What is the height of the unfinished obelisk at Aswan?
Answer
42 meters
The unfinished obelisk at Aswan would have stood about 42 metres high if its quarrying had been completed.
Carved directly from the granite bedrock in Aswan’s ancient quarries, the monument is the largest known ancient obelisk. Its estimated finished height is more precisely about 41.75 metres, so quiz references commonly round the figure to 42 metres.
The project was probably begun during the reign of Hatshepsut, although the attribution is not certain. The obelisk was abandoned after cracks appeared in the stone, leaving its lower surface attached to the bedrock. Because the monument was never separated or raised, it preserves visible tool marks and working lines.
If completed, it would have weighed nearly 1,090 tonnes—about 1,200 short tons. Its abandoned state makes it especially valuable: visitors can see evidence of how Egyptian stoneworkers shaped monumental granite before transport and erection.