Cleopatra's Needles by Bob Brier

Author:Bob Brier [Brier, Bob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781474242943
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK
Published: 2015-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

So the obelisk would have to be moved up the ramp and erected by manpower. It took three days for the capstans to be assembled and positioned but then the obelisk, in its cradle, propelled by 120 men and four capstans began slowly moving up the ramp towards the pedestal. In order for the obelisk to come to rest in its proper position on the pedestal, it was crucial that the foot of the obelisk arrive at a precise spot where the ramp met the top of the pedestal. After five hours of capstans turning, the obelisk was at its destination, only two centimeters from its desired position.

For the next two weeks the apparatus for raising the obelisk along with all the rigging and pulleys were set up. The procedure for raising the obelisk would be essentially the reverse of lowering it, with the base of the obelisk pivoting around a roller fixed to the pedestal. On October 24, the day before the scheduled raising, the system was tested and everything worked perfectly—so perfectly that Lebas wanted to continue and set the obelisk on its pedestal! But orders “from above” said “no.” Lebas would have to wait until tomorrow.

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