DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26300#0036
8
AEGYPTIACA.
PART I,
“ Strabo, or fome of the ancients, would have mentioned
“it. I therefore determined to examine it narrowly. I
“ perceived too that the pedeftal was of a bad and weak
“ mafonry, compofed of lmall and great ftones, of dif-
“ ferent forts, and abfolutely unable to fuftain fo great
“ a weight; I therefore eafily concluded fuch pedeftal
“ not originally belonging to the Pillar. I attempted to
“ get out a ftone, which I did without trouble, and dif-
“ covered the pedeftal to be hollow. After fome time,
“ I mean, during the courfe of many days, I made an
“ opening wide enough to enter it; when within it, you
“ will judge how much I was furprifed to find this pro-
“ digious mafs of granite flood, as on a pivot, on a re-
“ verfed obelifk, as I then believed it was, only five feet
“ fquare. Curious to know the length of the obelifk, I
“ began to move the earth on one of its tides ; but my
“ furprife increafed much, when I found, after moving a
“ few inches of the foil, that the obelifk was not entire,
“ this pivot being only four feet and one inch thick. It
“ is feated on a rock : the ftone is of an extreme hard-
“ nefs, and almoft a petrification, or rather conglutina-
“ tion of many different ftones, but all vitrefcent. I
“ never met with any ftone of this kind any where, ex-
“ cept with one fmall piece on the plain of the mom-
“ mies ; I broke a piece of it, which Lord Bute has : a
“ fmall piece too of the Pillar was fent; that gentlemen
“ may be convinced it is of red granite, and not a com-
AEGYPTIACA.
PART I,
“ Strabo, or fome of the ancients, would have mentioned
“it. I therefore determined to examine it narrowly. I
“ perceived too that the pedeftal was of a bad and weak
“ mafonry, compofed of lmall and great ftones, of dif-
“ ferent forts, and abfolutely unable to fuftain fo great
“ a weight; I therefore eafily concluded fuch pedeftal
“ not originally belonging to the Pillar. I attempted to
“ get out a ftone, which I did without trouble, and dif-
“ covered the pedeftal to be hollow. After fome time,
“ I mean, during the courfe of many days, I made an
“ opening wide enough to enter it; when within it, you
“ will judge how much I was furprifed to find this pro-
“ digious mafs of granite flood, as on a pivot, on a re-
“ verfed obelifk, as I then believed it was, only five feet
“ fquare. Curious to know the length of the obelifk, I
“ began to move the earth on one of its tides ; but my
“ furprife increafed much, when I found, after moving a
“ few inches of the foil, that the obelifk was not entire,
“ this pivot being only four feet and one inch thick. It
“ is feated on a rock : the ftone is of an extreme hard-
“ nefs, and almoft a petrification, or rather conglutina-
“ tion of many different ftones, but all vitrefcent. I
“ never met with any ftone of this kind any where, ex-
“ cept with one fmall piece on the plain of the mom-
“ mies ; I broke a piece of it, which Lord Bute has : a
“ fmall piece too of the Pillar was fent; that gentlemen
“ may be convinced it is of red granite, and not a com-