Philae obelisk

The Philae obelisk stands in the gardens of Kingston Lacy, a country house in Dorset. It is a seven-metre shaft topped by a pyramidion, with a rectangular base. The hieroglyphic text on the shaft dates from 131–124 BC, while the Greek inscription on the base is slightly later. The obelisk once formed a pair at the temple of Isis in Philae, Egypt. Its twin was broken long ago, but a fragment remains nearby as a ruin. Giovanni Belzoni removed the surviving obelisk in 1818 and brought it to England. It arrived in London in 1821, the first Egyptian obelisk to reach the United Kingdom. The inscriptions record a petition from Egyptian priests complaining of heavy costs from royal visits. Ptolemy VIII and queens Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III granted their request in 124–117 BC. The bilingual text helped scholars decipher hieroglyphs. Thomas Young identified the name ‘Ptolemy’ and William Bankes suggested ‘Cleopatra’. Jean-François Champollion confirmed his own theory after seeing a lithograph of the obelisk. His 1822 announcement marked a turning point in understanding ancient Egyptian writing. Visitors find the obelisk set among lawns and garden paths at Kingston Lacy. A broken piece of its twin lies nearby as a romantic ruin. The obelisk is a Grade II* listed building and belongs to the National Trust. Nineteen horses were needed to raise it into place in 1830. Recent digital scans have revealed traces of the painted Greek text once thought lost. The obelisk’s name was later given to the Philae lander that touched down on comet 67P in 2014.