to heaven for the kingdom’s rulers. In common with obelisks
throughout the ancient world, they may have served as gi-
gantic sundials, enabling people to tell time as the obelisk’s
shadow grew shorter and longer and changed position with
the movement of the sun.
Th e tallest standing obelisk was recently returned to
Ethiopia. Prior to World War II, Italy invaded Ethiopia, and
the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the obelisk to be
dismantled and taken to Italy. For many years the Ethiopian
government asked the Italians to return it. Th eir request was
fi nally granted, and in April 2005 the obelisk was loaded onto
cargo planes and returned to its rightful home.
The Cathedral and the Ark of the Covenant Another
archaeological site from the ancient kingdom of Axum is lo-
cated just a few hundred yards away from the obelisks. Two
Christian churches, both dedicated to Saint Mary of Zion, are
enclosed in a walled compound. Between the two churches
are the ruins of an ancient temple. According to legend, the
area had been a swamp infested with evil spirits, but God
came to the aid of the local people, who descended from the
nearby hills and threw dust on the site to drive out the spirits.
On this site were built shrines, and around these shines the
kingdom of Axum gathered.
Th en, in 331 c.e., Axum’s king Ezana (whose reign began
ca. 330) was converted to Christianity. In 372 he ordered the
construction of a magnifi cent cathedral, the oldest Christian
church in sub-Saharan Africa. Th e church was destroyed by
Muslim invaders in the 1500s but has since been rebuilt. A
Portuguese explorer, writing in the early 1500s, left behind
a detailed description of the church, with its fi ve long naves,
vaulted ceiling, a choir, painted walls, and two surrounding
walls. A major historical mystery surrounds the site. Th at
such a massive church would be built in an area so distant
from the center of the Christian world has suggested to some
scholars that the church was built for a specifi c purpose: to
house the Ark of the Covenant.
Th e Ark was a gold-lined chest. According to the Old Tes-
tament, the prophet Moses placed the stone tablets inscribed
with the Ten Commandments into the Ark. In the centuries
that followed, the Ark was the source of mysterious power.
Aft er it was moved from Mount Sinai, where Moses received
the Ten Commandments, it was originally housed in the Holy
of Holies, a chamber in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. It later
disappeared, and for generations historians, treasure seekers,
archaeologists, and others have tried to fi nd it. (Th e search
for the Ark even formed the basis for one of the Indiana Jones
movies.) Some believe it is housed in a mysterious “treasury”
that is part of the cathedral site at Axum, where it has been
guarded for many centuries.
Some scholars have theorized that the Ark is in Ethiopia
because it was stolen and taken to Axum by Menelik, the son
of Axum’s most famous historical fi gure, the Queen of Sheba.
According to this theory, the queen traveled to Jerusalem
to meet King Solomon because she wanted to see fi rsthand
the results of his architectural skills, particularly the temple
of Jerusalem. While she was there, she became pregnant by
King Solomon, and aft er she returned to Ethiopia she had a
son. Years later, her son left Ethiopia to be with his father but
was driven out of Jerusalem by the jealousy of the city’s el-
ders. He left the city in the company of a number of the elders’
fi rstborn sons, and according to this theory, either Menelik
or the sons took the Ark with them. An alternate theory is
that centuries later the Jews hid the Ark in Egypt to protect
it from invaders. Later, aft er the kingdom of Axum convert-
ed to Christianity, church offi cials moved the Ark to Axum,
where it has remained for 1,700 years. However, this is pure
speculation, as no one has uncovered the Ark at Axum (or
anyplace else, for that matter).
The City, Palaces, and Homes Archaeologists have un-
covered and in many cases tried to reconstruct Axum’s royal
palaces and the homes of some of the kingdom’s wealthy
citizens. Th ese structures consisted of tall pavilions mounted
on high foundations. Th ese foundations show that Axumite
architecture favored walls that were not long and straight.
Rather, the walls were indented at regular intervals along
their length, creating recesses and salients (projecting seg-
ments of the wall) on the inside. Evidence suggests that most
of these buildings were one or two stories tall.
Some of these buildings were of considerable size. Th e
royal palace, called Ta’akha Maryam, is the largest that has
been excavated. It measures nearly 400 feet by more than 260
feet. Th e pavilion in the center had nine rooms, all with roofs
supported by columns and fl oors covered with fl agstones.
Th e palace also featured a central peristyle (an open area or
courtyard surrounded by columns) and a number of four-col-
umned porticoes, or porches, with elaborate fl oral carvings at
the octagonal bases.
Th is style was favored because the walls were made of
loose, irregular rock bound together with mud. Th e “in and
out” design of the walls made them stronger and allowed
them to expand and contract with changes in temperature.
Th e walls also featured an architectural device called a rebate,
a continuous rectangular recess along the top or bottom edge
of the face of stonework. Sitting atop each of these rebates was
a fl at stone that formed a small shelf. Th e purpose of these
rebates was to help rainwater run off the surface of the mud
walls, making them last longer. Further, they strengthened
the walls and added an element of ornamentation. Th e walls
were also strengthened by the use of granite blocks at each of
the corners; sometimes an entire row of granite blocks was
used, and granite was also used for features such as columns,
capitals, stairways, and the like. In some buildings, wooden
beams were used to give strength. Th ese beams typically pro-
jected from the building at the ends.
Th ese structures were surrounded by more modest
homes, giving them privacy and helping to defend them from
intruders. Th e larger buildings had carved pedestals made of
granite, with capitals at the tops of columns. Flooring and54 architecture: Africa