Obelisk

Hartwell House and gardens, obelisk in the courtyardA stone pillar of tapering square section with a pyramidal top, erected for religious or monumental purposes by the ancient Egyptians. They have been imitated frequently in more recent times, often in eighteenth and nineteenth century landscaped gardens such as the example at Hartwell House or the 2nd Duke of Buckingham's obelisk in Stowe landscaped gardens.