Sheers, gyns and derricks may well have been known in principle, but for moving weights like those of obelisks, these are of no use except in conjunction with the capstan and block and tackle. When the Luxor obelisk was being lowered for removal, in spite of the elaborate calculations of the stresses set up in the wooden sheers, and of the good modern carpentry used in their construction and the steady pull given by the capstans, the structure crushed and jammed, and it was only by the use of screw-jacks that the necessary repairs could be made. This was with a 227‐ton obelisk! A method which may have been used, and which I should myself attempt if I were entrusted with such a piece of work, is as follows: (40) A square funnel is first built round and above the pedestal on which the obelisk is to stand (see plate VIII), leaving a space about half a metre high, and one and a half metre wide, clear over the edge of the pedestal, to lead out to a tunnel. The sides of the funnel, which are {39} of smooth masonry, are set at a slope so that the obelisk on being lowered into it can lie against the wall of the slope without passing its dead-centre and coming of itself to an upright position. The sides of the funnel are continued upwards—perhaps in brick, for economy—until the height of the funnel is well above the centre of gravity of the obelisk; the higher, the better. Around the funnel the brickwork would be brought out to form a square tower, with the pylon wall for its revetement, perhaps, on one side. The tunnel mentioned above leads from the pedestal to the further wall of the tower. A long sloping embankment (section 35) is made to lead up to the top of the platform, and a gentle curve cut in the brick (A) to lead down to the interior of the funnel. In the case of the obelisk of Ḥatshepsôwet, the platform must have been at a high enough level to clear any buildings in the way. The obelisk is then pulled up on rollers, base foremost, until it just overhangs the slope A. The funnel, previous to this, is filled with the finest Aswân sand, which has very little cohesion in its particles, banked high against the butt of the obelisk. The sand is then very gradually removed from the tunnel, thus letting the obelisk slowly down on to its pedestal. In this process, men would descend with the obelisk until the masonry portion of the tunnel was reached. Precautions would have to be taken, by banking the sand up before the butt of the obelisk and, if necessary, by inserting wooden struts between the butt and the wall B of the funnel, to prevent the obelisk jamming against it. After the masonry is reached, there would be little fear of a jam.