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Unfinished obelisk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The unfinished obelisk is the largest known ancient obelisk, located in the northern region of the ancient quarries in Aswan (Assuan), Egypt. It is nearly twice as large as any Egyptian obelisk ever erected. If finished it would measure around 42 meters, or 130 feet, in length. Its weight is estimated at around 1,150 metric tons. Scientists speculate that it was intended to complement the Lateran Obelisk that was originally at Karnak (Now outside the Lateran Palace in Rome).
The obelisk's creators began to carve it directly out of bedrock, but cracks appeared in the granite and the project was abandoned. The bottom side of the obelisk is still attached to the bedrock. The unfinished obelisk offers unusual insight into ancient Egyptian stone-working techniques, with marks from workmen's tools still clearly visible.
Besides the unfinished obelisk, an unfinished partly worked obelisk base was discovered in 2005 at the quarries of Aswan[1]. Also it was discovered some rock carvings and remains that may correspond to the site where most of the famous obelisks were worked. All these quarries in Aswan and the unfinished objects are to become an open-air museum and are now, since 2006, officially protected by the Egyptian government as archeological site.
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