obelisk of Queen Hapshetsut,. Date of experience: October Ask westy54 about Obelisk of Queen Hapshetsut,.

See all 15 reviews. One significant feature found on many of the original obelisks is their decorative flair. As scholars in the modern world have studied their hieroglyphs inscribed on most, but not all, obelisks , and their architectural and cultural context, they have learned much about the ancient obelisks.

But one thing many of us may not consider when it comes to objects weighing in at several hundred tons is that they can, in fact, migrate with the help of human hands, that is.

While the honor of the world's tallest obelisk belongs to the Washington Monument standing feet, or meters, tall , Long believes the most famous obelisk on the planet is likely the Vatican Obelisk at the center of Rome's St. Peter's Square.

Peter's to the front where it now stands," she says. Long says the dramatic transport process was fraught with danger and celebrated all around Italy when it was accomplished.

We can marvel at it today both because of Fontana's lucid explanations and the illuminating illustrations showing the steps and the machinery used for the move. While obelisks are rich in meaning and historical significance, their main attraction may really be their awe-inspiring aesthetics. They are immensely heavy, but also fragile. They are the oldest or among the oldest human-made structures that exist in whichever city you find them. They display a subtle geometry.