Lateran Obelisk
The Lateran Obelisk or Tekhen Waty in ancient Egyptian is the largest standing ancient Egyptian obelisk in the world, and it is also the tallest obelisk in Italy. It originally weighed 413 tonnes (455 short tons), but after collapsing and being re-erected 4 metres (13 ft) shorter, now weighs around 300 tonnes (330 short tons). It is located in Rome, in the square across from the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran and the San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital.
Obelisco Lateranense | |
Obelisk today across from the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran | |
Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°53′12.6″N 12°30′17.2″E | |
| Location | Erected in 1588 at Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome, Italy |
|---|---|
| Designer | Thutmose III and completed by his grandson Thutmose IV in Karnak |
| Type | Obelisk |
| Material | 32.18 metres (105.6 ft) of red granite monolith |
| Height | 45.7 metres (150 ft) |
| Completion date | 15th century B.C. |
The obelisk was made around 1400 BC in Karnak, Egypt, during the reigns of Pharaohs Thutmose III and Thutmose IV. Roman Emperor Constantius II had it moved to Alexandria in the early 4th century AD, then in AD 357 had it shipped to Rome and erected at the Circus Maximus. The obelisk collapsed sometime after the Circus's abandonment in the 5th century and was buried under mud. It was dug up and restored in the late 1580s, and by the order of Pope Sixtus V was topped with a Christian cross and installed in its present location near the Lateran Palace.