Obelisk

    An upright stone topped by a gilded pyramidion, the obelisk caught the first rays of the rising sun. In its original squat form, as the Benben, it was present as the sun-god's cult symbol in his first temple at Heliopolis. Later, in the New Kingdom, obelisks were placed in pairs on either side of the main gateways to the temples. They were cut from the granite quarries at Aswan. Today, many of them stand in public squares in the world's great cities.

Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David

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   Modern word for an Egyptian monolithic stone monument consisting of a thin shaft with a top is shaped as a pyramidion. Ancient Egyptian tekhen. Small obelisks are known, but most are tall and were located in temples. The development of the monument was linked to the introduction of the cult of the sun god Re, whose rising rays would strike the top of the obelisk, often sheeted in gold. The first obelisks seem to have been constructed at Heliopolisand the sun temples of Dynasty 5, but their use in temples in the New Kingdom and later periods was widespread. Two obelisks were placed in front of the main pylon of the major temples. Scenes from the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri depict the transport of an obelisk from the quarries at Aswan to Thebes, while a broken monument remains in the quarry. Many obelisks were carried off by Roman conquerors to decorate Rome, while others were removed in modern times to major European and North American cities.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier