Some interesting tidbits taken from here.
"The obelisk symbolized the sun god Ra, and during the brief religious reformation of Akhenaten was said to be a petrified ray of the Aten, the sundisk. It was also thought that the god existed within the structure."
"The Ancient Romans were strongly influenced by the obelisk form, to the extent that there are now more than twice as many obelisks standing in Rome as remain in Egypt. All fell after the Roman period except for the Vatican obelisk and were re-erected in different locations."
"Rome is the obelisk capital of the world. The most well-known is probably the 25 metres (82 ft), 331-ton obelisk at Saint Peter's Square in Rome.[7] The obelisk had stood since AD 37 on its site on the wall of the Circus of Nero, flanking St Peter's Basilica:"
I saw that.
I thought the part about the top being gold WAS interesting.
I just don’t have time to look into it.
Interesting CB !