One of the main features of ancient Egyptian civilization is the obelisk, which existed in ancient temples in lower and upper Egypt, having the form of a needle.
Most of these are made from Aswan’s granite, red or rose, and till now, the unfinished obelisk in Aswan exists in this quarry of granite.
The obelisk’s shape has a critical reflection and meaning in ancient Egypt since the obelisk is a pillar consisting of four faces ended by pyramid form on the top, which refers to sun-god ra.
The concord's obelisk :
One of the most famous obelisks in Europe is related to the reign of King Ramses the second, who built two obelisks in front of the Luxor temple, commemorating his victory in the Kadesh battle.
And by the end of the French expedition to Egyptian, the French had a big passion for the ancient Egyptian civilization. Many French archeologists and architects visited Egypt during the reign of King Mohamed Ali to explore the ancient Egyptian civilization and discover its antiquities.
One of those archeologists was the well-known Jean Francois Champollion, who came to Egypt during Mohamed Ali to decipher the hieroglyphic texts carved on the walls and tombs of ancient Egypt. When he visited Luxor, he admired the two obelisks of the Luxor temple.
But there was a significant obstacle: how to transfer an obelisk weighing 230 tons?
The French constructed a particular ship to transfer this obelisk from Luxor to Paris, with unique measurements and having 150 crew with various roles. The ship arrived at Luxor in August 1831.
It was nearly impossible to move such a huge one of rose granite; it was needed to negotiate with local habitants who had houses next to the obelisk to allow moving this obelisk; by simple mechanical techniques depending on 400 workers. And by December of the same year, they could install the obelisks on its ship and be ready for sailing.
The journey of the obelisk from Luxor to Paris was not easy, and there were hazardous waves in the mediterranean sea that could quickly vanish the whole ship with obelisk and crew. Still, fortunately, the obelisk arrived peacefully at Toulon port 1833.
The unfinished obelisk in Aswan
It was discovered just one year before the great discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in king’s valley.
Behind the main cemetery in Aswan exists the quarry, where the ancient Egyptians constructed their obelisks and statues from granite.
It is not determined the obelisks’ date, but many archeologists assumed it was carved and sculptured during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, but because a crack appeared on the obelisk, they stopped their project.
The visitors can see it quickly; it is just 1 kilometer from the river Nile, where there exists the quarry of rose granite used to construct coffins, sarcophagus, false doors, and obelisks.
One of the most mysterious features of this topic, how they could transfer such sarcophagus and doors from granite weighing around 12 tons. Even after finishing this obelisk, it would weigh 1168 tons!
Karnak obelisks
In Karnak temple, there are three obelisks, two finished, and the third is broken.
The first one is king’s Thutmose first and the second for queen Hatshepsut; one of these two obelisks is broken because of a mistake while standing in the Karnak temple in ancient Egypt.
Conclusion
The ancient Egyptians still astonished the world through their civilization and accomplishments, which is still a great secret to decipher its meanings, symbol, and building techniques.
And most countries try to have samples of this civilization to make a kind of value to themselves; for example, obelisks in Italy, France, turkey, congress obelisks are just examples from one sample of this civilization.
In addition to other kinds of masterpieces in various museums in Europe, the United States and Russia add high value.
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