Moving the Obelisks

Dating from the beginning of historical memory, the obelisks of ancient Egypt—those tall, tapering shafts typically weighing from 200 to 500 tons—were carved from a single block of solid stone to commemorate the ruler of the moment. If they were still in fashion as monuments, even the ruler of a nation that can lift men to the moon would find it no cinch to erect even a typical Egyptian model.

Many of these ancient monoliths, taken from Egypt as trophies of conquest and symbols of power through the efforts of extraordinary human labor and engineering ingenuity, were re-established in the capitals and seats of empire that also inherited Egypt's burden of civilization. While near the climax of their historical potency, obelisks were erected by Alexandria, Nineveh, Constantinople, Rome, Paris, London, New York....

Fascinating as obelisks are as tracers of world history, the methods by which they have been moved and raised from ca. BC1500 to AD1880 (when the New York obelisk was raised) are more interesting still: the study of these methods comes close to being an encapsulated history of mechanical and civil engineering—from the use of stone and wood to iron and steel, from man power through horse power to steam power, from the lever and inclined plane through the pulley and capstan to the hydraulic jack and screw propeller. This epic history and these epic (literally "cast of thousands") engineering feats are indeed succinctly encapsulated in this volume.

It is ironical that the Egyptians left behind descriptive and pictorial records of the most prosaic activities of daily life, but very little of their most astonishing achievements: the building of the pyramids and the moving of the obelisks. The book records such information as we have, together with various conjectures. What is certain is that the obelisks were moved great distances by man power alone. The Romans left scarcely more of a record, beyond a few references in Pliny, even though they overcame the additional difficulty of a transmediterranean voyage.

We do have a full record of the moving of the Vatican obelisk in 1586 from several contemporary accounts, most especially that of the project's deviser and chief engineer, Domenico Fontana. This move is the central concern of the book: "It was this proud symbol of the triumph of Christian Rome over pagan Rome that prompted many popes to plan the inclusion of the obelisk into the pattern of the new Rome.... It required moving this enormous stone 275 yards from its old position to the new one in front of the cathedral, and it therefore became a topic of major interest among engineers as well as among prelates." The book details how Fontana, with the enthusiastic backing of Pope Sixtus V, solved the problem by utilizing 48 capstans spread over what is now St. Peter's Square, turned by the combined musclepower of men and horses.

Full accounts are also given of the Paris, London, and New York obelisks. Of particular interest here are the various methods—including a pontoon built around a prone obelisk—by which the monoliths were transported on the high seas.

Contemporary engravings are reproduced throughout.

This book was first issued in 1952 by the Burndy Library.