Editing Obelisk (section)

==Modern obelisks==

===As commemorative monuments===
Egyptian obelisks remain a source of fascination, serving as a reminder of past glories and a symbol of state power. A majority of modern obelisks are built of [[masonry]] or [[concrete]], so not monolithic like their Egyptian counterparts, and are often oversized. Examples from the 19th and 20th centuries include the [[Obelisk at Slottsbacken|Obelisk]] (1800) in [[Stockholm]], [[Keisarinnankivi|Stone of the Empress]] (1835) in [[Helsinki]],<ref>[https://www.myhelsinki.fi/en/see-and-do/sights/the-stone-of-the-empress The Stone of the Empress - My Helsinki]</ref> the [[Wellington Monument, Dublin|Wellington Monument]] (1861) in [[Dublin]], the [[Washington Monument]] (1884) in [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref name=DedicationNYT>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/02/22/103628255.pdf Marking a people's love], an article from [[The New York Times]] published February 22, 1885.</ref> the [[Obelisco de Buenos Aires|Obelisk of Buenos Aires]] (1936) in [[Buenos Aires]],<ref name=Lagleyze>Julio A. Luqui Lagleyze, ''Plazas de Buenos Aires'', Revista Todo es Historia, Nro 90, noviembre de 1974</ref> the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] (1958) in [[Tiananmen Square]], [[Beijing]] and the [[National Monument (Indonesia)|National Monument]] (1975) in [[Jakarta]]. A few, however, continue the ancient tradition of the monolithic obelisk.

<gallery heights="180" caption="Modern obelisks" mode="packed">
File:Obelisken slottsbacken.jpg|[[Obelisk at Slottsbacken|Obelisk in Stockholm]] raised in the year 1800 as a memorial to the service and dedication of the Stockholm burghers during the [[Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)|Russo-Swedish war 1788-1790]].
File:Ireland - Dublin - Phoenix Park - Wellington Monument 2.jpg|The [[Wellington Monument, Dublin|Wellington Monument]] in [[Dublin]], Ireland, built between 1817 and 1861 to commemorate the victories of [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]]
File:Obe brol 1.JPG|The Brothers Broglie Obelisk at the [[Monrepos Park]] in [[Vyborg]], Russia, erected in 1827
File:Keisarinnankivihelsinginkauppatorilla.jpg|The [[Keisarinnankivi|Stone of the Empress]] by [[Carl Ludvig Engel]], erected in 1835 to commemorate Empress [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia]], at the [[Market Square, Helsinki|Market Square]] in [[Helsinki]], Finland
File: Washington October 2016-6.jpg|The [[Washington Monument]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S., built between 1848 and 1884 to commemorate [[George Washington]]
File:2014-08-28 16 25 14 View of High Point Monument from the base in High Point State Park, New Jersey.JPG|The [[High Point (New Jersey)|High Point Monument]] in [[New Jersey]], U.S., built in 1930 as a commemorative [[war memorial]]
File: Obelisk at night.JPG|The [[Obelisco de Buenos Aires|Obelisk of Buenos Aires]], Argentina, erected in 1936 to commemorate the quadricentennial of the foundation of the city
File:Jinianbei.jpg|The [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] in [[Tiananmen Square]], [[Beijing]], China, built between 1952 and 1958 to commemorate the martyrs of revolutionary struggle in the 19th and 20th centuries
File:Jakarta Indonesia National-Monument-02.jpg|The [[National Monument (Indonesia)|National Monument]] in [[Jakarta]], Indonesia, built between 1961 and 1975 to commemorate the [[Indonesian National Revolution|struggle for Indonesian independence]]
File:Площа Перемоги.jpg|[[Hero City monument, Kyiv]], Ukraine, installed in 1982 as a tribute to the fallen in World War II
File:Juche-Tower-2014.jpg|The [[Juche Tower]] in [[Pyongyang]], North Korea, completed in 1982 to commemorate the 70th birthday of [[Kim Il Sung]] and the ideology of [[Juche]]
</gallery>

===Others usages===
In [[Rome]], the [[Via della Conciliazione]], cleared in 1936–1950 to link [[Saint Peter's Basilica]] to the centre of the capital is lined with obelisks serving as [[lamppost]]s.

In France and other European countries, monuments to the dead, such as [[headstone]]s and grave markers, were very often given a form of obelisks, but they are of more modest size. The practice is also still widespread in the [[Islamic world]].

Modern obelisks have also been used in [[surveying]] as [[boundary marker]]s.

