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The Abgig obelisk (also known as the Begig obelisk and the Faiyum obelisk) is an ancient stone monument erected by the Egyptian pharaoh Senusret I in the 20th century BC near what is now Faiyum. Made of red granite, it is likely that the obelisk once stood 12.9 metres (42.3 ft) high with a base of four limestone slabs.
These obelisks are now dispersed around the world, and fewer than half of them remain in Egypt. The earliest temple obelisk still in its original position is the 68-foot (20.7 m) 120-metric-ton (130-short-ton) [9] red granite Obelisk of Senusret I of the Twelfth Dynasty at Al-Matariyyah in modern Heliopolis. [10]
Senusret I dispatched several quarrying expeditions to the Sinai and Wadi Hammamat and built numerous shrines and temples throughout Egypt and Nubia during his long reign. He rebuilt the important temple of Re-Atum in Heliopolis which was the centre of the sun cult. He erected 2 red granite obelisks there to celebrate his Year 30 Heb Sed ...
For example, David Allen states there are 29 such obelisks, with more in Italy than in Egypt. [5] Only two known obelisks date prior to the New Kingdom, both of which were dedicated to the Middle Kingdom Pharaoh Senusret I. At least 22 of the known obelisks date to the New Kingdom, four date to the Late Period and one to the Ptolemaic period.
The major surviving remnant of Heliopolis is the obelisk of the Temple of Ra-Atum erected by Senusret I of Dynasty XII. It still stands in its original position, now within Al-Masalla in El Matareya, Cairo. [2] The 21 m (69 ft) high red granite obelisk weighs 120 tons (240,000 lbs) and is believed to be the oldest surviving obelisk in the world ...
The unfinished obelisk in its quarry at Aswan, 1990. The obelisk and wider quarry were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 along with other examples of Upper Egyptian architecture, as part of the "Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae" (despite the quarry site being neither Nubian, nor between Abu Simbel and Philae). [2]
The obelisk and its base contain a number of inscriptions. Two ancient inscriptions at the base of the shaft describe its original dedication in Rome, four inscriptions on the pedestal composed by Cardinal Silvio Antoniano describe its rededication in 1586, and lower down, in smaller script, is an acknowledgement of Domenico Fontana's role in the moving of the obelisk.
The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (/ ˈ k ɑːr. n æ k /), [1] comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt.. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000–1700 BC) and continued into the Ptolemaic Kingdom (305–30 BC), although most of the extant ...