The tallest ancient obelisk in the World is "Lateran Obelisk"
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Introduction
Many people probably know the obelisk which stands at the center of plaza or square of famous sightseeing spots such as Place de la Concorde in Paris, Piazza San Pietro in Vatican City, Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona in Rome, Hippodrome (Sultan Ahmet Park) in Istanbul, and so on.
Those obelisks were originally erected at the entrance of Ancient Egyptian Temple, and then transported to Ancient Roman Empire which was enchanted by the obelisk, and some of them were made in the Ancient Roman Empire's territories.
Although about 30 ancient obelisks are currently well maintained and stand at the public places (plaza, square, park, etc.), but only 5 remain at the ruins of Ancient Temple in Egypt. And two more obelisks stand at the public space in Egypt. So 7 obelisks in total in Egypt. Therefore, many books and website say: "only few ancient obelisks remain in Egypt".
The obelisks are often referred as a typical examples of antiquities going to foreign countries, because "only few ancient obelisks remain in Egypt" is widely presumed. Also the detailed records, stories and episodes on the obelisks outside Egypt are widely known, but on the obelisks remain in Egypt are few. As the result, "few" and "scarcity" of remained obelisks in Egypt are more emphasized.
When I read such stories, I thought "it's not difficult to see all the obelisks as the numbers are about 30 in 10 countries". Also I felt the enchantment of the visiting tour, because this is not only a pleasure tour, but a World Heritage visiting tour as most obelisks stand in the areas of World Heritage Site.
Then I planned to visit every obelisks in the world. However, I unexpectedly learned many "fragmented" obelisks are not widely introduced yet, and the limited knowledge among the archeologist. Then I finally planned to visit all the obelisks including fragments, and observe by my eyes, and take pictures with high definition image, and report the whole stories including the provenance of the obelisks. This is the motivation for this travel, as my lifework. These websites are as the result of such visiting tours.
Initially I planned to go to Egypt again in Summer 2013 as Egypt is a homeland of ancient obelisks. But I had to abandon the plan as main sightseeing spots are closed due to the sudden military coup d'etat just after purchasing the air tickets. Then I visited Italy instead.
In Summer 2014, I visited Egypt which calmed down the political confusion, and also looked around the obelisks in U.K., Turky and Isreal, and then Italy again.
Then in May 2015, I visited the obelisks which I have not seen in France, Italy, Lebanon, and U.K. As a result, I found that 67 obelisks including the fragmented ones, excluding 26 obelisks remain in the Obelisk Temple in Labanon. And, 60 obelisks (among 67) are publicly exhibited.
Country | Numbers
| Present Site | Pharaoh, Commonly Known Name of Obelisk
|
Egypt | 29
| Karnak Great Temple of Amun, Karnak †† | Tuthmosis I Obelisk |
Queen Hatshepsut Obelisk | |||
Seti II Obelisk | |||
Luxor Temple, Luxor †† | Ramses II Obelisk | ||
Luxor Museum, Luxor † | Ramses III Obelisk (Indoor Exhibition) | ||
Messalla Garden in Gezira Island, Cairo † | Ramses II Obelisk | ||
Egyptian Museum, Cairo † | Queen Hatshepsut Obelisk (Pyramidion alone) | ||
Ramses II Obelisk (top only) | |||
Ramses II Obelisk (top only) | |||
Ramses IV Obelisk (fragment) | |||
Tuthmosis III Obelisk (fragment) | |||
Obelisk removed the Name of Pharaoh (fragment) | |||
Ramses II Obelisk (fragment) (non-public) | |||
Ramses II Obelisk(fragment) (non-public) | |||
Front of Terminal I, Cairo Intn'l Airport, Heliopolis | Ramses II Obelisk | ||
Al-Masalla area, Heliopolis | Senusret I Obelisk (non-public) | ||
Teti Obelisk (non-public) (Unconfirmed) | |||
Qesm, Faiyum | Senusret I Obelisk | ||
The ruins of Tanis, San El-Hagar | Ramses II Obelisk (fragment) | ||
Ramses II Obelisk (top & fragment) | |||
Ramses II Obelisk (top & fragment) | |||
