Unfinished Obelisk
E83188
The Unfinished Obelisk is an enormous, partially carved ancient Egyptian obelisk still lying in its original granite quarry, offering insight into Pharaonic stone-working techniques and construction methods.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | As subject | As object |
|---|---|---|
| Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan | 0 | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient Egyptian obelisk
→
archaeological site → tourist attraction → |
| associatedWith |
Pharaonic Egypt
→
surface form:
Pharaonic period
Temple-building projects in ancient Egypt → |
| carvingTechnique | directly carved from bedrock → |
| category |
Ancient Egyptian architecture
→
Archaeological sites in Egypt → Obelisks in Egypt → |
| condition | partially detached from bedrock → |
| constructionPhase |
final detachment never completed
→
rough shaping completed → |
| country | Egypt → |
| dimensionType | one of the largest monolithic stones ever carved → |
| estimatedDate |
18th Dynasty of Egypt
→
surface form:
18th Dynasty
circa 15th century BCE → |
| heritageStatus | protected antiquities site of Egypt → |
| inscriptions | none completed → |
| length | approximately 42 meters → |
| locatedIn |
Aswan
→
Aswan Governorate NERFINISHED → Upper Egypt → |
| material |
granite
→
red granite → |
| near |
First Cataract of the Nile
→
surface form:
Nile River at Aswan
|
| orientation | lying in bedrock → |
| ownership |
Egypt
→
surface form:
Arab Republic of Egypt
|
| partOf |
Aswan granite
→
surface form:
Aswan granite quarries
|
| projectedHeight | approximately 42 meters → |
| purpose | monumental obelisk → |
| quarry |
Aswan quarries
→
surface form:
Northern Quarries of Aswan
|
| reasonForAbandonment | large cracks in the stone → |
| researchUse |
study of ancient Egyptian engineering
→
study of ancient Egyptian labor organization → |
| shows |
channels cut around the obelisk outline
→
methods for separating stone from bedrock → tool marks from dolerite pounding stones → |
| significance |
evidence of ancient Egyptian quarrying methods
→
evidence of ancient Egyptian stone-working techniques → largest known ancient obelisk ever attempted → |
| status | unfinished → |
| timePeriod | New Kingdom of Egypt → |
| tourism | popular tourist site in Aswan → |
| visibleFeatures |
cracks along the shaft
→
unfinished base still attached to quarry floor → |
| visitorAccess | open-air museum → |
| weight | approximately 1168 tons → |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan