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Lateran Obelisk

Monument at Egyptian obelisks of Rome · also called Obelisco Lateranense, Lateran obelisk Rome, San Giovanni in Laterano obelisk, Obelisk of Thutmose III Rome

The Lateran Obelisk in front of San Giovanni in Laterano names two kings. The middle column on each face belongs to Thutmose III, who ordered it for Karnak, and the two columns beside it to his grandson Thutmose IV, who finally raised it.

Point your camera at a wall

Signs to look for

  1. Scarab beetle L1ḫpr The scarab (kheper) sits in the throne names of both kings: Menkheperre for Thutmose III, Menkheperure for Thutmose IV.
  2. Ibis on a standard G26ḏḥwty The ibis on its standard writes Djehuty, the god Thoth, at the start of the name Thutmose.
  3. Game board Y5mn The game board (men) opens both throne names and also spells Amun, the god of Karnak.
  4. Falcon G5ḥr The falcon heads the Horus name at the top of every column and sits on the palace frames in the scenes.
  5. Ankh S34ꜥnḫ The ankh is the gift Thutmose IV holds out in the south-face scene and the life the gods promise in the texts.

Names you can find here

The story of Lateran Obelisk

Thutmose III died before the shaft was set up. His grandson's columns say it then lay in the workshop for 35 years until Thutmose IV erected it east of the temple of Amun at Karnak, as a single obelisk rather than one of a pair. During the Amarna period Amun's name and figure were hacked out, and a later king of the 19th Dynasty had them recut.

Constantine had it shipped down the Nile to Alexandria, meaning to take it to his new capital. His son Constantius II sent it to Rome instead, and in 357 AD it went up on the spine of the Circus Maximus. It fell and broke into three pieces. Excavators for Pope Sixtus V dug them up in 1587, and Domenico Fontana raised the repaired shaft here in 1588, a few metres shorter than before.

Twelve columns run down the four faces. Near the top, small scenes show the king offering to Amun-Ra and to gods on thrones, and on two faces an offering is made to Thutmose III's Horus name in its palace frame.

What to see and read

Central columns of Thutmose III

Each face has his column in the middle, opening with his Horus name and leading to his cartouches Menkheperre and Thutmose.

Side columns of Thutmose IV

Two columns flank each of his grandfather's. They hold Thutmose IV's names and the account of how he completed the obelisk.

Scenes below the tip

The king stands before Amun-Ra. On the south face Thutmose IV holds out an ankh to his grandfather's Horus name, topped by a falcon in the double crown.

Fontana's base

The pedestal of 1588 carries Latin texts for Sixtus V about the obelisk's journey from Egypt.

Reading the hieroglyphs here

  • The top of the shaft is far above the square: use the camera's zoom and read the scenes from the steps of the basilica.
  • Pick one face and follow the middle column first, then the two beside it. The change of king is easiest to see in the cartouches.
  • Low sun in the morning or late afternoon brings out the worn signs on the east and west faces.

Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.

Questions

Who is the Lateran Obelisk dedicated to?

It was made for the god Amun at Karnak. The middle columns name Thutmose III and the outer ones Thutmose IV, and the scenes at the top show the king offering to Amun-Ra.

How old is the Lateran Obelisk?

It was cut under Thutmose III, who reigned 1479–1425 BC, and set up at Karnak by Thutmose IV around 1400 BC. It reached Rome in 357 AD and has stood at the Lateran since 1588.

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Read more about Lateran Obelisk

Where it is

Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.