Moving 8 tonne lintel stone

Category

Library Item

Item no

17738

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

View of the National Monument a large stone construction from above. The structure is made from a series of large columns with lintels placed across the top of them. Behind the monument is a crane and workmen can be seen at the top of the structure at the left where the monument is supported by scaffolding. The monument stands on a grassy hill above an area of trees. Into the distance lies the large urban area of buildings and streets of Edinburgh which meets the Firth of Forth, Fife can be seen on the horizon.

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

Places > Edinburgh areas > Calton Hill

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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