On the banks of the River Thames in central London, an ancient Egyptian obelisk, known as Cleopatra’s Needle, reaches towards the sky. Carved from a single slab of red granite, it is 69 feet tall, weighs a substantial 224 tonnes, is decorated with hieroglyphs, and was made for the Pharaoh Thotmes III in 1460 BC.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 10 issues
for $10
Subscribe to The Spectator Australia today for the next 10 magazine issues, plus full online access, for just $10.
- Delivery of the weekly magazine
- Unlimited access to spectator.com.au and app
- Spectator podcasts and newsletters
- Full access to spectator.co.uk
Or
Unlock this article
Available from the Spectator Bookshop, £19.99 Tel: 08430 600033. Tiffany Jenkins is author of Keeping Their Marbles: How the Treasures of the Past Ended Up in Museums — and Why They Should Stay There.
You might disagree with half of it, but you’ll enjoy reading all of it. Try your first month for free, then just $2 a week for the remainder of your first year.
Comments
Don't miss out
Join the conversation with other Spectator Australia readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.
SUBSCRIBEAlready a subscriber? Log in