Egyptian Obelisks

Left: One of "Cleopatra's Needles", set up by Thothmes iii (c 1500BC) at Heliopolis, further inscribed by Rameses II (c 1250 BC), removed to Alexandra in 23 BC, and then to New York, where it now stands. It is 67 feet 2 inches high without pedestal.

Centre: Fellow of that on the left, 68 feet 5 inches high, removed in 1877 to the Thames Embankment, London; obelisks were usually set up in parts.

Right: Obelisk of Senusret I of the twelfth dynasty (c1980BC), still standing on its original emplacement near Heliopolis - it is the earliest known to us.

From Wonders of the Past