When you’re frustrated or physically irritated by a word document that you may have accidentally destroyed, recall the miserable Egyptians who had to cut a thousand-ton block of granite just to leave it in the end.
The biggest known Egyptian obelisk, known as the Unfinished Obelisk, may presently be located in the exact location where it was initially cut from solid granite bedrock.
The artisans who sculpted the stone block expected it to be 120 feet tall. Experts estimate that a piece of granite this size would certainly weigh over 1000 tons, however other geologists believe it may weigh up to 1200 tons.
According to specialists, virtually all of the carving was completed until, at the conclusion, a big break formed on the block, thus rendering it worthless, hence the moniker Unfinished Obelisk.
The stone was presumably carved during Queen Hatshepsut’s reign, and it appears that a stone block of this enormous magnitude could only be used for what it was meant for, and stonemasons at the time were unable to find another fitting purpose for the block and had to abandon it as unfinished.
Experts disagree on whether the Obelisk in issue is indeed incomplete or if it was abandoned for another cause, namely superstitious beliefs.
This is because, in ancient times, the amount of time engaged in such undertakings had to be so significant that merely quitting it for a few minutes would not have been a prudent choice.
And when you consider the amount of effort that went into creating these big blocks, the thought of leaving it incomplete for a small amount of damage becomes even more remote.
Chris Dunn posed the point that, given the ancient history and commitment of the masons at the time, it seems strange that such a perfectly built obelisk was abandoned.
According to Chris Dun’s book Advanced Technology in Ancient Egypt, the crack linked with the Obelisk is most likely the result of later wear and strain on the block.
Dunn proposes another theory based on the Ancient Egyptians’ profoundly superstitious beliefs, which equated supernatural abilities with massive monoliths.
He elaborates that another theory that may have led to the Obelisk’s abandonment is that the stone was supposed to have a mystical aura that saved it from further cutting and deployment in a palace.
The construction of these Obelisks is regarded as one of the most amazing deeds to have sprung from the narrative. The quarry guys would methodically hunt for a large enough piece of the slab without any substantially huge fractures during the initial phase of the carving.
The workers would then dig small holes in continuous intervals with copper tools that looked like hyphens, and wet wooden wedges were inserted in the holes; these wedges would expand over time, significantly decreasing the distance between the holes by cutting through the granite forming the block’s edges.