ሓወልቲ ኣኽሱም | |
 The Obelisk of Axum inAxum,Tigray Region (2009) | |
 | |
| Location | Axum,Central Zone,Tigray Region,Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 14°7′56″N38°43′11″E / 14.13222°N 38.71972°E /14.13222; 38.71972 |
| Type | Aksumitestele |
| Material | Single, solid block of a weather-resistant stone similar togranite[1] |
| Height | 24 m (79 ft)[2] |
| Completion date | 4th-century |
| Restored date | 19 April 2005 |
| Location | Ethiopia |
| Criteria | (i)(iv) |
| Inscription | 1980 (4thSession) |
| Area | Tigray Region |
| Website | Official website |
TheObelisk of Axum (Tigrinya:ሓወልቲ ኣኽሱም,romanized: ḥawelti Akhsum;Amharic:የአክሱም ሐውልት,romanized: Ye’Åksum ḥāwelt) is a 4th-century CE, 24-metre (79 ft) tallphonolite[3]stele, weighing 160 tonnes (160 long tons; 180 short tons), in the city ofAxum inEthiopia. It is ornamented with twofalse doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. The obelisk ends in a semi-circular top, which used to be enclosed by metal frames.
The 'obelisk'—properly termed a stele[a] or, in the local languages,Tigrinya: hawelti; and churchGeʽez:hawelti—is found along with many other stelae in the city ofAxum in modern-dayEthiopia. The stelae were probably carved and erected during the 4th century CE by subjects of theKingdom of Aksum, an ancient Ethiopian civilization. Erection of stelae in Axum was a very old practice. Their function is supposed to be as "markers" for underground burial chambers. The largest of the grave markers were for royal burial chambers and were decorated with multi-story false windows and false doors, while lesser nobility would have smaller, less decorated ones. While there are only a few large ones standing, there are hundreds of smaller ones in various "stelae fields". It is still possible to see primitive, roughly carved stelae near more elaborate "obelisks". The last stele erected in Axum was probably the so-calledKing Ezana's Stele, in the 4th century CE.
KingEzana (c. 321 – c. 360), influenced by his childhood tutorFrumentius, introducedChristianity to Axum, precluding thepagan practice of erecting burial stelae (it seems that at the feet of each obelisk, together with the grave, there was also a sacrificial altar.[6]
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Over the course of time, many of these stelae fell over[8] due to several reasons: structural collapse (as, probably, in the case of the Great Stele, measuring 33 m), possibly immediately after their erection; earthquakes (Axum is in aseismic zone); or the military incursions of the ImamAhmad Gragn during theEthiopian–Adal War from 1529 to 1543. In the 19th century, of the three major "royal" stelae, onlyKing Ezana's Stele remained erect, shown in the print "The Obelisk at Axum" ofHenry Salt (1780–1827)[9] and in the photograph taken byMabel Bent in 1893.[10] Salt travelled back to England withCaptain Thomas Fremantle, and the design of the Obelisk of Axum influenced that of theNelson Monument, Portsdown Hill, nearPortsmouth Harbour, for which Fremantle raised the funds.[11]
TheItalian occupation of Ethiopia ended in 1937 withlooting, in whichKing Ezana's obelisk ofAxum was taken to Italy aswar spoil. Themonolith was cut into three pieces and transported by truck along the tortuous route between Axum and the port ofMassawa, taking five trips over a period of two months. It travelled by the ship,Adwa, arriving inNaples on March 27, 1937. It was then transported to Rome, where it was restored, reassembled and erected onPorta Capena square in front of the Ministry for Italian Africa. This square would later become the headquarters of theUnited Nations'sFood and Agriculture Organization and theCircus Maximus. The obelisk was officially unveiled on October 28, 1937 to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of theMarch on Rome.[12] The operation was coordinated byUgo Monneret de Villard.
A bronze statue of theLion of Judah, symbol of the Ethiopian monarchy, was taken along with the obelisk and displayed in front ofTermini railway station.
In a 1947 UN agreement, Italy agreed to return the stele to Ethiopia,[12] along with the other looted piece, theMonument to the Lion of Judah. While the latter was returned in 1967 following the 1961 visit of emperorHaile Selassie to Italy, little action was taken to return the stele for more than 50 years, partly as a consequence of the considerable technical difficulties related to its transportation.
One source[13] also suggests that emperor Haile Sellassie, after hearing of these technical difficulties (and of the enormous costs necessary to overcome them), decided to grant the stele to the city of Rome, as a gift for the "renewed friendship" between Italy and Ethiopia. This assertion, however, remains controversial and was not recognized by successive authorities. ColonelMengistu Haile Mariam, who overthrew the emperor in 1974, asked the Italian government to return the stele to Ethiopia. Another controversial arrangement, according to some sources, seems to be that Italy could keep the stele in exchange for the construction of a hospital in Addis Ababa (Saint Paul's Hospital) and for the cancellation of debts owed by Ethiopia. In any case, after the fall of the Mengistu regime, the new Ethiopian government asked for the return of the stele, finding a positive answer from the then president of the Italian republicOscar Luigi Scalfaro, in April 1997.[12]
The first steps in dismantling the structure were taken in November 2003, under the supervision of Giorgio Croci, Professor of Structural Problems of Monuments and Historical Buildings atSapienza University of Rome.[14] The intent was to ship the stele back to Ethiopia in March 2004, but the repatriation project encountered a series of obstacles: The runway atAxum Airport was considered too short for a cargo plane carrying even one of the thirds into which the stele had been cut; the roads and bridges between Addis Ababa and Axum were thought to be not up to the task of road transport; and access through the nearbyEritrean port of Massawa—which was how the stele originally left Africa—was impossible due to thestrained state of relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia.[citation needed]
The runway at Axum airport was then upgraded specifically to facilitate the return of the stele.[15] The dismantled stele remained sitting in a warehouse near Rome'sLeonardo Da Vinci International Airport, until 19 April 2005 when the middle piece was repatriated by use of anAntonov An-124, amidst much local celebration.[15] It has been described as the largest and heaviest piece of air freight ever carried.[15] The second piece was returned on 22 April 2005, with the final piece returned on 25 April 2005. The operation cost Italy $7.7 million.[15]
The stele remained in storage while Ethiopia decided how to reconstruct it without disturbing other ancient treasures still in the area (especially King Ezana's Stele). By March 2007 the foundation had been poured for the re-erection of the stele near King Ezana's Stele, structurally consolidated in this occasion. Reassembly began in June 2008, with a team chosen byUNESCO and led by Giorgio Croci, and the monument was re-erected in its original home and unveiled on 4 September 2008.[16]
When it was reassembled in Rome in 1937, threesteel bars were inserted per section. When the obelisk was hit bylightning during a violentthunderstorm over Rome on 27 May 2002, this caused "considerable" damage.[17] In the new reconstruction the three sections are fixed together[18] by a total of eightaramid fiber (Kevlar) bars: four between the first and second and four between the second and third sections. This arrangement guarantees structural resistance during earthquakes and avoids the use of steel, so as not to again make the steel a magnet for lightning and to avoidrust.[citation needed]
Several other similar stelae/obelisks exist in Ethiopia and Eritrea, such as theHawulti inMetera. Like the Obelisk of Axum, the other stelae have arectangular base with a false door carved on one side.[citation needed]
TheZamani Project documents cultural heritage sites in 3D based on terrestrial laser-scanning to create a historical record.[19][20][21][22][23][24] The 3D documentation of parts of the Axum Stelae Field was carried out in 2006.[25]
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