The Unfinished Obelisk

The Unfinished Obelisk lies, in its original location, in a granite quarry in Aswan. It is 42m in length and was most probably abandoned when some cracks appeared in the rock, during its construction. Had this obelisk been completed, it would have been the heaviest obelisk ever cut in Ancient Egypt, weighing nearly 1100 tons! It is believed that it was constructed and abandoned during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty).

During the earliest ages, the Ancient Egyptians knew the so-called  “ Pn-pn”, which was a pyramidal stone with a pointed top and according to their beliefs the “Pn-pn” symbolized the primeval hill from which the world first appeared. Then, in the course of time, this Pn-pn evolved to be an obelisk usually made of granite with a pyramidal shape on top.

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During the 5th Dynasty, the obelisk began to play an important role inside the<!--<!-- temples of Ra; the obelisk being a sacred symbol of the cult of the sun. They were erected on a great base in an open court, and then as the suns rays fell on its pyramidal top, the bright light filled the Temple, giving the people a symbol of the power of the sun.

One of the most important obelisks, which still stand in pride in the district of El Mataraya, was erected in front of the entrance of the vanished temple of Re at Heliopolis. King Senwosret I, to commemorate the ceremony of the “Heb-sed”, dedicated it to the temple.

In the New Kingdom, especially at the time of the 18th and 19th Dynasties, the Kings used to erect obelisks in front of the different temples for religious and political reasons.

As seen at the temple at Karnak, obelisks were sometimes put in front of or into temples, where they acted as "antennas", drawing cosmic energy down to Earth. As religion had an overwhelming power in the lives of the Egyptians, religious artifacts, like the obelisks, were produced, transported and erected regardless of their great cost and labor.

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One of the really ambitious ones, which was however never finished because of a fatal crack, is the unfinished obelisk at the ancient granite quarry at Aswan. If finished, it would have been a mind-boggling 41.75 meters (app. 137 feet) high - higher than any Egyptian obelisk that were ever actually erected.

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Had it been finished, it is estimated that it would have weighed a gigantic 1,168 tons! Consider the level of technology available, and the fact that the main mode of transportation was by boat on the Nile. Also consider that the obelisks, erected at the Karnak temple by Queen Hatshepsut, were sailed by boat there from Aswan. That's 177 kilometers (110 miles) away in a direct line. Production, transport and erection reportedly only took months. Granted, they were a bit smaller than the unfinished obelisk, but still more than 30 meters high.

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Being at the quarry, just how did they get create these giant single pieces of rock out of the mountainside? They made a row of holes app. 10 centimeters (4 inches) wide, and inserted wood in the holes. Then they poured water on the wood. The wood then expands by such force because of the water that the rock splits.

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The basic shape of the obelisk is created by rows of workers pounding the shape on the rock with dolomite rocks, or dolostone, and creating the app. 1 meter (3 feet) wide shafts at each side of the obelisk-to-be. This is possible because the dolomite is even harder than granite. To smoothen the sides, bricks are heated and put on the places that are to be treated. When the rock is sufficiently hot, cold water is poured on, and the uneven parts come off in flakes, thanks to the crystalline structure of the granite.

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Why was this obelisk unfinished? Because a fatal crack was discovered - one too deep to be dealt with. Because of it, the obelisk could not be the one-piece job that was required, if the cosmic energy was to be able to travel down through it. And who wants a defect antenna?

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So it was abandoned.

Today we are grateful that the crack appeared, because the unfinished obelisk gives us an insight into how these magnificent structures were created we would otherwize simply not have.

The Unfinished Obelisk

The southern end of Aswan town was an area of ancient granite quarries, where the most valuable stone for the building of many of Egypt’s monuments was obtained. Visitors on tours are often taken to see the ‘unfinished obelisk’ which still remains in situ attached to the rock on one side. Situated in the northern part of the quarries, this gigantic single piece of granite was intended to be an obelisk and is generally attributed to Queen Hatshepsut, being very similar to her obelisk in Karnak Temple in Luxor. Some fine reliefs depicting the transportation methods of an obelisk can be seen in Hatshepsut’s Deir el-Bahri temple.

