Beyond the Hypostyle Hall and a few pillars once stood two obelisks. Obelisks are tall, thin pillars that stand on their own. A good example of a modern obelisk would be the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. Egyptians were the first to create obelisks. Their reason for creating obelisks is the same reason they do anything, to honor the god Amun-Re. Originally Egyptians built pyramids to symbolize a ben-ben stone, and to put the ben-ben stone at the top closer to the gods, so when they died they could go out of the ben-ben stone and ride their boats into the sky where the gods were. After they quit building pyramids they began building sun temples, which were similar to pyramids, only kings were not buried in them. After sun temples, they began building obelisks. Obelisks did the best job of putting the obelisk into the sky and really presented best.
Originally there were two obelisks in the temple, but one of them fell. Another one was under production, but never went up. This was an important find by archaeologists because it showed them how the obelisks were built.
In my opinion, this is just another example of how smart these Egyptians were. They were always finding better ways to express what they wanted to. Everything they did was also very detailed. The obelisks are full of artwork that at the time it was built was fully painted and beautifully crafted. I am always amazed at how well thought everything they do is and how much time they dedicate to their God's.
Work Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak
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