<gallery heights="200" mode="packed">
File:St. Peter's Basilica (51188242904).jpg|A view from the [[Via della Conciliazione]] in [[Rome]], Italy
File:Grab Ludwig van Beethoven Wiener Zentralfriedhof 2020-01-30 21.jpg|Grave of [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] (1770–1827) in the central cemetery of [[Vienna]], Austria
File:Tombe JEAN BAPTISTE HUBERT à YVES --17 --.JPG|Grave of [[Jean-Baptiste Hubert]] (1781–1845) in the cemetery of [[Yves, Charente-Maritime]], France
File:Lincoln_Tomb.jpg|[[Lincoln Tomb|Tomb]] of [[Abraham Lincoln]] in [[Oak Ridge Cemetery]] in [[Springfield, Illinois]], U.S.
</gallery>

===Transportation and erection experiments===
In late summer 1999, Roger Hopkins and [[Mark Lehner]] teamed up with a ''[[Nova (American TV program)|NOVA]]'' crew to erect a 25-ton obelisk. This was the third attempt to erect a 25-ton obelisk; the first two, in 1994 and 1999, ended in failure. There were also two successful attempts to raise a 2-ton obelisk and a 9-ton obelisk. Finally in August–September&nbsp;1999, after learning from their experiences, they were able to erect one successfully. First Hopkins and Rais Abdel Aleem organized an experiment to tow a block of stone weighing about 25&nbsp;tons. They prepared a path by embedding wooden rails into the ground and placing a sledge on them bearing a megalith weighing about 25&nbsp;tons. Initially they used more than 100&nbsp;people to try to tow it but were unable to budge it. Finally, with well over 130&nbsp;people pulling at once and an additional dozen using levers to prod the sledge forward, they moved it. Over the course of a day, the workers towed it 10–20&nbsp;feet. Despite problems with broken ropes, they proved the monument could be moved this way.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/dispatches/990314.html "Dispatches"], NOVA</ref> Additional experiments were done in Egypt and other locations to tow megalithic stone with ancient technologies, some of which are [[List of megalithic sites#List of efforts to move and install stones|listed here]].

One experiment was to transport a small obelisk on a barge in the Nile River. The barge was built based on ancient Egyptian designs. It had to be very wide to handle the obelisk, with a 2&nbsp;to&nbsp;1 ratio length to width, and it was at least twice as long as the obelisk. The obelisk was about {{convert|10|ft|m|order=flip}} long and no more than {{convert|5|MT|ST}}. A barge big enough to transport the largest Egyptian obelisks with this ratio would have had to be close to {{convert|200|ft|m|order=flip|adj=mid|-long}} and {{convert|100|ft|m|order=flip|adj=mid|-wide}}. The workers used ropes that were wrapped around a guide that enabled them to pull away from the river while they were towing it onto the barge. The barge was successfully launched into the Nile.

The final and successful erection event was organized by Rick Brown, Hopkins, Lehner and Gregg Mullen in a Massachusetts quarry. The preparation work was done with modern technology, but experiments have proven that with enough time and people, it could have been done with ancient technology. To begin, the obelisk was lying on a gravel and stone ramp. A pit in the middle was filled with dry sand. Previous experiments showed that wet sand would not flow as well. The ramp was secured by stone walls. Men raised the obelisk by slowly removing the sand while three crews of men pulled on ropes to control its descent into the pit. The back wall was designed to guide the obelisk into its proper place. The obelisk had to catch a turning groove which would prevent it from sliding. They used brake ropes to prevent it from going too far. Such turning grooves had been found on the ancient pedestals. Gravity did most of the work until the final 15° had to be completed by pulling the obelisk forward. They used brake ropes again to make sure it did not fall forward. On 12&nbsp;September they completed the project.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/dispatches/990827.html |title=Mysteries of the Nile &#124; August 27, 1999: The Third Attempt |publisher=Pbs.org |date=27 August 1999 |access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref>

This experiment has been used to explain how the obelisks may have been erected in Luxor and other locations. It seems to have been supported by a 3,000&nbsp;year-old [[papyrus]] [[scroll]] in which one scribe taunts another to erect a monument for "thy lord". The scroll reads "Empty the space that has been filled with sand beneath the monument of thy Lord."<ref>[[Nova (American TV program)|NOVA (TV series)]] ''Secrets of Lost Empire&nbsp;II'': "Pharaoh's Obelisks"</ref> To erect the obelisks at Luxor with this method would have involved using over a million cubic meters of stone, mud brick and sand for both the ramp and the platform used to lower the obelisk.<ref>''Time Life Lost Civilizations series: Ramses&nbsp;II: Magnificence on the Nile'', New York: TIME/Life, 1993, pp. 56–57</ref> The largest obelisk successfully erected in ancient times weighed {{convert|455|MT|ST}}. A {{convert|520|MT|ST|adj=on}} stele was found in [[Axum]], but researchers believe it was broken while attempting to erect it.