In Central Park stands an Egyptian monument (obelisk),
often called "Cleopatra's Needle." There are several
"Cleopatra's Needles" in cities around the world. None of them has
anything to do with Cleopatra.Return to my Egyptology pages
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© Copyright 2000, Jim Loy
In Central Park stands an Egyptian monument (obelisk),
often called "Cleopatra's Needle." There are several
"Cleopatra's Needles" in cities around the world. None of them has
anything to do with Cleopatra.
The one in Central Park has inscriptions about Thutmose III down the center of each of the four faces. On either side of those inscriptions, Ramses II added his own inscriptions. The monument weighs about 220 tons, and is 69.6 feet (21.2 meters) tall, and about 6 feet (2 meters) wide. It is badly weathered, from the harsh New York weather. Only two sides are still readable.
This monument, and its twin, originally stood in Heliopolis (An). In about 13 BCE Augustus Caesar had them moved to Alexandria. One of them apparently fell over during an earthquake in 1301. It apparently remained on its side until it was moved (nearly being lost at sea) to London in 1877, where it stands on the bank of the Thames. It also is badly weathered. In 1881, the other was shipped to New York.