Unfinished Obelisk
The largest obelisk ever attempted, abandoned in its granite quarry when it cracked — a window onto how Egyptians cut stone.
The quarries of Aswan
Aswan's pink and red granite was the most prized stone of ancient Egypt, used for obelisks, colossal statues, sarcophagi and temple elements from the Old Kingdom to the Roman period and carried down the Nile to Thebes, Memphis and beyond. The ancient quarries lie in the rocky hills on the east bank, on the southern edge of the modern city, and the most famous trace of them is the Unfinished Obelisk.
A giant that cracked
The obelisk lies where it was being carved, still attached to the bedrock on one side. Had it been finished, it would have been about 42 metres tall and weighed around 1,100 tonnes — roughly a third larger than any obelisk ever raised in ancient Egypt. It is generally dated to the New Kingdom and is often associated with the reign of Hatshepsut, who raised great obelisks at Karnak. During the work, a crack opened in the granite, and the project was abandoned.
How it was done
Because it was left unfinished, the obelisk reveals the techniques of Egyptian quarrymen: around it can be seen the trenches they pounded out with balls of dolerite, a stone harder than granite, as well as marks of measuring and the outlines of other blocks. Archaeologists continue to study the quarry and how such monuments were detached, lifted and transported. Around the site, signs and a small display explain the work, and other quarry faces and inscriptions survive nearby.
Exhibo editorial
It's not a monument, exactly — it's a failure, frozen in the moment someone realised the stone had cracked. That is what makes it so fascinating. You stand on the rim of the quarry and look down on a needle of granite longer than a football pitch is wide, its sides smoothed by hand, the trenches around it pounded out with stone balls, and you can almost hear the hammering stop.
Come early, when the granite glows pink, and walk around the edges to look at the tool marks up close. After this, every obelisk you see — at Karnak, in Paris, in Rome — will look like a small miracle.
How to find it
The Unfinished Obelisk lies in the ancient quarries on the southern edge of Aswan, next to the Fatimid Cemetery and about 10 minutes by taxi from the Corniche. From the ticket office, a path and stairs lead up to viewing platforms around the obelisk in its quarry.
