Temenos (Kapoor)

Temenos is a sculpture in Middlesbrough, Northern England. It is approximately 110 metres (360 ft) long and 50 metres (160 ft) high and cost £2.7 million. The steel structure consists of a pole, a circular ring and an oval ring, all held together by steel wire. The name Temenos comes from the Ancient Greek (τέμενος < τέμνω, temno, 'to cut') term for land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, a sanctuary, holy grove or holy precinct. The structure is in the Middlehaven area of Middlesbrough, close to where the Transporter bridge is located; construction work started in autumn 2008 and was completed by spring 2010, and the sculpture was officially presented to the people of Middlesbrough on 10 June 2010. It was funded by the Government Initiative, The Northern Way, the regional development agency One NorthEast, the Arts Council England, the Northern Rock Foundation, Middlesbrough Football Club and BioRegional Quintain.