Archaeologists Unearthed Lost Ruins In Ethiopia That Have Major Implications For Christianity

The potentially history-changing discovery was made within the context of a five-year operation, which started in 2011 and ended in 2016. And the work took place about 70 miles from the Red Sea – and not far from Ethiopia’s neighboring country of Eritrea – at an excavation site once known as Beta Samati. This name means “house of audience” when translated from an East African language called Tigrinya.

Before 2009, however, the area hadn’t been of much interest to archaeological experts. In fact, the specialists’ attention was only drawn to the site when people living nearby suggested that they should visit a certain hill. This slope, the locals knew, was historically critical – though the reasons for this weren’t understood. Nonetheless, the hill had featured in the natives’ stories for generations.

So, led by Johns Hopkins University’s Michael Harrower, the archaeologists eventually got to work in the area. And throughout the course of their research, the team had a number of important breakthroughs that have helped to paint a clearer picture of the region – as well as the ancient kingdom that once ruled there.

Although things were a little more vague before these discoveries were made, historians had already constructed a broad narrative of the Kingdom of Aksum. Essentially, Aksum was seen to be a “trading empire” that at one point encompassed a vast area throughout East Africa and West Asia. In today’s terms, it would’ve fallen within the borders of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, Somalia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The kingdom is also said to have existed from roughly 100 A.D. to 940 A.D., although its origins can potentially be traced back to the Iron Age. Apparently, Aksum got its start as far back as 400 B.C. before it developed further over the five centuries that followed.

Records suggest, too, that the capital of the Kingdom of Aksum was once a place called Mazaber. Within time, though, this status was transferred to an urban center also known as Aksum. And the city of Aksum is still inhabited today, with just under 67,000 people calling the area home. A number of ruins and artifacts from the metropolis’ ancient past are also still to be found in the region.

Meanwhile, a pair of hills rise into the sky at opposing ends of the city of Aksum, while two small rivers cut through the landscape of the area. These features, it’s been posited, may have initially contributed to the development of the territory as an urban center.

Then there are the vertical structures – known as steles or stelas – which were erected by Aksum’s ancient inhabitants. Found within the vicinity of cemeteries, these items were seemingly designed to honor the dead. And while the steles may be approximately 1,700 years old, they’re nevertheless considered a symbol of modern Ethiopia.

Many of Aksum’s steles were raised, moreover, in an area known as the Northern Stelae Park. But perhaps the example with the most checkered history is the towering, 79-foot-tall Obelisk of Axum, which in 1937 was taken away from its rightful place by Italian soldiers. It was only in 2005, in fact, that the structure was brought back to Ethiopia and raised again three years later.

So, what exactly were the steles used for? Predominantly, it’s thought that they indicated burial sites. These grand constructions may also have had circular sheets of metal that were embellished with shapes and patterns attached to their exteriors. One area in the western end of the settlement is even said to house resting places that date back to the fourth century.

Interestingly, too, the Kingdom of Aksum was known for trading in a currency of its very own. This money is said to have started circulating towards the end of the third century, under the rule of King Endubis. And at around this same time, Aksum emerged as one of the most significant powers on Earth – alongside China’s Three Kingdoms, the Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire.

Trade was apparently one of the main ways in which Aksum forged itself as a force to be reckoned with. The kingdom was known to do business over great distances, meaning it could ultimately establish an intricate economy and society. In addition, Aksum was prone to extending its reach through military force.

And it helped, too, that Aksum possessed large amounts of gold, which was taken both from within its own lands and from its vanquished enemies. Along with ivory, this precious metal was a significant export for the kingdom, with the Byzantine Empire seemingly happy to snap up any gold going. Other sources of income that were traded out of Aksum were slaves, salt, and – perhaps bizarrely – the shells of tortoises.

With the help of camels, these products were brought to a port called Adulis en route to Aksum’s trading partners. And from there, the exports were sent away in exchange for other valuable goods, such as cloth from Egypt and India, glass and weaponry.

A number of containers that were originally from the Mediterranean region have also been found at the archaeological sites of Aksum – suggesting that olive oil and wine were similarly transported into the kingdom. Aksum coins, meanwhile, have been discovered in places as far away as the Mediterranean, Sri Lanka and India.

Yet in spite of this vast trading network, the Kingdom of Aksum eventually started to fail towards the end of the sixth century. And while historians can’t say for certain why this occurred, it’s thought that the deterioration of agriculture in the region may have played a part. Rival groups may also have started to take over smaller areas of the kingdom.

And Aksum’s decline could have been hastened because its leaders let the heads of defeated tribespeople retain a certain degree of power. This enabled these chiefs to organize and execute uprisings against the larger kingdom – fundamentally weakening Aksum and perhaps contributing to its eventual downfall.

Then, at the beginning of the seventh century, Arab Muslims started to compete with Aksum for control of its sea trading networks. The main hub of the kingdom was forced to move, too. Eventually, then, Aksum fell into a slump – and by the end of the eighth century, it had disappeared entirely.

Throughout the course of its history, though, Aksum had an interesting relationship with religion. During the early stages of the kingdom, its subjects worshipped multiple gods – some of which were in fact specific to the area. One of these deities was Mahram, who represented war and monarchy.

