Half a world away and three thousand years advanced in time, Fletcher Granite Co. LLC helped Public Television’s WGBH’s award winning science series “Nova” unlock the “Secrets of the Lost Empires”. Having failed in Egypt to raise an obelisk using what researchers speculated was the method used by the ancient Egyptians WGBH brought their Nova crew to Fletcher Granite’s Westford Quarry for another try at proving their theory. The project quickly became a study in contrasts; ancient craftsmen’s methods assisted by modern heavy equipment.

A replica obelisk was quarried in our Milford, NH quarry. The stone was brought to our mill in Westford and shaped using diamond saws and acetylene burners. The finished obelisk was 36 feet tall and weighed 25 tons. It was about a 1/3 scale model of the typical Egyptian obelisk which could reach heights of 100 feet and weigh as much as 450 tons. The only difference in our model and an original was that the model had no hieroglyphics.

On Saturday, September 11, 2000, in the cool crisp air of a New England autumn far away from the hot and dry Egyptian deserts, the team from WGBH led by Rodger Hopkins joined forces with about 250 volunteers from area colleges and Fletcher Granite employees to raise an obelisk. The theory was that the ancient Egyptians used a huge sand pit upon which the obelisk rested on a giant oak log secured by heavy ropes. As the sand is slowly released from the pit the obelisk tilts downward until its bottom rests in a groove of a pivot stone at the bottom of the pit. All went well during this stage of the project the stone tilted and came to rest squarely in the groove of the pivot stone.

From this point onward lifting the obelisk would depend on manpower alone pulling on the ropes from the front of the obelisk. This was the tricky part; if the crew pulled too hard the obelisk would topple forward and if they didn’t pull hard enough, the obelisk might slip from its pivot groove and be stuck in the pit. On the count of three all 250 volunteers tugged on the ropes and slowly the obelisk began to rise upward until it stood erect, teetered and then came to rest tall and straight towering toward the sunlight sky.

The Obelisk stood in place for several days until it was taken down (using modern cranes and hoists) and moved to our mill for safe keeping awaiting its final disposition. And ironically as if to emphasize the contrast between the ancient and the modern, WBGH chose to auction off the obelisk on the Internet through EBAY.

For more information on the history of Obelisk and raising the Obelisk at Fletcher Granite, visit www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/obelisk/ on the net.