An obelisk is a four-sided pillar with a pointed top.
Many Obelisks were erected as monuments in ancient Egypt. The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is an example of a modern obelisk.
Many obelisks once stood outside temples in Egypt, especially in the sacred city of Heliopolis. One obelisk in that city, 68 feet tall, still stands today on the very site where it was first erected, around the year 1750 B.C.!
Another obelisk from Heliopolis, erected in the fifteenth century B.C., was brought to Rome by the Emperor Constantine during the fourth century. In Rome, this pillar was first set up in the Circus Maximus, a huge stadium. It can now be found beside a Roman church.
The tallest ancient obelisk on earth, the pillar stands 110 feet tall and weighs about 500 tons!
