After painstaking restoration work, Egyptian archaeologists have re-erected the top section of one of two obelisks consecrated to Queen Hatshepsut at Luxor’s iconic Karnak Temple.
The obelisk, which was built in 1457 BC and had previously toppled due to an earthquake, was re-erected in its original location on Saturday night, according to a statement from the antiquities ministry.
It was carved out of a single slab of pink granite and is one of two obelisks bearing the name of the ancient queen at Karnak. The only component of the obelisk that survived the earthquake is the upper part, which weighs 90 tonnes and is 11 meters tall.
The top section was moved from its original placement in the early twentieth century by French Egyptologist Georges Lagrain to make room for large-scale excavations in Karnak at the time.
Legrain’s team then placed it on its side alongside Karnak’s manmade sacred lake, which is one of the temple’s greatest attractions. According to the antiquities ministry, the decision to re-erect the obelisk in its original place was made after researchers from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities assessed that it was in danger of additional deterioration.
Hatshepsut’s other obelisk, measuring roughly 30 meters in length and weighing 343 tonnes, is still standing in Karnak. It is Egypt’s highest-standing obelisk at the moment.
Its re-erection is one among several restoration projects underway at Luxor’s several pharaonic sites in an effort to boost tourism to the Nile-side city.
The Avenue of the Sphinxes, a processional avenue connecting two of the city’s most iconic temples, Karnak and Luxor, was unveiled by the ministry last year.
