The Unfinished Obelisk: a Granite Giant Never Born
In the ancient pink granite quarries of Aswan, a few kilometres from the centre of the city, lies one of the most fascinating and instructive monuments of the entire Egypt. The Unfinished Obelisk is a colossal monolith that, had it been completed, would have become the largest obelisk ever erected in antiquity. With its 41 metres of length and an estimated weight of about 1,168 tonnes, this giant of stone represents an extraordinary document of the techniques of extraction and working of stone in ancient Egypt.
The obelisk was abandoned during the phase of extraction because of a crack that formed in the rock, making impossible the completion of the monolith. This incident, however unfortunate for the ancient builders, has revealed itself to be a blessing for the modern archaeologists: the unfinished obelisk, still partially embedded in the mother rock, offers a unique window onto the construction methods that the ancient Egyptians used to create these extraordinary monuments.
History of the Obelisk
The Patron: Hatshepsut
The Unfinished Obelisk was almost certainly commissioned by the queen-pharaoh Hatshepsut (1478-1458 BC), one of the most extraordinary figures of Egyptian history. Hatshepsut, who governed Egypt as a pharaoh in full title during the XVIII dynasty, was known for her passion for the great constructions. She had numerous obelisks erected, among them those that one still admires in the Temple of Karnak at Luxor. The obelisk of Aswan was to have been her masterpiece, an unprecedented monument dedicated to the god Amun-Ra.
If completed, the obelisk would have been about a third larger than any other known obelisk. The Lateran Obelisk of Rome, today the largest standing obelisk in the world with its 32 metres, would have been surpassed by almost 10 metres. The weight of the finished obelisk, after the smoothing and the engraving of the hieroglyphs, would in any case have been superior to 1,000 tonnes, posing enormous challenges of transport and installation.
The Abandonment
During the phase of extraction from the mother rock, a crack formed along the body of the obelisk, probably because of a natural vein of the granite that had not been identified previously. This fracture rendered the monolith unusable for its original purpose: a cracked obelisk could not be erected without risk of collapse and, for the deeply religious ancient Egyptians, a defective monument would have been an affront to the divinity to which it was dedicated.
The workers abandoned the worksite, leaving the obelisk exactly in the state in which it was found at the moment of the discovery of the defect. They did not even attempt to obtain smaller monoliths from the same stone, probably because the crack rendered the entire block of granite unstable. The obelisk remained in the quarries for over 3,400 years, progressively forgotten and covered by sand and debris.
The Granite Quarries of Aswan
An Open-Air Museum
The granite quarries of Aswan are not only the site of the Unfinished Obelisk, but a veritable open-air museum that documents millennia of extractive activity. The pink granite of Aswan was one of the most prized materials of ancient Egypt, used for sarcophagi, obelisks, colossal statues, columns and temple facings. The monumental columns of the Hypostyle Hall of Karnak, the sarcophagi of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings and innumerable statues were realised with the stone extracted from these quarries.
Walking through the site, one can observe the traces of working left in different eras. The signs of the wedges used to split the rock, the cavities of the dolerite pounders and the surfaces smoothed by the millennia of human work create an ancient industrial landscape of rare suggestion.
The Extraction Techniques
The Unfinished Obelisk and the surrounding quarries allow one to reconstruct with precision the techniques used by the ancient Egyptians to extract enormous blocks of granite. The process began with the selection of an outcrop of granite devoid of visible defects. The workers then traced the dimensions of the desired block on the surface of the rock.
The actual phase of extraction was based on the use of dolerite pounders, a rock harder than granite. Teams of workers rhythmically beat the surface of the granite with these heavy tools, creating a trench along the entire perimeter of the block. The trenches visible around the Unfinished Obelisk are about 75 centimetres wide, the space necessary for a worker in a crouched position.
Another technique provided for the insertion of dry wooden wedges into the fissures made in the rock. The wedges were then wetted with water: expanding, the wood exerted a pressure sufficient to separate the block from the mother rock. This simple but effective technique was particularly used for the final phases of the separation.
It is estimated that for the extraction of the Unfinished Obelisk about 130 workers were necessary who worked simultaneously in the trenches, with continuous shifts to maintain a constant rhythm. The entire operation of extraction would have required about 15 months of work.
The Dolerite Pounders
In the quarries of Aswan have been found hundreds of dolerite pounders of various dimensions, the principal tool used for the working of granite. These tools, of spherical or ovoid form, weighed from 5 to 6 kilograms each and were used both to pound and to smooth the surface of the granite. Dolerite, being harder than granite on the Mohs scale, was the only natural material available capable of carving this tenacious rock. It is calculated that the pounders wore out rapidly during the work, requiring a constant supply of new tools.
The Transport Phase
From the Worksite to the Temple
Had the obelisk been completed successfully, the successive phase would have been its transport from the quarry to the place of destination, probably the Temple of Karnak at Luxor, distant about 200 kilometres. The transport of a monolith of over 1,000 tonnes represented a colossal logistical challenge, even for a civilisation as expert as the Egyptian one.
The most probable method provided for the dragging of the obelisk along a lubricated ramp up to the bank of the Nile, where it would have been loaded onto an enormous barge. The navigation downstream, favoured by the current of the Nile, would have brought the obelisk up to Luxor. The erection of the obelisk in the temple would have required a further complex operation, probably based on sand ramps and a system of levers.
The representations in the temples and in the tombs show the transport of obelisks on specially built boats, towed by fleets of smaller boats. Queen Hatshepsut had represented in her funerary temple of Deir el-Bahari the transport of two obelisks from Aswan to Karnak, a feat of which she was evidently very proud.
Tips for the Visit
How to Get There
The granite quarries are found in the southern part of the city of Aswan, easily reachable by taxi from the city centre or from the railway station. The entrance to the archaeological site is well signposted. The visit can be combined with other sites of Aswan in a full day of excursions.
Visit Route
The site is arranged as an open-air museum with a signposted route that leads to the Unfinished Obelisk and crosses the principal areas of the quarries. Informative panels in various languages explain the techniques of extraction and the history of the site. The route is partly on irregular rocky terrain, so comfortable and resistant shoes are essential.
What to Bring
The site is completely exposed to the sun, without any zone of shade. Bring abundant water, sun protection, sunglasses and a hat. In the summer months the granite can reach high temperatures, making the visit particularly tiring in the central hours of the day. It is advisable to visit the site in the early morning or in the late afternoon.
Photographic Suggestions
The Unfinished Obelisk offers unique photographic perspectives. To appreciate the colossal dimensions of the monolith, include a person in the photo as a reference of scale. The details of the working techniques, such as the signs of the pounders and the trenches, deserve close-up shots. The light of the late afternoon enhances the pink colour of the granite, creating particularly suggestive images.
Curiosities about the Unfinished Obelisk
If the obelisk had been completed and erected, it would have weighed about 1,168 tonnes and would have been the heaviest obelisk of antiquity. To give an idea of the proportions, the weight equals that of about 200 African elephants. The crack that caused the abandonment is still clearly visible and runs along the obelisk in the longitudinal sense. In the surrounding quarries are also visible the traces of other abandoned projects, a sign that the incidents during the extraction were not infrequent.
The Unfinished Obelisk is much more than a simple archaeological curiosity: it is an open book on the technology and the organisation of work in ancient Egypt, a place where the past reveals itself with a rare clarity and where the monumental ambition of the pharaohs meets the limits imposed by nature.
