Walled Obelisk

The Walled Obelisk — sometimes called Constantine's Obelisk — stands at the southern end of the ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople, now Sultanahmet Square, and is one of the few surviving markers of the Byzantine chariot-racing track's central barrier. Its original construction date in late antiquity remains unknown; it takes its common name from emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, who restored it in the 10th century and added an inscription commemorating his own reign. Unlike the nearby Obelisk of Theodosius, which is solid Egyptian granite, this monument is built from masonry and was once clad in gilded bronze panels — stripped away during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Today it stands bare beside the Serpentine Column and the Theodosius Obelisk, open to view at any hour as part of the open-air archaeological ensemble of Sultanahmet Square.