Cleopatra's Needle on the Victoria Embankment is a towering ancient Egyptian obelisk standing approximately 70 feet tall and weighing around 180 tons, situated alongside the River Thames in central London. Originally erected in Heliopolis, Egypt, the monument is believed to date back roughly 3,500 years, making it one of the oldest man-made objects on public display in the United Kingdom. It was later relocated to Alexandria, where it stood outside the Caesarean temple alongside its twin — an obelisk now located in Central Park, New York City — before being transported to London in 1878. The needle itself has no historical connection to Cleopatra, but it passed through her city, Alexandria, which is how it acquired the name by popular tradition. Gates visited the site in Season 13 of Expedition Unknown to meet historian Andrew Chugg, who used the obelisk's remarkable journey across empires as a launching point for his theory about what may have happened to the remains of Alexander the Great.
Obelisk believed to have been originally erected in Heliopolis, Egypt, during the reign of Thutmose III, according to general historical consensus
Moved to Alexandria by the Romans, where it stood outside the Caesarean temple alongside its twin
Transported to London and erected on the Victoria Embankment
Gates visits the obelisk while filming Expedition Unknown S13E02 "Alexander's Lost Tomb," meeting historian Andrew Chugg on site
In S13E02 of Expedition Unknown, Gates met Andrew Chugg — described on camera as a historian and author of five books on Alexander the Great — at Cleopatra's Needle to hear his case that Alexander's remains left Alexandria and ended up elsewhere. Chugg's use of the obelisk as a metaphor was deliberate: if a 180-ton Egyptian monument could migrate from Heliopolis to Alexandria to London, the argument goes, then a royal burial assemblage could also have been quietly moved under the right historical pressures. Gates, characteristically enthusiastic but withholding judgment, told Chugg on camera: 'Okay, I'm ready to be convinced.'
The obelisk itself, while not directly linked to Alexander's burial, is a genuine artifact of Alexandria's cosmopolitan ancient history. According to the transcript, both the London needle and its New York City twin 'used to stand together in the middle of Alexandria outside the Caesarean temple,' connecting them physically to the same city where Alexander's tomb was reportedly located and venerated for centuries. Mainstream Egyptology holds that the obelisks were moved to Alexandria by the Romans around the first century BC — well after Alexander's death in 323 BC — but the city's layered history makes it a rich backdrop for any investigation into what survived antiquity and what didn't.
The question of where Alexander's remains ultimately ended up is one of the genuinely unresolved debates in classical archaeology. It is broadly accepted that Alexander was buried in Alexandria and that his tomb was a major site of pilgrimage in antiquity, visited by Julius Caesar and Augustus among others. What happened after that is far less certain — the tomb disappears from historical records around the fourth century AD. Chugg's migration theory represents one scholarly hypothesis within a field where multiple competing claims exist, and the episode presents it as an intriguing possibility rather than an established fact.
The episode does not resolve the question of Alexander's final resting place — the investigation continues from Cleopatra's Needle to the British Museum and beyond. Gates' visit to the obelisk functions less as a site investigation in its own right and more as a cinematic entry point into Chugg's broader argument, using a visible, tangible monument to make an abstract historical theory feel grounded and real.
Despite the name, Cleopatra's Needle has no direct connection to Cleopatra — it predates her by well over a thousand years and simply passed through her city, Alexandria.
The obelisk weighs approximately 180 tons and stands roughly 70 feet tall, according to on-camera identification in Expedition Unknown S13E02.
Its twin obelisk, which also once stood in Alexandria outside the Caesarean temple, is now displayed in Central Park, New York City.
The needle is believed to have originally been erected in Heliopolis, Egypt, before being relocated to Alexandria by the Romans, making its journey to London the third major migration of its long history.
Cleopatra's Needle is generally accessible to the public at all hours as an open-air monument on the Victoria Embankment, with no admission fee required. Visitors can walk right up to the obelisk and examine its hieroglyphic inscriptions up close; two bronze sphinx statues flank the base. The Embankment area is well-served by London Underground stations, including Embankment and Charing Cross — check current local conditions before visiting.
London, United Kingdom — the obelisk is located in the heart of central London on the Victoria Embankment, approximately 0.5 miles from Trafalgar Square.
The Victoria Embankment can be enjoyed year-round, but spring and early autumn tend to offer the most pleasant walking weather with fewer crowds than peak summer. The obelisk is also striking at dusk, when the river and surrounding landmarks are lit up.
Alexandria
Alexandria is the city where both Cleopatra's Needle and Alexander's tomb were located in antiquity — Gates investigates the search for Alexander's burial there in the same episode.
Jerusalem
Jerusalem appears in multiple Expedition Unknown investigations involving the movement of ancient relics and treasures across empires, a theme central to the Alexander episode.
Rome
Rome is directly linked to the history of Cleopatra's Needle, as it was the Romans who relocated the obelisk to Alexandria, and Roman figures including Caesar and Augustus are documented visitors to Alexander's tomb.