obelisk

obelisk [MC].
From the Greek word meaning ‘spit’ or ‘dagger’, the term was applied to the long narrow shafts of stone, usually granite, with pyramidal-shaped tops set upright in pairs before the entrance to Egyptian temples. Old Kingdom examples are squat and closely relate to the PYRAMIDS. Later examples are taller and more slender. One of the best-known examples outside Egypt is Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment in London. It once formed a pair with the obelisk now in Central Park, New York, and both were originally set before the temple at Heliopolis dedicated to Tuthmosis III, and also bear an inscription of Ramesses II.