The two finest known to exist are, that now in the piazza of the Lateran, originally set up by Thothmes III., 105 ft. in height, and that still existing at Karnac, attributed to Thothmes II., 107 ft. in height. Both are now ascribed to Queen Hatshepsu their sister, who is recorded to have boasted that they were quarried, transported, and set up within the short space of seven months. Those of Luxor, erected by Rameses the Great, one of which is now in Paris, are above 77 ft. in height; and there are two others in Rome, each above 80 ft. Rome, indeed, has 12 of these monuments within her walls—a greater number than exist, erect at least, in the country whence they came; though judging from the number that are found adorning single temples, it is difficult to calculate how many must once have existed in Egypt. Their use seems to have been wholly that of monumental pillars, recording the style and title of the king who erected them, his piety, and the proof he gave of it in dedicating these monoliths to the deity whom he especially wished to honour. [Illustration: 33. Lateran Obelisk. Scale 50 ft. to 1 in., for comparison with scale of other buildings.] It has been already remarked that, with scarcely an exception, all the pyramids are on the west side of the Nile, all the obelisks on the east; with regard to the former class of monument, this probably arose from a law of their existence, the western side of the Nile being in all ages preferred for sepulture, but with regard to the latter it seems to be accidental. Memphis doubtless possessed many monuments of this class, and there is reason to believe that the western temples of Thebes were also similarly adorned. They are, however, monuments easily broken; and, from their form, so singularly useful for many building purposes, that it is not to be wondered at if many of them have disappeared during the centuries that have elapsed since the greater number of them were erected. DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE. Except one small royal pavilion at Medeenet Habû, no structure now remains in Egypt that can fairly be classed as a specimen of the domestic architecture of the ancient Egyptians; but at the same time we possess, in paintings and sculptures, so many illustrations of their domestic habits, so many plans, elevations, and views, and even models of their dwellings of every class, that we have no difficulty in forming a correct judgment not only of the style, but of the details, of their domestic architecture.