Egypt’s scattered monoliths

Press, 21 October 1978, Page 10

Egypt’s scattered monoliths

The Obelisques of Egypt. By Labib Habachi; edited by Charles C. Van Siclen 111. Dent. 203 pp. $15.80.

A former Chief Inspector of Antiquities, Labib Habichi, — an Egyptian archaeologist, has produced a fascinating account of the complex cluster of meanings which obelisques

had for the ancient Egyptians, and of their production, the Pharaohs who commissioned them, and the fate of the many which can still be traced. There is irony in the fact that so many of these great granite monoliths, erected to celebrate the triumphs of ancient Egyptian conquests, should, in their turn, have become the spoils of war — and of diplomacy — thousand of years later to such an extent that today there are almost as many standing on “foreign” soil as in Egypt itself. In Rome, alone, there are 13 obelisques; “Cleopatra’s Needle” is the most famous of the two that found their way to the United Kingdom; New York and Istanbul each boast one. The story of how each came to be transported from its original location is, perhaps, the most interesting part of the book. Examining as it does one of the most puzzling aspects of ancient civilisation, this is a book of interest both to archaeologists as well as to the layman for whom archaeology is of absorbing interest. A particularly pleasing feature is the inclusion of excellent illustrations in the test itself, a format that seems to be becoming increasingly rare in modern book production. —D. H. GILMORE.