*Ø* Blogmanac September 12, 1878 | Cleopatra's Needle erected in London
Cleopatra's Needle, the obelisk of Djehutymes III (most usually called in English Thutmose III, but also Thotmes, Thutmoses, Tuthmose, Tuthmosis, or Thothimes III), was erected on London's Thames Embankment. Originally appropriated from Egypt many decades before during the Napoleonic Wars, by Scottish General Sir Ralph Abercromby, the obelisk had departed Alexandria, Egypt aboard a specially constructed barge (the Cleopatra) on September 21st, 1877.
Nearly lost at sea
The obelisk’s voyage from its rightful home was not without incident and it was nearly lost at sea. As the Cleopatra passed through the Bay of Biscay, a gale struck and the barge became separated from its mother ship, the Olga. While attempting to secure the barge to the Olga, a number of seamen died, and the barge went adrift. A Scottish steamer, the Fitzmaurice, discovered the drifting Cleopatra, and towed it into the port of El Ferrol, in Northwestern Spain.
The obelisk was actually constructed not for the Queen of the Nile, but for Thutmose III and is carved with hieroglyphics praising Tuthmose and commemorating his third sed festival. Later inscriptions were added by Ramesses II to commemorate his victories. On each side of the pyramidion (top triangle of the obelisk), the pharaoh is depicted as the Egyptian/Greek goddess Sphinx making offerings to the Gods of Heliopolis.
'Cleopatra's Needles' is the name applied to two Egyptian obelisks, formerly at Alexandria. One of these obelisks now lies in New York, the other in London.
The great obelisks were hewn from the rose red granite of Syene, and originally erected before the great temple of Heliopolis, sacred ‘City of the Sun’, the place where Moses was born. Thutmose III, it is believed, ruled Egypt from 1504 BCE until his death in 1450 BCE (dates vary according to sources). He was an active expansionist ruler, sometimes referred to as the ‘Napoleon of Egypt’, because he was recorded to have conquered 350 cities during his rule, conquering much of the Near East. Thutmose III was buried in tomb KV 34 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
Pictured: Cleopatra's Needle Being Brought to England, by George Knight, 1877
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Cleopatra's Needle, the obelisk of Djehutymes III (most usually called in English Thutmose III, but also Thotmes, Thutmoses, Tuthmose, Tuthmosis, or Thothimes III), was erected on London's Thames Embankment. Originally appropriated from Egypt many decades before during the Napoleonic Wars, by Scottish General Sir Ralph Abercromby, the obelisk had departed Alexandria, Egypt aboard a specially constructed barge (the Cleopatra) on September 21st, 1877.
Nearly lost at sea
The obelisk’s voyage from its rightful home was not without incident and it was nearly lost at sea. As the Cleopatra passed through the Bay of Biscay, a gale struck and the barge became separated from its mother ship, the Olga. While attempting to secure the barge to the Olga, a number of seamen died, and the barge went adrift. A Scottish steamer, the Fitzmaurice, discovered the drifting Cleopatra, and towed it into the port of El Ferrol, in Northwestern Spain.
The obelisk was actually constructed not for the Queen of the Nile, but for Thutmose III and is carved with hieroglyphics praising Tuthmose and commemorating his third sed festival. Later inscriptions were added by Ramesses II to commemorate his victories. On each side of the pyramidion (top triangle of the obelisk), the pharaoh is depicted as the Egyptian/Greek goddess Sphinx making offerings to the Gods of Heliopolis.
'Cleopatra's Needles' is the name applied to two Egyptian obelisks, formerly at Alexandria. One of these obelisks now lies in New York, the other in London.
The great obelisks were hewn from the rose red granite of Syene, and originally erected before the great temple of Heliopolis, sacred ‘City of the Sun’, the place where Moses was born. Thutmose III, it is believed, ruled Egypt from 1504 BCE until his death in 1450 BCE (dates vary according to sources). He was an active expansionist ruler, sometimes referred to as the ‘Napoleon of Egypt’, because he was recorded to have conquered 350 cities during his rule, conquering much of the Near East. Thutmose III was buried in tomb KV 34 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
Pictured: Cleopatra's Needle Being Brought to England, by George Knight, 1877
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
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