Prized obelisk lies forgotten in Ethiopia

Prized obelisk lies forgotten in Ethiopia

February 27 2006 at 12:35PM

By C Bryson Hull Axum, Ethiopia - Nearly a year after a triumphant return home, three pieces of Ethiopia's national pride are still in their boxes. The Axum obelisk, stolen by Italian fascist invaders in 1937 and given back last April, still has not been re-erected at its original site, a place that was once the centre of Ethiopia's ancient Axumite civilisation, a powerful trading empire. For Ethiopians who watched the three granite pieces flown home to cheers and cries of joy nearly seven decades after the national treasure was taken to Rome, that is almost inexcusable. 'To erect it is nothing, but we have to be sure we do not endanger the existing obelisks' "Unless it is erected, if it lies there, what purpose does it serve for the people?" pensioner Wolde Rufael Asfaw asked. The 24m obelisk now lies in three metal shipping cradles under roofs outside a field of more than 120 other similar funeral monuments in Axum, 850km north of the capital Addis Ababa. A sun-faded sign showing the Ethiopian and Italian flags hangs on one, a symbol of the co-operation that brought the 1 700-year-old obelisk back and started to close a long-festering wound. Confusion reigns over why the 160-ton obelisk, which was to have been put back together and raised within three months, is not standing yet in its rightful home. Some accuse the government of indifference - or more cynically, of ignoring the obelisk after using it for pre-election propaganda. Others argue re-erecting it will endanger untold archaeological treasures at the site or be too difficult to carry out correctly. Whatever the reason, it is hard to underestimate how important a symbol the obelisk, known by archaeologists as a stele, is to the Horn of Africa country. "The obelisk is cultural heritage in Ethiopia, and it was a unifying factor. There were no ethnic differences, religious or otherwise, when it came back," Wolde said. The obelisk returned just before Ethiopian tensions rose ahead of parliamentary elections in May, and before ethnic divisions opened up in a way that later would become an undercurrent in post-election violence that killed more than 80 people. Whatever their domestic differences, Ethiopians take great pride in the fact they have not ceded territory to foreign invaders, successfully repelling or eventually expelling any who tried to take their land over three millennia of history. So the obelisk - stolen during Italy's 1933-1941 occupation and raised in Rome by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini - was an unsettling asterisk to that contention, Ethiopians say. "We consider it as if the nation was taken, and now has been returned," tailor Elias Abraham, 52, said. "I'm disappointed that it has not been erected on time, and my greatest wish is that it be erected as soon as possible." Patience, say the Ethiopian government committee and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in charge of putting it back up. "If all logistical and technical requirements are met, the operation will be finalised towards the end of 2006," said Francesco Bandarin, director of Unesco's World Heritage Centre . He said the obelisk was the "biggest cultural object that has been returned to its country so far", referring to his agency's long-standing campaign to promote the return of looted historical items to their rightful owners. With $8,1-million (about R49-million) from the Italian government so far, the committee is busy preparing modern equipment to re-erect the obelisk that their forebears first put up most likely using elephants and winches. Tadele Bitul Kibrat, a private-sector structural engineer on the obelisk committee, is fast to dispute the contention that the re-erection is too hard for today's engineers. "If 2 000 years ago our ancestors could erect it, to say it cannot be erected in the 21st century with modern knowledge is stupid," Tadele said. That is not to say it will be easy. Since the stelae field is rich with largely unexplored archaeological history, including underground tombs, engineers have to study it meticulously and cannot just roll in heavy cranes, he said. Workers will bring in an overhead rig supported by steel beams to lift the parts in place, Tadele said. "To erect it is nothing, but we have to be sure we do not endanger the existing obelisks," he said. "And we must be sure it can stay forever."

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