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In ancient times obelisks and other large stone objects were usually blocked out roughly before they left the quarry. There are several techniques suggested for the splitting of hard stone away from its surrounding rock. One method may have been to cut a groove along the line where the stone was to be detached and then to drive in wooden wedges which were soaked with water. The force of the swelling wood would act to split the granite – there is certainly evidence that this method was used in Roman times. Another method may have been to cut a groove with stone tools, or a primitive saw used with an abrasive, which would then be heated with charcoal and rapidly cooled with water, causing the stone to split.

Given the primitive soft-metal tools of the ancient Egyptians, the obelisk in the Northern Quarry shows us an amazing feat of technology and archaeologists have learned much about the techniques of stone-cutting from examining this abandoned monument and from the tools which have been left behind. It would appear that the stone, which measures 42m in length and would have weighed around 1216 tonnes, developed a flaw during quarrying and was never completed, left to lie still attached to the rock for the next 3000 years. It has been a tourist attraction for almost as long.

The Northern Quarry is an fascinating place to visit for those interested in early technologies. It is famous for producing the granite used in the construction of the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid of Khufu as well as some of the casing stones in other pyramids. Every rock face shows the imprint of ancient stone workers with many cut-marks or artists sketches still to see. You can almost believe that the workmen have only just put down their tools and gone home for the night.

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The area of the northern quarry has been recently excavated and renovated by the SCA, its mounds of rubble cleared to reveal many previously unknown granite objects, including fragments of columns and statues. Archaeologists have been able to get a clearer picture of how the stone was cut, carved and transported and have found several ancient tools and artists’ sketches. To the south of the unfinished obelisk, excavators found a hieroglyphic inscription dated to year 25 of the reign of Tuthmose III, an instruction from the King for the quarrying of two large obelisks to be erected in Karnak Temple and dedicated to Amun-Re. They also uncovered, close to the unfinished obelisk, the depressions made from the hewing of seven large obelisks, possibly those in Karnak and Luxor temples. Another important discovery was a harbour from where the stone was shipped northwards along the Nile, its walls revealing decorative graffiti of the god Bes, ostriches and fish.

The site is now landscaped and re-opened and offers wide wooden walkways and steps between the many different levels of the quarry with a good viewing platform at either end of the unfinished obelisk. A visitors centre and open-air museum to display some of the artefacts, along with the inevitable tourist bazaar completes this unique experience. 
 
 Nearby monuments

Another quarry area to the south of the ‘unfinished obelisk’ has been in use since ancient times and is still in use today. Walking up a rough track to the top of the hill many pieces of stone and boulders can be seen which have been partly cut from the surrounding rock, still showing cut-marks, though it is difficult to distinguish between ancient and modern workings. Perched high on a hill in the Southern Quarries, with magnificent views over the River Nile towards the High Dam, is an open-air exhibition of modern granite sculpture, part of the Aswan International Sculpture Symposium which now a significant annual event in Egypt.

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There are also many rock inscriptions in the quarries and the surrounding areas and on the river banks around Elephantine. There are boulder inscriptions on the river bank below the public gardens behind the Old Cataract Hotel. Another important inscription nearby, depicting Akhenaten’s sculptors Men and Bek, is carved on a rock near the Coptic Cathedral but recently has been inaccessible as it was enclosed within a building site.
 
How to get there

The Northern Quarry is situated near the Fatimid Cemetery at the southern end of Aswan, easily reached by taxi, or a brisk walk up the hill from the Basma Hotel and the Nubian Museum. Tickets to the Northern Quarry cost EGP 30. The Southern Quarry can be found by turning right up the hill when leaving Philae Port, instead of taking the left-hand turn towards Aswan town.