Digital KarnakUniversity of California Santa Cruz
Digital KarnakRelated Features
Originally built by Thutmose III – 1479 BCE to 1425 BCE
Other works initiated by Thutmose III:
Akhmenu, Contra Temple, Wadjet Hall, 7th Pylon, Thutmose III Shrine, Enclosures and Gates, Sacred Lake, 6th Pylon and Court, 5th Pylon and Court, Obelisks of 7th Pylon, Station of the King and Corridor, Obelisks of Festival Hall Center Pair, Central Bark Shrine, Palace of Ma’at, Obelisks of Wadjet Hall, Pylon and Festival Court of Thutmose II, East Exterior WallIntroduction
These obelisks originally stood to the south of pylon 7. The western obelisk was removed by a Roman emperor (possibly Constantius) in the 4th century CE and eventually sent to Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire in the east, present day Istanbul, Turkey. It now adorns the Hippodrome. The tip of the second obelisk was recovered at Karnak.
Measurements: The obelisk in Istanbul measures 20m, but only its upper portion survives. It would have originally stood almost 29m, not including a base of more than 1m.
Phases of Construction
Thutmose III
Thutmose III erected these obelisks in front of his new pylon entrance along the temple’s north/south processional route (the seventh pylon). Interestingly, while only the upper portion of this obelisk survives, its inscription is very similar to an obelisk depicted in a relief scene of Thutmose III. Its full size and text has been hypothesized based on this image. The inscriptions report that the king raised the obelisks to celebrate his jubilee (heb-sed) festival and honor the god Amun-Ra.
Construction materials: rose granite
About the reconstruction model of Thutmose III
The height and taper of the obelisk on the model were designed based on the axial reconstructions made by Traunecker (1982: fig. 1).
Photographs of all four sides of the Istanbul obelisk were used to recreate the top 20m of the obelisk on the model. A plain rose granite pattern was used to fill in the bottom section. They were placed according to the directional indications given by Dondelinger (1977: tafel 17).
Documentation
Dondelinger, Edmund. (1977),Der Obelisk : ein Steinmal ägyptischer Weltanschauung. Graz: Akadem. Druck- u. Verlagsanst
Habachi, Labib and Charles Van Siclen. (1977),The obelisks of Egypt: skyscrapers of the past. Cairo : American University in Cairo Press