Seems that "Cleopatra's Needle" a/k/a the Obelisk is in dire need of a cleaning. The Obelisk was over a thousand years old when Cleopatra was born, but names stick. The 3,500 year old needle from Heliopolis (a city of the sun) is showing its age.
Hence the steps being taken to clean it. With lasers.Hieroglyphs
The surface of the stone is heavily weathered, nearly masking the rows of Egyptian hieroglyphs engraved on all sides. Photographs taken near the time the obelisk was erected in the park show that the inscriptions or hieroglyphs, as depicted below with translation, were still quite legible and date first from Thutmosis III (1479–1425 BC) and then nearly 300 years later, Ramesses II the Great (1279–1213 BC). The stone had stood in the clear dry Egyptian desert air for nearly 3000 years and had undergone little weathering. In a little more than a century in the climate of New York City, pollution and acid rain have heavily pitted its surfaces. In 2010, Dr. Zahi Hawass, sent an open letter to the president of the Central Park Conservancy and the Mayor of New York City insisting on improved conservation efforts. If they are not able to properly care for the obelisk, he has threatened to "take the necessary steps to bring this precious artifact home and save it from ruin."
Supposedly, 29 men died moving the needle from Alexandria, across the Mediterranean Sea and across the Atlantic, and the ship nearly sank twice. There are still people who swear that anyone who touches it will die.
LINK HERE.
LINK 2 HERE.
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Originally Posted by N2NH
