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The Monumental Stelae of Axum (3rd–4th Century)
The Obelisk of Axum is a 4th-century CE, 24-metre-tall phonolite stele, weighing 160 tones, in the city of Axum in Tigray. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. The obelisk ends in a semi-circular top.
In an expansive field on Axsum’s northern edge stand the ancient city’s most renowned surviving monuments, a group of memorial obelisks, or stelae, erected between the third and fourth centuries A.D. Although other Axsumite stelae fields such as the Gudit field are known, none possess the great variety of form and scale present here, ranging from relatively rough-hewn stone blocks of three feet in length to a now fallen tour de force intended to tower 97 feet high. The stelae were carved mainly from solid blocks of nepheline syenite, a weather-resistant rock similar in appearance to granite, and are believed to have come from the quarries ofWuchate Golo several miles to the west of Axsum. Of the seven tallest stelae, originally forming a group, five lay in ruins across the field. These stelae are significant not only for their great stature but also their extraordinary design, as they have been carved to represent buildings of up to 13 stories in height. Although actual Axsumite buildings probably never exceeded a maximum of three stories, many details on the obelisks are regarded as accurate representations of the architecture of the time.
Monuments Of Civilization!
Ethiopia is the source of various civilisations in sub-Saharan Africa. It is believed to have more than 3,000 years of history. Most of the historical artefacts the country is famous for are originally from today’s Tigray. For example, the Axsumite civilisation, one of the four known civilisations established in the first century CE (in addition to Rome, Persia and China), was in today’s central Tigray.
Source of reference:- Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aksu_2/hd_aksu_2.htm (October 2000)
