Or again, wedged into a gap between giant granite roof beams and the earth fill of the corridor in an immense newly-discovered tomb. Scribbling notes as the expedition leader crawls along under those tremendous stones, calling out what he sees... "another chamber.. ten in all... enormous… seems to be plaster on the wall... another shaft coming down here... roots between the stones... ouch!... at the end, the top of a brick arch... it's blocked..." This was Dr. Neville Chittick, leader of the 1974 British Institute in Eastern Africa's expedition to Aksum in Ethiopia, recorded in my notebook as we entered for the first time the great tomb dubbed 'the Mausoleum' for its unexpected size and architectural impressiveness. The slow unfolding of my own particular discovery as part of Dr. Chittick's team, the Tomb of the Brick Arches, also had moments of suspense. First, a staircase going down. A granite lintel appeared. Then, totally unexpected, a brick. The diggers clear the top of an arch; I recalled the received dictum; 'the arch was unknown in Aksum'. More clearing. The arch was horseshoe shaped---a new page to be written in the history of architecture. Then the blocking... broken or still intact...?
These were some of my experiences a quarter of a century ago when we discovered the royal tombs at Aksum.
Text copyright Stuart Munro-Hay 1998
These were some of my experiences a quarter of a century ago when we discovered the royal tombs at Aksum.
Text copyright Stuart Munro-Hay 1998
More Information
- Royal Kingdom of Aksum
- Aksum a bit on the site
- Aksum trivia quiz
