There is no concrete indication of the stone's original location. The heads on the Pfalzfeld obelisk are stylistically and materially similar to the fragmentary sandstone head uncovered at
Heidelberg, which may suggest they came from the same workshop, in which case the obelisk probably originated in the
Odenwald. Another drawing was made in 1739, this one much less accurate. German antiquarian has mentioned a drawing of about 1845. When Dilich drew it, the obelisk was in the churchyard of
Pfalzfeld, though it is not thought to have originated there. Antiquarians in the 18th century apparently believed it to be a Roman tombstone. Some futile excavations were carried out in 1737 in search of the tomb. In the 1608/09 drawing, the height of the stele from the round base up appears to have been about 2.20m. In the 1739 drawing it was 2m and the 1845 drawing apparently shows no major further loss of height. However, by 1901, when Koenen wrote about the obelisk, its height had been reduced to 1.48m. A portion of the base also seems to have broken off in this period. The stone therefore appears to have undergone significant damage in the latter half of the 19th century, caused by
weathering in combination with frequent relocation. A witness in 1690, furthermore, related that the old people of Pfalzfeld recalled that the obelisk had originally had a human head on top of it, but that this head was torn down as idolatrous. The obelisk was perhaps crowned with a head similar to the
Janus-faced Heidelberg head. Joachim estimates that originally the obelisk may have measured as much as 2.80m from the base and 3.50m altogether.
Gallery ==Description==