In 2011, the construction of a new museum began in the main Stelae Field and, unless amended, the height of the museum will have a highly negative visual impact on the property. Some of them still remain covered by modern houses. One obelisk, removed from the site and taken to Rome as a war trophy during the Italian occupation, was returned to Aksum in 2005 and re-erected in in 2008.įurthermore, at the time of inscription, it was noted that small, modern houses were built over most of the site, obscuring the majority of the underground Aksumite structures. The boundaries of the property, which encompass the entire area of ancient Aksum town, need to be adequately delineated and approved by the Committee. The introduction of Christianity in the 4th century AD resulted in the building of churches, such as Saint Mary of Zion, rebuilt in the Gondarian period, in the 17th century AD, which is believed to hold the Ark of the Covenant.Ĭriterion (i): The exquisitely carved monolithic stelae dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD are unique masterpieces of human creative genius.Ĭriterion (iv):The urban ensemble of obelisks, royal tombs and churches constitute a major development in the cultural domain reflecting the wealth and power of the Aksumite Civilization of the first millennium AD. Some of them include trilingual text in Greek, Sabaean and Ge'ez (Classical Ethiopian), inscribed by King Ezana in the 4th century AD.

It is possibly the largest monolithic stele that ancient human beings ever attempted to erect.Ī series of inscription on stone tablets have proved to be of immense importance to historians of the ancient world. The largest obelisk of some 33 meters long lies where it fell, perhaps during the process of erection. It stands at the entrance of the main stelae area. The largest standing obelisk rises to a height of over 23 meters and is exquisitely carved to represent a nine-storey building of the Aksumites. Several stelae survive in the town of Aksum dating between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.

The most impressive monuments are the monolithic obelisks, royal tombs and the palace ruins dating to the 6th and 7th centuries AD.

The ruins of the ancient Aksumite Civilization covered a wide area in the Tigray Plateau. In command of the ivory trade with Sudan, its fleets controlled the Red Sea trade through the port of Adulis and the inland routes of north eastern Africa. The kingdom was at the crossroads of the three continents: Africa, Arabia and the Greco-Roman World, and was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia. Situated in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, Aksum symbolizes the wealth and importance of the civilization of the ancient Aksumite kingdom, which lasted from the 1st to the 8th centuries AD.

Hearts of iron 4 ethiopia