These fascinating reliefs (to the left of the ramp), unfortunately in poor condition, tell how Hatshepsut’s architects and engineers brought two huge obelisks from quarries in Aswan to Thebes. The cutting, transport, and installation of these huge monoliths were major projects: each weighed 186 tons.

The obelisks are shown at the left (south) end of the wall, drawn as if they were placed end-to-end on a huge ship. However, marine historians believe that they actually were placed side-by-side and consider the drawing an artistic device to emphasize the vast size of the load. If correct, then the ship carrying them would have been 95 meters (309 feet) long with a beam of 32 meters (104 feet), a draft of 3 meters, and a deck that stood 9.5 meters (31 feet) above the water line. The boat was built of wood from sycomore fig trees, a wood impervious to water but difficult to work, hard to find in large pieces, and very heavy. Naval historians calculate that the ship weighed 2500 tons and had a displacement of 7300 tons. This huge vessel was towed downstream from Aswan to Thebes by thirty smaller ships, each manned by thirty-two oarsmen.

What a job! To cut these gigantic granite blocks out of the bedrock of the Aswan quarries, drag them across a rugged landscape of boulders to a canal extending eastward to the Nile, and then maneuver them onto a huge ship required not only brute strength but also meticulous planning. One slip and the stones would have cracked and years of work ruined. Just ensuring that the load was properly balanced, not listing even slightly to port or starboard, must have been a nightmarish undertaking.

Scheduling was critical, too. Loading had to take place in winter when the Nile was at its lowest. Then one had to wait for the summer flood to free the boat from the shore. After sailing 220 kilometers (132 miles) downstream, the ship would moor in a canal near Karnak at high Nile and then wait months for another low Nile before unloading. Once ashore, the obelisks were dragged across the floodplain into the Temple of Amen. A gigantic ramp was built, the monoliths dragged up it and carefully lowered into a sand-filled hole at the top. The sand was slowly removed until the obelisks gently settled onto stone pedestals. This was done with such precision that the obelisks were almost precisely vertical, within one or two millimeters parallel to the sides of the base.

Infantry, archers, and priests are shown lining the shore as the obelisks sailed past. At Karnak Temple, dancers and musicians playing horns and drums heralded the obelisks’ arrival. This was indeed a project worth boasting about, and Hatshepsut and her officials were obviously proud of the accomplishment. The accompanying text describes many of the obstacles her engineers overcame and tells us that it was only Hatshepsut’s great love of her divine father, the god Amen, that made this effort possible. (See also the description of the obelisks in the Temple of Amen at Karnak.)

From" The Illustrated Guide to Luxor" by kent R.Weeks ,published by the American University in Cairo Press. Copyright © 2005 White Star S.p.a