NOVA Online | Mysteries of the Nile

A World of Obelisks

The pharaohs would likely spin in their sarcophagi if they knew where all their carefully erected obelisks have gone. For of the 21 ancient obelisks still standing, Egypt itself can claim fewer than five. Rome boasts 13, all snatched from the Land of the Pharaohs in Roman times, and the rest are spread from Istanbul to New York City. Click on the labeled map below to view and review the world's 12 mightiest standing monoliths.