Not long after her father Tuthmosis I died, leaving the throne to his young grandson Tuthmosis III, Hatshepsut declared herself "king." She erected four obelisks at Karnak, but only this one remains standing. On its base are 32 horizontal lines of hieroglyphs, eight to a side, that describe why she had the obelisk built. The inscription reads in part:"I was sitting in the palace and I remembered the One who created me; my heart directed me to make for him two obelisks of electrum [a natural alloy of gold and silver], that their pyramidions might mingle with the sky amid the august pillared hall between the great pylons of [Tuthmosis I]....My Majesty began work on them in Year 15, second month of Winter, day 1, continuing until Year 16, fourth month of Summer, day 30, making 7 months in cutting [them] from the mountain."
Lest anyone doubt her sincerity, Hatshepsut went on to say, "I acted for him with a straightforward heart, as a king does for any god...Let not anyone who hears this say it is boasting which I have said, but rather say, 'How like her it is, she who is truthful to her father.' The god knows it in me [namely] Amun, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands...I am his daughter in very truth, who glorifies him."
Stats:
Location: Karnak Temple, Luxor
Pharaoh: Hatshepsut (reigned 1503-1482 B.C.)
Height: 97 feet
Weight: 323 tons
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