Other gods important to those within the kingdom were Hawbas – who was closely associated with the Moon – and Astar, who was linked to Venus. Divine beings such as Meder and Beher were also offered up animal sacrifices – particularly in the form of cows.

Then, in around the fourth century, Christianity finally reached the Kingdom of Aksum. This is thought to have been made possible by the region’s direct trading links to the Roman Empire, as the Romans had themselves recently accepted the relatively new religion.

As a consequence of Christianity reaching the kingdom, churches subsequently began to spring up in the region. Monasteries were also founded, including one set up by Abuna Aregawi, who was later made a saint. And those living in the Kingdom of Aksum steadily took up Christianity, too. In fact, the religion is still widely observed in Ethiopia today.

So, while we do know some things about the Kingdom of Aksum, there are still gaps in its history that need to be filled. And over recent years, Michael Harrower and his colleagues have been working to do just that. Some of their findings have even ultimately altered the way we view this ancient civilization.

Harrower and his team’s work started back in 2009, after they began an assessment of an area near a settlement called Yeha. You see, it’s previously been suggested that this place was once the capital of a realm predating the Kingdom of Aksum. Numerous discoveries have been made in the area, including evidence of early forms of writing.

Despite this, though, there hadn’t been much archaeological work in or around Yeha. And while in the 1970s experts did take note of certain sites that had been deemed significant, the broader territory hadn’t been adequately investigated. So, Harrower and his fellow archaeologists sought to remedy this state of affairs.

And people living locally pointed the archaeologists in the direction of a particular mound, as they knew the geological feature was in some way significant. In 2019 Harrower explained to CNN, “[The hill] was part of the local oral tradition. They knew it was an important place but they didn’t know why.”

In any case, the archaeologists got to work. And during several operations between 2011 and 2016, many intriguing discoveries were made. Stonework from around the eighth century was taken from beneath the earth, for instance. Yet arguably the most exciting find came in the form of the ruins of a Christian basilica or church.

The building measured up at about 60 feet in length and 40 feet in width, and it hosted a revealing array of artifacts. A golden ring with a stone bearing the likeness of a bull’s head was discovered in the vicinity, along with almost 50 objects created to resemble cows. This implies that belief systems predating the arrival of Christianity were still around at the same time as the church.

Speaking specifically of the ring, Harrower said to CNN, “It paints an important line of evidence. The ring looks very Roman in its composition and its style, but the insignia of that bull’s head is very African. [It’s] very unlike something you would find in the Mediterranean world, and [it] shows the kind of interaction and mixing of these different traditions.”

The team also unearthed a stone carving bearing a cross and ancient text that translates into English as “venerable.” There was also lettering nearby with an even more explicitly Christian flavor, as the words seem to request that Christ be “favorable” to those who made use of the church.

Finally, the experts used carbon-dating techniques on the objects with the aim of establishing when the building was first created. And, incredibly, that process suggested that the church had been constructed all the way back in the fourth century. This would have been roughly around the time that Christianity was made legal within the Roman Empire.

And in a message sent to Fox News, the archaeologists involved in the excavation elaborated on their significant discovery. “Early basilicas in Ethiopia were key places of Christian worship,” they said. “And the site… appears to be one of the first in the Aksumite Kingdom – built shortly after King Ezana converted the empire to Christianity during the mid-fourth century A.D.”

The implications of this find are potentially immense, too. After all, it all but proves that Christianity swiftly spread almost 3,000 miles away from Rome. Perhaps, then, the religion advanced with the help of trade links from southern Europe to Africa and parts of Asia. According to Smithsonian magazine, archaeologist Helina Woldekiros has even suggested that Aksum was a “nexus point” for the Roman Empire and more southerly regions.

Christianity has, at times, proven to be a difficult subject for historians focused on these earlier centuries. Before the religion was legalized within the Roman Empire, you see, followers were often forced to practice their faith secretly for fear of mistreatment. As such, there’s arguably an absence of evidence pertaining to Christianity’s early spread.

But thanks to the discovery of this church, the period within which Christianity reached the lands of Aksum has become clearer. As language expert Aaron Butts put it to Smithsonian magazine, “[This find] is, to my knowledge, the earliest physical evidence for a church in Ethiopia.” It’s even been said that the place of worship is actually the oldest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.

And the remains of the church have also called into question the traditional notion of how Christianity reached Ethiopia. Until recently, a common tale implied that an Aksum ruler was converted by a missionary called Frumentius – a narrative that may now be challenged by what Harrower and his team have found.

And the church’s contents have also emphasized the importance of business-related activities in Christianity’s dissemination. Inside the building, tokens used as a sort of currency for trading purposes were discovered. Items from the Mediterranean and an area today encompassed by the state of Jordan also prove that distant exchanges took place.

Discoveries such as these all have the potential to paint a more vivid picture both of this region and how Christianity spread there. As an expert named Alemseged Beldados put it to Smithsonian magazine, “The Aksumite Kingdom was an important center of the trading network of the ancient world. These findings give us good insight… into its architecture, trade, civic and legal administration.”

Nevertheless, Harrower has mused on the difficulties that he faces in his job. “Politics and religion are important factors in shaping human histories but are difficult to examine archaeologically,” he said. Despite the challenges, though, the work can be ultimately fulfilling and vital – especially when you make a momentous find on the level of the Aksum church.