- Aksum, Tigray
Aksum is a cradle of Tigray's ancient civilization. Located 257 kms North West of Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray, Aksum is an exotic tourist destination that offers a unique combination of beguiling history, natural beauty, perfect weather, serene environment and unmatched hospitality.
Truly, Aksum was ahead of its time. Unlike many other states of the time, Aksumites knew how to tame animals, cultivate cereals, mint coins and curve extraordinary obelisks the likes of which are unknown to humankind. They accepted Christianity early on, developed their unique alphabet and created a peculiar system of composing and chanting religious hymns. Indeed, Aksum was the most inventive state of its time.
Shaped and reshaped by profound faith, sophisticated administration, boundless prosperity and artistic and engineering brilliance, Aksum is an ancient city that once shone over the expansive territory that stretches From the fertile highlands of eastern Africa to the barren deserts of southern Arabia. In terms of its sanctity as well as greatness of its empire, Aksum is like Jerusalem and Rome combined. In essence, Aksum is faith, holiness, history and tranquility all wrapped in one!
King Ezana's Park
- A statue at the Ezana garden and Tombs of king Bazen in Aksum, Tigray
The junction between the Adwa - Shire road and Denver Street creates this small triangular garden. The area is a by-product of the road built by the Italians in 1936, which immediately afterwards was turned into a sort of “archaeological cemetery”, as an Italian archaeologist who was there at that time labeled it. There are few stelae standing which were erected in the 4th century to record the victories of king Ezana.
In the enclosure is a stone bearing the most famous of the extraordinary inscriptions of King Ezana, which describe the military campaign conducted by king Ezana against his enemies & those who rebelled against his rule. The inscription was written in three ancient scripts (Sabean, Geez & Greek).
King Bazen’s Tomb
According to the chronology of Aksumite kings, Bazen would have been ruling over Aksum at the time of Christ Birth, His tomb lies underground and entered via a man- high tunnel, but it differs from the tombs in the main stelae field in that it is hewn out of rock as opposed to being built from stone blocks. The graves chiseled unto the side of the entry tunnel are probably where Bazen’s family was laid to rest. At the end of the tunnel ae two much larger vaults in which the king and his wife are thought to have been entombed. Decrete from king's tomb is a series of graves carved into the rock, reminiscent of the similar but much more recent graves carved into the surrounding walls of the churches of Lalibela.
Hatsani Daniel's Inscription
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One of the thrones lining the start of the processional way offers inscriptions in Ge’ez on its broken base, commemorating the warlord Hatsani Daniel's conquest of the Welkite and Kassala people. On the seat of the same throne, Hatsani Daniel declares that he subjugated the former Aksumite king, making himself supreme ruler.
These inscriptions have been dated to the 7th century when Aksum was starting to decline, creating a political void that was accompanied by civil war and uprisings. It gives an important historical insight into this period, which was marked by the transfer of power from a hereditary ruler to a military leader.
THE OBELISKS OF AKSUM
- Great Stelae of Aksum
The Aksumite kingdom had everything a superpower needed to have: wealth, power, organization and technology. Nothing was more fitting, more lasting for Aksum than the multi-storied, gigantic obelisks to show off its might, supremacy, affluence and style. Aksum's stelae (a.k.a. obelisks) are monolithic structures caved out of extremely hard granite stones.
Uniquely designed and painstakingly carved, the obelisks of Aksum have no equal anywhere in the world. Even scientific research falters to provide concrete answers as to when, why, or how the obelisks of Aksum were built. Explanations abound, but they are tentative and ephemeral at best and conjectural at worst. No known technology exists even in the 21st century that lifts heavier than 300 tones. The only plausible technology thought to have been used to transport the colossal obelisks from Gobodra, a quarry just five kms west of Aksum, to their current location is a combination of elephant force and human labour. Others do not have more plausible explanation than to superstitiously find solace in the miracles of the Ark.
Obelisk of Axum - the great fallen Stele
- The great fallen stele of Aksum
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What makes this monument so very outstanding Is that it Is the largest and heaviest stele existing In the world and one of the largest ever made In history. It Is believed to have fallen and broken during Its erection process and now lies shattered on the ground of the main terrace, broken Into three massive and other smaller pieces. By falling, the stele has preserved part of the original Aksumite wall that encircles the main terrace. Fragments of the former head of the stele are close to the huge stone called Nfas Mawcha.
The stele Is more than 33m in height and about 520 tons in weight. Its position makes it possible to closely admire the magnificent ornamentation of the stele, which archaeologists considered to be the ultimate achievement. Its four sides represent a palace with 13 stories, comprising the ground storey with small square windows, eight stories with finely carved similar windows, and three upper storeys with wider windows. The monkey heads projecting on the lower part and between the stories imitate the round wooden beam-ends so typical for ancient Aksumite palaces.
The Mausoleum
- The underground mausoleum of Aksum
This is an underground royal cemetery site with an area of 17.6m by 18.8m right under the tallest, but fallen, stele. There are shafts which lead light and air to the ground and the ten rooms Inside, which could have been used as a cemetery for kings and their families and at the same time served as treasury rooms for the precious materials which were buried with the nobles.
