X. Psammeticus I.; one, the “gnomon” obelisk, on the Monte Citorio at Rome.

XI. Psammeticus II.; one, the elephant obelisk, in the Piazza della Minerva at Rome, mounted on an elephant.

XII. Nectanebo I., or Amyrtæus; two, of black basaltic stone, in the British Museum.

XIII. Nectanebo II.; two, at Rome, both uninscribed; one near the church of St. Maria Maggiore, the other in the Piazza of the Quirinal Palace.

We arrive thus at the number thirty-nine; and if to this number we add the two Pharaonic obelisks, Prioli and Nahasb; the two Theban obelisks lost at Nineveh; the three Ptolemaic obelisks of Philæ; the four Roman obelisks of Domitian, Hadrian, and that called Albani; and five of obscure origin—namely, the sandstone obelisk at Alnwick, the fragment at Benevento, mentioned by Bonomi, the two Florence obelisks, and the obelisk at Arles—we shall then have a total of fifty-five, of which thirty-three are still standing, and twenty-two have fallen.

We cannot pretend, at this distance of time, to have traced every obelisk issued from the quarries of Syené, to its present resting-place. We know that there were many important cities with their temples in the Delta, now in ruins, their place alone indicated by tumulus-like mounds, where, doubtless, obelisks once stood; nor have we forgotten the fragment which forms part of the pavement of Cairo; nor the hieroglyphed stump on which Pompey’s Pillar rests for its chief support at Alexandria. But, strange to say, of the twenty-nine obelisks thus ascertained to be standing, only six remain to Egypt herself—namely, Alexandria, one; Heliopolis, one; Karnak, two; Luxor, one; and Philæ, one.

To the eminent Egyptologist, Mr. Joseph Bonomi,[54] science is indebted for a list of thirty-two obelisks, arranged in the order of size, and ranging in altitude between 5 feet 10 inches, the smallest of the two obelisks in the museum at Florence; and 105 feet 7 inches, the height of the giant of the obelisk family, that of St. John Lateran at Rome. This latter obelisk has lost nearly a yard from its base in consequence of injury, and would, when perfect, have measured upwards of 108 feet. Mr. Bonomi’s list is given in the form of a pictorial diagram, from which we quote the figures as follows:—

Ft.In.
1.St. John Lateran, Rome, Thothmes III.1057
2.Karnak, Queen Hatasou936 [55]
3.St. Peter’s, Rome, plain882
4.Luxor, Rameses II.——
5.Piazza del Popolo, Rome, Seti I.875
6.Paris, Rameses II760
7.Monte Citorio, Rome, Psammeticus755
8.Karnak, Thothmes I——
9.Alexandria, Thothmes-Rameses691
10.Heliopolis, Usertesen I.674
11.Arles, France599
12.Navona, Rome, Domitian543
13.Atmeidan, Constantinople, Thothmes III.500
14.St. Maria Maggiore, Rome480
15.Piazza Quirinale, Rome47
16.Trinita de Monti, Rome436
17.Prioli, Constantinople350
18.Philæ——
19.Hadrian, Rome300
20.Corfe Castle, Bankes220
21.Pantheon, Rome199
22.Piazza Minerva, Rome170
23.Alnwick, Syon House90
24.Villa Mattei83
25.British Museum81
26.Florence5 10

It will be seen that Mr. Bonomi omits to mention the height of the Luxor and of the lesser Karnak obelisk: the former appears in his table as fourth in altitude; while its companion, the Paris obelisk, is sixth, with a difference of upwards of ten feet between them. This, if it be so, may possibly result from the removal of some portion of the base of the French monument; although it has been always known that there was some difference of length between them. The smaller Karnak obelisk is about seventy-five feet high. The British obelisk, being prostrate, does not appear in the list; but it has now been ascertained to be taller than its Alexandrian brother, the precise measurements being 68 feet 5½ inches; and 67 feet 2 inches; while the latter is actually shorter, by two inches, than the Heliopolis obelisk. These data serve to place the British obelisk tenth on the list in point of height. Mr. Bonomi’s researches likewise direct attention to the following interesting facts in connection with the statistics of obelisks—namely, that out of twenty-one of these Pharaonic monuments, eight possess only one column of hieroglyphs; and in the case of the Alnwick obelisk, only on one side of the shaft; one, two columns; and seven, three columns; while the remaining five are plain and without any carving at all.

The obelisks at present erect are distributed as follows, age taking precedence in each of the divisions:—