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. It stands at the entrance of the main stelae area. The largest obelisk of some 33 meters long lies where it fell, perhaps during the process of erection. It is possibly the largest monolithic stele that ancient human beings ever attempted to erect. A series of inscription on stone tablets have proved to be of immense importance to historians of the ancient world.
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. Criterion i : The exquisitely carved monolithic stelae dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD are unique masterpieces of human creative genius.
Criterion 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. The boundaries of the property, which encompass the entire area of ancient Aksum town, need to be adequately delineated and approved by the Committee.
One obelisk, removed from the site and taken to Rome as a war trophy during the Italian occupation, was returned to Aksum in and re-erected in in Furthermore, 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. Some of them still remain covered by modern houses.
In , 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. Flooding has also become a major problem in the 4th century AD Tomb of the Brick Arches and other monuments. The authenticity of the obelisks, tombs and other monuments remain intact, although they are vulnerable due to lack of conservation.
However, the authenticity of the whole property in terms of its ability to convey the scope and extent of ancient Aksum and its value is still vulnerable to lack of documentation, delineation and lack of planning controls. The monuments need to be related to the overall city plan, in spatial terms.
The city of Aksum was put under the jurisdiction and protection of the National Antiquities Authority in No special legal framework is provided to protect the Obelisks of Aksum, except the general law, Proclamation No.
The property is managed at three levels — the site; the region; and the Federal administration. This was finally granted a few years ago and the return of the stele was greeted with much celebration. It will also be chilly as Axum is 2, meters above sea level and is only warm when the sun is out.
During the rest of the year, the sun is strong and the temperatures are high. For this reason, visitors should apply plenty of sunscreen and be sure to bring enough water. The town is a minute flight from Gondar and a 1-hour flight from Addis Ababa. Internal flights within Ethiopia are both frequent and cheap. It is also possible to travel from Gondar to Axum by bus , changing at the town of Shire. Humans had inhabited the region and the valleys below since the Stone Age, and agrarian communities had been there for at least a millennium.
But the origins of the kingdom of Aksum are mysterious. People from the kingdom of Saba, across the Red Sea on the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, may have migrated into the area in the first millennium B. This culture was apparently based in the village of Yeha, in the Tigray highlands about 50 kilometers 31 miles northeast of Aksum.
Another city-state seems to have existed right next to Aksum on the Bieta Giyorgis Hill. Scientists and historians are still trying to understand the process of cultural and economic development that led to the growth of a wide polity in this region.
Nevertheless, it is clear that by the first century C. The local geography contributed to the rise of Aksum. The city is located some 2, meters 6, feet above sea level, on a plateau. Its climate, rainfall patterns, and fertile soil made the area suitable for herding livestock and agriculture.
Most importantly, the city was strategically positioned at the crossroads of trade routes running in every direction, from the East African coast to the continent's interior. The Aksumites took full advantage of these commercial opportunities. Gold and ivory were perhaps their most valuable export commodities, but they also trafficked in tortoise shells, rhinoceros horns, frankincense, myrrh, emeralds, salt, live animals, and enslaved people. In exchange, they imported textiles, iron, steel, weapons, glassware, jewelry, spices, olive oil, and wine.
Perhaps their most important commercial partners were the Byzantine Romans. Aksum was the first African country to mint its own coins—in gold, silver, and bronze—all in the standard weight categories issued by the Roman Empire.
These coins have been recovered in multiple foreign locations, including as far away as India. The kingdom of Aksum reached its peak power between the third and sixth centuries C.
In those years, it was a prosperous, stratified society, with divisions ranging from high nobles, lower status members of the elite classes, and common folk.
The city of Aksum grew in population, size, and the complexity of its development, while smaller towns and rural villages sprang up in surrounding areas. The kingdom exercised administrative and economic control over a swath of territory encompassing Tigray and northern Eritrea, the desert, coastal plains to the south and east, and much of the Red Sea coast in present-day Djibouti and Somalia.
Aksum also enlarged its territory through warfare. In the sixth century, the Aksumite King Kaleb sent a force across the Red Sea to subdue the Yemenites, subjugating them as vassals for several decades. Aksum had become Christianized in the fourth century C.
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