How on earth did the ancient Egyptians raise their colossal obelisks?
For centuries, people have marveled over the ancient Egyptian pyramids and wondered how such colossal monuments were erected using the ‘primitive’ methods available at the time. Obelisks, in particular, trigger acute fascination owing to the significant challenge presented by monoliths of such large scale, and despite global interest and numerous theoretical explanations and practical attempts, researchers are still not clear on how obelisks were raised. A conclusive answer to this peculiar riddle has remained ambiguous – until now.
In this book, best-selling author Kathryn Best and Egyptologist Mahmoud Al Hashash offer a thought-provoking account of their investigations into how obelisks were raised in ancient Egypt, a story which concludes with the raising of several obelisks at scale in Luxor, Upper Egypt, using only the resources, materials and technologies available in the past. The book opens with an overview of this remarkable and ancient civilization followed by an introduction to the historical significance of obelisks, an analysis of previous obelisk-raising theories and attempts, three key ideas which catalysed a breakthrough in commonly held assumptions about how obelisks were raised, and finally, a description of the hypotheses and practical experiments demonstrating that the theories proposed by the authors work in practice. What other feats of engineering can we revisit by allowing the insights gained in this investigation – insights which relate to the symbolic beliefs and inventive mindset of the ancient Egyptians?
Raising Obelisks: Unearthing a Long Forgotten Ancient Egyptian Invention will appeal to Egyptologists and archaeologists, engineers and architects, academics and experts, professionals and historians, and amateurs and generalists who share a peculiar interest in discovering a solution to this ancient riddle. By offering a fresh perspective on the exceedingly difficult task of obelisk-raising, the authors also hope to spark curious interest and further investigation into the assumptions we hold about the ancient Egyptians and the level knowledge and skills they possessed at the time.
Kathryn Best is an architect, academic and author of several best-selling design books available in 13 languages. She is an associate professor with the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah (UAE) with a focus on design innovation, cultural enterprise and architectural heritage.
Mahmoud Al Hashash is an independent Egyptologist and engineering aficionado. Originally from Gourna on the west bank of Luxor, Upper Egypt, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Egyptian History and since 1998, has been exploring the mysteries and marvels of ancient Egypt as a tour-guide for both experts and tourists from all over the world.
