Moving 8 tonne lintel stone

Category

Library Item

Item no

17735

Title

Moving 8 tonne lintel stone which had moved 10cm at one end due to "freeze thaw". Put back as part of the Twelve Monuments Project.

Description

The view shows a crane working on a large monumental structure silhouetted against the sky. The monument is constructed from a series of columns with lintels placed across the top of them. Scaffolding can be seen around two of the columns.

Artist / maker

MacLean, Kevin

Date

2008

Type

Digital image

Calton Hill is situated at the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh. It rises to a height of 108 metres and is another of the city's hills created by volcanic activity. Several monuments stand on the hill. Most prominent amongst these are the Nelson Monument, built in the shape of a telescope, and the unfinished National Monument, modelled on the Parthenon in Athens. The National Monument is situated on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. It was intended to be a grand memorial to the Scots killed in the Napoleonic Wars. It was to be a facsimile of the Parthenon in Athens, and would have functioned as a church. The collection of subscriptions began in 1822, and C. R. Cockerell and William H. Playfair were employed to work on the project. Funds were exhausted by 1829, and the monument has remained unfinished, leading to it sometimes being referred to as 'Edinburgh's disgrace'.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Monuments > Memorial monuments

Manufacturing Industry > Manufacturing equipment > Cranes

Manufacturing Industry > Manufacturing equipment > Scaffolding

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton Hill

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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