To the south of the great fallen stele of Aksum is the world's largest megalithic tomb (dolmen), measuring 17m x 7m with an estimated weight of 360 tons. This forms the roof of the central part of an underground complex, surrounded by spaces on all four sides, roofed with smaller granite slabs. Its name means "the place of the going forth of the winds", derived from the legend that the wind funneling through it would blow out any light. The large stone slab is finely worked on Its underside but left unfinished on the upper face, suggesting either that it was to be covered over with earth or that it was left incomplete when the great fallen stele of Aksum collapsed on to it. It was almost certainly planned to be a tomb and part of the great fallen stele complex, which included the Mausoleum, but set outside the Stelae Park area demarcated by the terrace wall. This could indicate that the upper terrace was reserved for the close relatives of the king, while Nefas Mawcha was for more distant relatives. The grand scale of this and other structures in the complex are testament to the power of the monarchy at this period in Aksum's history.
Obelisk of Axum - the second largest stele
The second tallest stele is 24.6m high and 170 tons in weight. Its beautiful design is very similar to that of Stele 3, but with eleven stories: One with doors, one with small windows and nine with similarly carved windows. This stele is decorated on Its four sides. Looted by Fascist Italy In 1937, It was taken to Rome in three pieces. Unable to produce anything of a similar size or quality of such a wonderfully chiselled stele, Benito Mussolini found some consolation by looting this wonderful architectural masterpiece. It took seven decades before Italy finally succumbed to the intense diplomatic and popular pressure from Tigray and friends of Tigray to return the stolen stele to its rightful owners. The obelisk was returned home to Aksum, Tigray in 2005.
- Obelisk of Axum
Obelisk of Axum - Stele number three
Stele number three was the largest standing Aksumite stele for centuries, until Stele two broke the record upon being reinstalled on 31 July 2008. This stunning monolith has a total height of 23.5 meters - of which 20.57m are above ground and approximately 3m below - and a base cross-section of 2.65m by 1.18m. Western travelers who had the chance to admire it in the past have spread its fame all over the world, making it the most spectacular symbol of Aksum city. The Portuguese Father Francisco Alvarez described it in 1520 as 'very straight and well worked, made with arcades below, as far as a head made like a half moon'. In fact nowadays the stele tears to the north and to the east, a problem that was already evident In the 19th century.
The English traveler and artist Henry Salt was particularly Impressed when he saw it, to such an extent that when he visited the site for the second time In 1810, he so thoroughly admired this 'highly wrought and very magnificent work of art' that he concluded it in comparison with many Egyptian, Greek and Roman structures to be 'the most admirable and perfect monument of its kind'. This impressive monolith has a beautiful design and it has 10 storeys represented on three of its sides, of which only the southern one has longitudinal rectangular recess and false door with a lock finely carved on it. The northern side of the head shows a cbtular pattern - possibly representing a shield - which James Bruce described in 1770 as 'exceedingly well carved In the Greek taste'. The southern part of the head has an inset surface where - as Francisco Alvarez highlights In 1520 - 'there appear in it live nails which do not show more on account of the rust; and they are like fives of dice in compasses'. It is likely that the semi-circle would have had metallic decorations, possibly representing the sun's rays. There is also a sacrificial altar at the base that has four round holes that seem to have been used to catch blood during ritual scarifies. According to the holy book of Ethiopian literature, the Kebre Negest, it was erected at the end of 400BC, but scholar Dr. Phillipson argues that it is to be dated not before the end of third century AD.
The Tomb of Brick Arches
This was used as a tomb for the Aksumite elite with some eighteen stone steps leading to the entrance bulk by a shoe shaped arch made of brick. This tomb has great archaeological significance, as it contained large quantities of archaeological material, ranging from human remains, complete and broken pots, fragmented glass vessels, metalwork, and finely carved ivory and bronze scarp up to even a circular plaque with pre-Ge’ez inscriptions, most of them now displayed in the museum.
- The Tomb of False Door and Brick Arches
The Tomb of False Door
Located at the west end of the stelae park, this subterranean funerary complex is named after the false door carved over the access stairway in a style very similar to that of stele 1 and 2. The lintel of the door lies among the stones of the courtyard & the structure possibly dates back to the late 4th or early 5th century and bears many resemblances with Nefas Mawcha. It is built of regularly at stone blocks, sometimes held together by metal clamps. The tomb of the False Door, however, is the only place at Aksum where such a clamp can be seen in its original place, i.e. at ground level just behind the massive slab to the left of the stairway, heading downwards. The burial monument consists of two chambers and a separate corridor, both recently provided with electric light. The chamber accessed by the stairway located under the False Door is the larger of the two and measures about 5m by 2.5m. To the northern side of that room opens the burial chambers - approximately 4m by 2.3m - where the single stone sarcophagus can be seen. Each chamber is amazingly sandwiched between two huge stone slabs, the bottom of which is single. The corridor that surrounds the chambers to the west, north and east was originally connected through a flight of steps to the left of the main stairway, which was closed off in the remote past. It is now accessible by means of a ladder through an opening in the eastern wall of the central chamber. The tomb was robbed in the past of all the precious goods it presumably contained.
Archaeological Museum
A museum, newly constructed with the help of the World Bank ¬financed Ethiopian Cultural Heritages Project, now displays artifacts collected through archeo¬logical excavations in and around Aksum. it also portrays pre-historic and historic scenes related to the Aksumite Empire in paintings done by local painters. The museum is found on the compound of the main stelae field.