Ramses II Obelisk (pyramidion & fragment) | |||
Ramses II Obelisk (pyramidion & fragment) | |||
Nubian Museum, Aswan † | Ramses II Obelisk | ||
Ramses II Obelisk (Indoor Exhibition) | |||
Amenhotep II Obelisk (top only) | |||
Tuthmosis IV Obelisk (fragment) | |||
Name of Pharaoh is unknown (fragment) | |||
Alexandria National Museum, Alexandria | Seti I Obelisk (fragment) (No visit yet) | ||
Italy | 21
| Back side of Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome †† | Lateran Obelisk, Tuthmosis III and IV |
Piazza Navona, Rome † | Agonalis Obelisk ‡, Roman Emperor Domitianus (Domitian) | ||
Piazza della Rotonda (In front of Pantheon), Rome †† | Macuteo Obelisk, Ramses II | ||
Front of Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome † | Minerva Obelisk, Apries | ||
Piazza Montecitorio, Rome † | Montecitorio Obelisk, Psammetikos II | ||
Top of Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps), Rome † | Sallustian Obelisk ‡ | ||
Monte Pincio (Pincian Hill), Rome † | Monte Pincio Obelisk ‡, Roman Emperor Hadrianus (Hadrian) | ||
Piazza del Popolo, Rome † | Flaminian Obelisk, Seti I and Ramses II | ||
Ruin of Thermae Diocletiani, Rome † | Dogali Obelisk, Ramses II | ||
Piazza d. Esquilino, Rome †† | Piazza dell'Esquilino Obelisk ‡ | ||
Piazza del Quirinale, Rome † | Piazza del Quirinale Obelisk ‡ | ||
Villa Celimontana, Rome † | Celimontana Obelisk (Original ancient Egyptian obelisk is upper portion only), Ramses II | ||
Via Aurelio Saffi, Urbino † | Obelisk of Urbino, Apries | ||
Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens, Behind of Palazzo Pitti), Firenze (Florence) †† | Boboli Gardens Obelisk, Ramses II | ||
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze, Firenze (Florence) †† | Ancient Roman Obelisk ‡ (Indoor Exhibition) (No visit yet) | ||
Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna † | Ramses X Obelisk (Indoor Exhibition) | ||
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Napoli (Naples) † | Egyptian Obelisk (fragment) (non-public) | ||
Ancient Roman Obelisk (fragment) (non-public) | |||
Piazza Paolo Emilio Papiniano, Benevento † | Domitianus Obelisk ‡ | ||
Museo del Sannio (Samnium Museum), Benevento †† | Domitianus Obelisk ‡ (fragment) (Indoor Exhibition) | ||
Piazza del Duomo, Catania †† | Elephant Fountain Obelisk | ||
Vatican City | 1
|
Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square) †† | Vatican Obelisk ‡ |
France | 2
| Place de la Concorde, Paris †† | Cleopatra's Needle, Ramses II |
Place de la Republique, Arles †† | Obelisk of Arles ‡ | ||
U.K. | 6
| Victoria Embankment, London † | Cleopatra's Needle, Tuthmosis III | British Museum, London † | Queen Hatshepsut Obelisk (Indoor Exhibition) | Nectanebo II Obelisk (fragment) (Indoor Exhibition) | Nectanebo II Obelisk (fragment) (Indoor Exhibition) |
Kingston Lacy House & Gardens, Wimborne | Philae Obelisk, Ptolemy IX | ||
Oriental Museum, Durham University, Durham † | Amenhotep II Obelisk (Indoor Exhibition) | ||
Germany | 1 |
Staatliches Museum Aegyptischer Kunst (State Museum of Egyptian Art), München (Munich) | Titus Sextius Africanus Obelisk ‡ (Indoor Exhibition) (No visit yet) |
Poland | 1 |
Poznań Archaeological Museum, Poznań, | Ramses II Obelisk, (Indoor Exhibition) (No visit yet) |
Turkey | 1 |
Sultan Ahmet Park (Hippodrome), Istanbul †† | Tuthmosis III Obelisk |
Israel | 1 |
Ruin of Hippodrome (Eastern Circus), Caesarea | Caesarea Obelisk ‡ |
U.S. | 2 |
Central Park, New York † | Cleopatra's Needle, Tuthmosis III | Metropolitan Museum, New York † | Obelisk in Ptolemaic Dynasty (non-public) |
Lebanon | 2 |
National Museum of Beirut, Beirut | Abi Shemou Obelisk (Indoor Exhibition) | Obelisk Temple, Biblos †† | (reference) | Ruin of Hippodrome, Tyrus †† | Tyrus Obelisk ‡ (Part) |
Fallen Obelisks | |||
Egypt | 1 |
Karnak Great Temple of Amun, Karnak †† | Queen Hatshepsut Obelisk |
4 |
The ruins of Tanis, San El-Hagar | Ramses II Obelisk, And many fragments of other obelisks |
coauthoring and editing: Hiroyuki Nagase nag2jp@ gmail.com and Shoji Okamoto shoji_okamoto31@yahoo.co.jp