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Standing on the river
Thames this 60ft high granite obelisk, weighing almost 186 tons
and dating from 1475 BC, was given to the British in 1819 by the
Turkish Viceroy of Egypt.
While trying to move
the needle, it toppled over into the sand and lay there for many
years, until an English engineer John Dixon, who had been
working in Alexandra at the time, was given the task of solving
the problem.
A cylindrical pontoon
was constructed at a cost of £15,000 and the obelisk was towed
out to sea. While travelling through the Bay of Biscay the
obelisk was nearly lost, due to storms, it finally reached
London in January 1878.
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Originally, it was
intended to be erected in front of Parliament, but instead it
was erected on the Embankment.
The obelisk has
dedications to various gods carved into it. There are also
symbols representing the Pharaoh Tethmosis III. Ramese II and
Cleopatra were added at a later date.
Buried beneath the
obelisk are a set of coins, the morning newspaper of the day, a
razor, box of pins, four bibles in different languages, railway
guide and twelve photos of the best looking Englishwomen of the
day.
You can also see lots
of indentations at the base of the needle; this is shrapnel
damage from World War I.
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