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An aerial view of the 'Unfinished Obelisk' in the 3500-year-old granite quarry in Aswan, Egypt :
Ancient Egyptian Obelisk’s were of significant importance as they stood in front of Temples generally in pairs as an indication to Grand entrances. Mostly constructed of Red granite which was hewn from granite rock at points along the River Nile then sailed to their destination points as far as Cairo and Alexandria. Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan stands as a remarkable testament to ingenuity and grandeur of ancient Egypt. This archaeological marvel, shrouded in mystery, offers a glimpse into the intricate craftsmanship and ambitious endeavors of a bygone era.
The unfinished obelisk is nearly one-third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected. This obelisk, which is 25m long today, if it had been finished by the ancient Egyptians, would be almost measured around 41.75m and would have weighed nearly 1,090 tonnes, a weight equal to about 200 African elephants.
Obelisk was commissioned during reign of Queen Hatshepsut in the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt. The obelisk was intended to be a tribute to her and would have been one of two matching obelisks that flanked her temple at Karnak. It was carved out of a single piece of granite from a quarry near Aswan and was likely intended to stand at around 70m tall when completed. Unfortunately, project was never finished.
Historians believe that there were a few reasons for this -
First reason is that it may have been too ambitious a project for its time. Ancient Egyptians did not have access to modern tools and techniques that would have made such a large-scale project much easier to complete. In addition, granite is a very hard stone which would have made carving it into an obelisk even more difficult than usual. Another possible reason for why Obelisk remains unfinished could be due to structural issues with the rock itself. Archaeologists believe that when workers began carving out obelisk from its source rock, they noticed cracks in granite which could cause it to break apart if they continued working on it. This could explain why they stopped work on it before completing it and left it as-is instead of attempting to fix or patch up any cracks or flaws in the stone before continuing work on it. Finally, there may also have been political reasons behind why work on this project stopped abruptly and never resumed again after Queen Hatshepsut died in 1458 BC. It’s possible that her successor Thutmose III didn’t share her enthusiasm for such ambitious projects and simply decided not to continue with them after she died as part of his own political agenda or strategy for consolidating power after taking over as pharaoh following her death.
Whatever the reason may be, one thing is certain: Unfinished Obelisk remains one of ancient Egypt's greatest mysteries today and continues to fascinate historians and archaeologists alike with its unfinished state and unanswered questions about what could have been had it been completed as originally planned by Queen Hatshepsut Centuries ago.
Obelisk was first encountered by a French archaeologist named Auguste Mariette in late 19th Century. Mariette, known for his significant contributions to the field of Egyptology, played a pivotal role in uncovering and documenting numerous ancient Egyptian artifacts and monuments, including Unfinished Obelisk. His discovery shed light on the remarkable craftsmanship and construction techniques employed by ancient Egyptians, providing valuable insights into their culture and history. This obelisk was studied in detail by Reginald Engelbach in 1922. Its creation was ordered by Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC). This piece that was left unfinished due to the appearance of some fissures in the upper part of the obelisk, is very important as it shows us how the ancient Egyptians cut and removed the obelisks.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand