Axum To Have Obelisk Returned

[Madame Butterfly 0]

Obelisk points to ancient Ethiopian glory

By Verity Murphy

BBC News website

 

 

 

The obelisks mark the graves of Axum's ancient rulers.

 

In northern Ethiopia, in the once-great city of Axum, final preparations are under way for the return of one of Africa's most remarkable archaeological treasures.

The Axum obelisk, a 1,700-year-old stone monolith, measuring 24-metres (78 feet) high and weighing 180 tons, is returning home after more than six decades adorning a square in the Italian capital, Rome.

 

It was looted by Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in 1937 during Italy's brief occupation of Ethiopia and has been a bone of contention between the two countries ever since.

 

The Ethiopian authorities accused Italy of foot-dragging over the issue, while Rome blamed the slow progress on the difficulty and cost of moving such a massive stone between two continents.

 

Trading empire

 

The obelisk is the finest of more than 100 stone monoliths which stood in Axum, capital city of the ancient Axumite kingdom and birthplace of the biblical Queen of Sheba.

 

 

In the 3rd Century AD, the Persian philosopher Mani described Axum as one of the four greatest kingdoms in the world, along with Rome, China and Persia.

 

Situated on the northern edge of present-day Ethiopia, Axum first rose to prominence in the 1st Century AD trading its rich natural resources through its Red Sea port Adulis.

 

A steady stream of textiles, animals, gold, ivory, precious jewels and spices passed through Adulis on their way to be sold in Arabia, India and throughout the Roman Empire.

 

Profiting from this trade Axum grew into the dominant force in the Red Sea area and an ally of Constantinople - eventual capital of the Greek-speaking, and Christian, Byzantine Empire.

 

Christian conversion

 

Cultural exchange with Constantinople meant Axum's elite also spoke Greek, inscriptions in the city even appeared in the language, and around AD325 Ezana, the King of Axum, converted to Christianity.

 

Ezana removed the crescent and disk motif from Axum's coins, replacing it with the Christian cross, and laid the foundations for the Christian conversion of the whole of Ethiopia.

 

 

 

The king is also believed to have ordered the building of seven massive stone monoliths, the largest of the 100 or so that were erected in the city in the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD.

 

Hewn from nepheline syenite, a hard-wearing granite-like rock, and varying in height from one metre to 30m, the obelisks were erected as funerary markers, or stelae, for deceased members of the aristocracy.

 

Intricate carvings

 

The stone returning from Rome is one of the group Ezana is believed to have erected.

 

These seven obelisks are significant not only for their huge size, but also their intricate decoration.

 

Carvings on the stones represent the windows and beams of a multi-storey building - the largest depicting 13 floors along its length.

 

 

False doors are carved on the base of the monolith

 

False stone doors at the bottoms of the pillars, some even bearing carved door locks, add to the impression that the solid pieces of rock are in fact buildings.

 

Axum continued to flourish until the 6th Century, when the rise of the Persian Empire and conquests by Muslim Arabs cut the city off from its international trade network and contact with other Christian countries.

 

But long after its political and economic decline, Axum remained the place where Ethiopia's emperors were crowned.

 

It also retained its prestige as the birthplace of Christianity in Ethiopia, enhanced by the legend that Menelik I, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Axum.

 

Some believe that the Ark remains there to this day, now housed inside a small church built in 1965 on the orders of Haile Selassie, last Emperor of Ethiopia and claimed direct descendant of King Solomon himself.

[trekz 7]

Very interesting. I do not know much African history but this is fascinating. It is also interesting from the perspective of whether antiquities that were taken decades ago should be returned when they are a crucial part of a country or tribes history or. culture. The Field Museum in Chicago returned some time ago a number of Northwest coastal Totem poles to the tribes who originally owned them. The totems had been taken when the museum collectors assumed, wrongly that the villages where they were located were abandoned. They were villages that were populated in the summer but not at the time the collectors visited them. The tribes requested their cultural property back and eventually the totems were returned. The Greeks have requested that the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum be returned. The Brits argue that had they been left in Greece, they would have been stolen or destroyed and that the British have preserved them. Stay tuned to see who wins that argument.

