Cleopatra's Needle (London)

A 3,500-year-old Egyptian obelisk on the Thames Embankment/Historical

Cleopatra's Needle on London's Victoria Embankment is an ancient Egyptian obelisk made of red granite, originally erected in Heliopolis around 1450 BC during the reign of Thutmose III. It has no actual connection to Cleopatra; the name is a misnomer. The obelisk stands 20.9 m tall and weighs about 187 tonnes. It was transported to London in 1877 inside a specially built cylindrical iron vessel. A time capsule beneath it contains newspapers, coins, a razor, cigars, photographs of the 12 best-looking Englishwomen, and other Victorian curiosities.