OBELISKS - A Short History

Obelisk of Pharaoh Senusret I,
Al-Masalla area of Al-Matariyyah
district in Heliopolis, Cairo









                                                     E G Y P T I A N   O B E L I S K S





Obelisks were prominent in the architecture of the ancient Egyptians, who placed them in pairs at the entrance of temples. The word "obelisk" is of Greek rather than Egyptian origin because Herodotus, the Greek traveler,
was the first to describe the objects. Twenty-nine ancient Egyptian obelisks are known to have survived, plus the "Unfinished Obelisk" found partly hewn from its quarry at Aswan. These obelisks are now dispersed around the world, and less than half of them remain in Egypt.

The earliest temple obelisk still in its original position is the 20.7 m / 68 ft high 120 tons  red granite Obelisk of Senusret I of the XIIth Dynasty at Al-Matariyyah part of Heliopolis.