Tag Archives: obelisk

Fire on the rocks! New paper on firesetting in ancient Egyptian stone quarrying

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Per Storemyr

It started with Egyptologist and engineer Reginald Engelbach almost a hundred years ago. By the early 1920s he found evidence that fire would have been used in extraction of the famous Unfinished Obelisk at the Aswan granite quarries. But he … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, New publications, Old quarries | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

New York Times: “Egypt or Central Park: Where Does an Ancient Obelisk Belong?”

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Per Storemyr

The issue of bringing Central Park’s Cleopatra’s Needle back to Egypt is still in the media. See this recent video from New York Times on the weathering of the New Kingdom obelisk: …and check out these blog posts of mine … Continue reading →

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Cleopatra’s Needle: Egyptian concern about the NYC obelisk

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Per Storemyr

A few days ago Secretary General Zahi Hawass of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities expressed grave concern about the condition of Cleopatra’s Needle of NYC and even threatened to take the obelisk back to Egypt if care is not … Continue reading →

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Cleopatra’s Needle: Tracing obelisk weathering with old photos

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Per Storemyr

Historic photos are essential for research on monument weathering. With free internet access to archives, such photos are now easier to find than previously. Below, I will show the case of Cleopatra’s Needle, a famous Ancient Egyptian obelisk transferred to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Monument conservation, Weathering history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments