obelisk

Examples of obelisk in the following topics:

• Stelae of the Middle Kingdom

  • For much of Egyptian history, including the Middle Kingdom, obelisks erected in pairs were used to mark the entrances of temples.
  • The earliest temple obelisk still in its original position is the red granite Obelisk of Senusret I (Twelfth Dynasty) at Al-Matariyyah in modern Heliopolis.
  • The obelisk was the symbol and perceived place of existence of the sun god Ra.
  • This obelisk is one half of a pair that originally marked the entrance to the temple of the sun god Ra.

• Artifacts of Assyria

  • Erected during a time of civil war (825 BCE), the limestone Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III is the most intact Assyrian obelisk found to date.
  • This limestone obelisk contains 20 registers depicting conquered kings paying tribute to Assyrian power and celebrating the military campaigns of Shalmaneser III.

• Architecture of Aksun and Lalibela

  • Aksum is best known for the 1937 discovery of the 24-meter tall, 1,700-year-old Obelisk of Axum.
  • The obelisk is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of engineering from the height of the Aksumite empire, and in 2005 it was finally returned to Aksum.
  • The Obelisk of Aksum after its return to Ethiopia in 2005
  • The obelisk is an example of the stelae built by the Aksum kingdom.
  • Identify the famous rock-cut churches of Lalibela and the stelae, obelisk, and Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion of Aksum.

• Hatshepsut

  • She had twin obelisks, at the time the tallest in the world, erected at the entrance to the temple.
  • One still stands today as the tallest surviving ancient obelisk in the world; the other has broken and toppled.
  • She later ordered the construction of two more obelisks to celebrate her sixteenth year as pharaoh.

• Hatshepsut

  • She installed twin obelisks (the tallest in the world at that time) at the entrance to this temple, one of which still stands.
  • Karnak's Red Chapel was intended as a shrine to her life, and may have stood with these obelisks.
  • The Hatshepsut needle, a granite obelisk, is considered another great accomplishment.

• The Assyrian Culture

  • Furthermore, the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, discovered in 1846, stands six-and-a-half-feet tall and commemorates the king's victorious campaigns from 859–824 BCE.
  • The cuneiform text on the obelisk reads "Jehu the son of Omri" and mentions gifts of gold, silver, lead, and spear shafts.
  • The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III commemorates the king's victorious campaigns from 859–824 BCE.

• Architecture of the New Kingdom

  • To emphasize height and distance and enhance an existing pathway, two obelisks flanking the entrance were built with the illusion that they were the same height—even though they weren't.
  • It features large sandstone columns, several colossal statues, and one of the largest obelisks, weighing 328 tons and standing 29 meters tall.
  • Hapshepsut helped to restore the original precinct, which had been ravaged during the Hyksos occupation, and had twin obelisks erected at the entrance to the temple; one still stands as the tallest surviving ancient obelisk in the world.

• Kingdom of Aksum

  • Furthermore, in the early times of the empire, giant obelisks to mark emperors' (and nobles') tombs (underground grave chambers) were constructed, the most famous of which is the Obelisk of Aksum.
  • The Rome Stele (known also as the Aksum Obelisk) in Aksum (Tigray Region, Ethiopia)

• The Nile River

  • The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians included the quarrying, surveying, and construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics; a practical and effective system of medicine; irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques; the first known ships; glass technology; and new forms of literature.

• The Antonines

  • One is a personification of the Campus Martius, lounging on the ground with an arm around Augustus' sun-dial obelisk, the location where the ritual of deification occurred.