On the banks of the River Thames in central London, an ancient Egyptian obelisk, known as Cleopatra’s Needle, reaches towards the sky. Carved from a single slab of red granite, it is 69 feet tall, weighs a substantial 224 tonnes, is decorated with hieroglyphs, and was made for the Pharaoh Thotmes III in 1460 BC.
In 1877, six sailors lost their lives transporting the obelisk from Alexandria. Mohammed Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, gave it to the Prince Regent in thanks for the British victories over the French at the Battle of the Nile and Battle of Alexandria. The Cleopatra, a specially designed iron cylinder container, was used to carry it, towed by a steam-ship. A hurricane off the Bay of Biscay resulted in the brief disappearance of the Cleopatra and the drowning of half the crew.
The Cleopatra and its precious cargo were rescued. As it arrived at Falmouth, obelisk fever spread. When the ship docked, local schoolchildren were given the day off. At the inauguration of the obelisk, couples danced to the ‘Cleopatra’s Needle Waltz’. Silver obelisk pencils dangled from the necks of fashionable ladies.
London’s obelisk is one of three that left Egypt between 1831 and 1881 for foreign lands. The other two are in Paris and New York, and all are named after Cleopatra, even though none had anything to do with the Egyptian queen. It’s a romantic misnomer.
The engineering breakthroughs that facilitated the making and moving of these and other ancient Egyptian obelisks, and the pharaohs, emperors, imperialists and egos desperate to possess them, are the subjects of this well-researched and amiable account by the American Egyptologist Bob Brier. Tutankhamen’s gold mask and the Great Pyramid are all very well, but Brier believes the obelisks are the most remarkable achievements of ancient Egypt: ‘They have become symbols of endurance and eternity,’ and ‘a tribute to the human spirit’.
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