Egypt and Libya, March 19 - April 2, 2006 / 20060322l_KarnakObelisk
Ruth Milner, rmilner plus web at bookofmarvels dot net
One of the obelisks at Karnak. They are
solid granite monoliths, with tremendously detailed carvings. They were
quarried upstream and floated to Karnak on barges. This one is about 70
feet tall and weighs 143 tons. Another one at Karnak, raised
by Hatshepsut, is the largest in Egypt at 95 feet tall and at least 320
tons. How they were raised was a puzzle until some plausible recent work
for the PBS
television series Nova
using big sandboxes and ropes. Originally they were capped with gold leaf, which must have been brilliant.
