of the Ramesseum measured fifty-seven feet, and that of Tanis at least seventy feet.

The greater number, however, did not exceed twenty feet.

They mounted guard before the temple, facing outwards, as if confronting an approaching enemy.

The obelisks of Karnak are mostly hidden amid the central courts; and those of Queen Hatshepsut were imbedded for seventeen feet of their height in masses of masonry which concealed their bases.

These are accidental circumstances, and easy of explanation.
Each of the pylons before which they are stationed had in its turn been the entrance to the temple, and was thrown into the rear by the works of succeeding Pharaohs.