Edited April 19, 2005 by trekz

[Madame Butterfly 0]

A controversial author, Graham Hancock, wrote a book about tracing the "journey" of the Arc of the Covenant. Absolutely fascinating. It was very well done, and I believe that it had to be housed in this small church for a time, even if it still isn't.

 

As for the Field, they are slowly restoring their Indian items.

 

England will never return the Elgin Marbles. Which is a shame. I read an article not long ago where their cleaning techniques of them are actually causing more harm than natural pollutants, which is a part of their argument for having not returned them.

Edited April 20, 2005 by Madame Butterfly

[Madame Butterfly 0]

Looted obelisk heading home to Ethiopia

Italy's Mussolini had it taken to Rome in 1937

 

 

 

 

Updated: 9:06 a.m. ET April 19, 2005AXUM, Ethiopia -

 

With pealing bells and chanting priests, Ethiopians welcomed the return Tuesday of the first piece of a giant, 1,700-year-old granite obelisk that was looted from the African country 68 years ago by Italian troops.

 

A giant Antonov 124 cargo plane brought the middle section of the 80-foot high funeral stone to northern Ethiopia — a homecoming that follows decades of demands and promises of its return.

 

The 58-ton piece was placed under armed guard at the airport until the two remaining pieces are flown to Axum from Rome later this month. The obelisk was taken in 1937 on the orders of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

 

“This is an historic moment for all Ethiopians,” said Minister of Culture Teshome Toga, who received the granite monument that once symbolized one of the most powerful kingdoms on earth, the Axumite Kingdom. “We have waited so long for this.”

 

Priests from the dome-shaped St. Mariam Cathedral chanted and bells rung for the arrival of the first piece of the monolith, which dates back to the third century, predating the arrival of Christianity in Ethiopia.

 

Queen of Sheba's legacy

The Axumite kingdom was established between 200 and 100 B.C. The legendary Queen of Sheba reigned in the region eight or nine centuries earlier, and the Old Testament tells the tale of her journey to King Solomon’s court in 980 B.C. with 700 camels loaded with gold, ivory and other gifts. Her bathing pool and substantial remains of her palace can still be found in Axum.

 

Axum was the capital of a powerful, pre-Christian Axum Empire that stretched into parts of the Arabian peninsula. Legend has it that Axum was also the final resting palace of the Ark of the Covenant.

 

Massive obelisks are among a few tangible remains of the past glory of Axum, an area lying in the shadow of the Adwa Mountains where Emperor Menelik II defeated the Italians in 1896 — the greatest modern victory of an African army over a European force.

 

“The obelisk is a symbol of pride, of civilization and part of the Ethiopian identity,” archaeologist Teckle Hargos told The Associated Press.

 

Had been in central Rome

When it was removed, the obelisk was in fragments, having been toppled during a sixteenth-century Muslim rebellion. The weight of the fragments pushed the limits of military vehicles and makeshift roads and bridges built by the Italians. Once in Rome, it was restored with metal rods embedded in concrete, making it difficult to disassemble.

 

The obelisk was dismantled at the end of 2003 from where it stood near the Circus Maximus in central Rome.

 

Ethiopians hope the return of the obelisk, which is carved on all sides with windows and doors, will highlight the rich historical heritage in the only African nation that European powers failed to colonize. Italy occupied Ethiopia from 1936-1941, but it was never a colony.

 

“People outside of Ethiopia often think of famine, of war, of drought and don’t realize the wealth of heritage that this country does have,” Teckle said.

 

At home with other obelisks

When all the pieces have arrived at the airport, the ancient stele will be transported on three separate trucks to its final resting place, three miles from the airport. It will then be erected alongside six other obelisks, which once dominated the skyline of the Axumite Empire — now a small, wind-swept town and home to 60,000 people.

 

Bunting and flags adorned tress, flapping in the early morning breeze along the only paved road in Axum, a town that still remains largely cut off from the outside world.

 

Thousands of people lined roads at daybreak chanting and waving banners to celebrate the return.

 

Amese Lema, who fought the Italian occupation and has been campaigning for the return of the obelisk since 1966, wept on its arrival.

 

“This marks a new chapter with Italy,” the 85-year-old said. “Although I always knew it would be returned I never thought I would live to see the day.”