Cleopatra’s Needle

Cleopatra’s Needle is one of three Ancient Egyptian Obelisks with the same name, in London, Paris, and New York.
They are all over 3,000 years old. Two of the obelisks are from Heliopolis and the third is from Luxor.

Despite their name, the only link between the Obelisks and Cleopatra, is that two of them were moved by Augustus and placed in front of the Temple she dedicated to Julius Caesar, the Caesareum.

Cleopatra’s Needle is one of a pair of Obelisks, moved from the Caesareum, and originally moved by the Romans from the Temple of Ra-Atum in Heliopolis, Egypt.

The Obelisk was erected on Victoria Embankment, London, on the 12th September 1878.
Underneath the Pedestal is a Time Capsule for 1878 containing; a portrait of Queen Victoria, 12 photographs of the most beautiful British women, a set of British Coins, Bradshaw’s Railway Guide, copies of the Bible in various languages, 215 translations in different languages of the verse from John 3:16, a three foot bronze model of the Obelisk, a copy of Whittaker’s Almanac, a map of London with copies of 10 Daily Newspapers, a box of cigars and various other artefacts.

The New York Obelisk, also called Cleopatra’s Needle, and is from the same pair of Obelisks from the Caesareum, originally from the Temple of Ra-Atum in Heliopolis, Egypt. It was erected in New York Central Park on 22nd February 1881.

The Paris Obelisk is also called Cleopatra’s Needle, ‘L’Aguille de Cleopatre’. It was erected in 1826 in the Place de La Concorde, Paris. It is usually referred to now as the Luxor Obelisk.
The Paris Obelisk is one of a pair of Obelisks commissioned by Ramesses the Great that stood in front of the Luxor Temple. Its twin still stands today in front of the Luxor Temple.

The London and New York Obelisks were constructed by Thutmose III (1479-1425 BCE), whose aunt and coregent was Queen Hatshepsut, and placed before the Temple of Ra-Atum in Heliopolis, Egypt.
In 12 BCE the Roman Emperor Augustus had the Obelisks moved to the Caesareum, a Temple in Alexandria built by Queen Cleopatra VII in honour of Julius Caesar.
The Paris Obelisk was constructed by Ramesses the Great and the Hieroglyphs glorify his reign.
All three required extraordinary feats of engineering to transport them along rivers and by sea to their present day locations.

The Egyptian Hieroglyphs on the London and New York Cleopatra’s Needles were added later by Ramesses the Great (1279-1214 BCE).
The Hieroglyphs acknowledge the Egyptian Deities and celebrate the successful wars by Ramesses the Great against the Nubians and the Syrians.

Photo and map: Cleopatra’s Needle, Victoria Embankment