Leopatra`s Needle

The obelisk is thought to have been made in Egypt for the Pharaoh Thotmes III in 1460 BC, it go it's name as it was brought to London from Alexandria, the royal city of Cleopatra, thus Cleopatra's Needle(Cleopatra was also the name given to the ship transporting the obelisk).

England in 1878 and was positioned on the Thames Embankment, close to the Embankment underground station. Made from red granite, it stands 68 feet (21 metres) tall and weighs approx 224 tons.

Cleopatra's Needle is flanked by two faux-Egyptian sphinxes cast from bronze which bear the hieroglyphic inscriptions "netjer nefer men-kheper-re di ankh", which tanslates as "the good god, Thuthmosis III given life".

Tradegy struck during the crossing from Alexandria when due to a storm in the Bay of Biscay the Cleopatra began rolling, and became untenable. The steam ship Olga which had been towing the Cleopatra sent out a rescue boat with six volunteers, sadly the boat capsized and all six volunteers were drowned.

Their names (William Askin, Michael Burns, James Gardiner, William Donald, Joseph Benton and William Patan) can be seen today on a bronze plaque attached to the foot of the needle's mounting stone.>/p>