Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

THE STORY OF CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE. How a Huge Stone was transported from Egypt to the Banks of the Thames. THE ancients were, as we noticed in our opening chapter, remarkably skilful in th.© handling of colossal stones. The question has often been asked, “ How would modern engineers deal with such masses ? ” A partial answer at least will be given in the following account of the removal of the obelisk known as Cleopatra’s Needle from Egypt to the Embankment, thousands of miles away, which has been named after another famous queen Victoria. The stone, a mass of hard red granite, weighs 186J tons, and is 68 feet 5| inches long. It was cut from the quarries of Syene (now Assouan), in or about the year 1600 B.C., by the order of King Thothmes III., floated down stream 700 miles, and erected at Heliopolis. In an interesting little book written by the late Rev. James King we have a description of how in these early times the task of cutting out and removing this column was effected by tho ancient Egyptians. He tells us that in an old quarry at Syene there is to be seen an obelisk upon which work- men were busy, when, for some unknown reason, they were obliged to leave it only partially cut out. From this it ap- pears that when THE NEEDLE ON THE THAMES EMBANKMENT. »il lit MH