Axum Stelae fields

The Axumite kingdom of Ethiopia was a major force in world trade between the 1st and 7th centuries AD. However the exact age of both the empire and the town remains obscure. The stelae date from between the 1st and 4th cenuries AD and are the Ethiopian equivalent of the pyramids. King Ezana's stele was the last to be built and stands 23km high. The doors and windows are thought to symbolise the door and nine chambers of his tomb and the nine palaces built by the king. The largest of Axum's stelae is credited to King Rehmai. It is generally thought that this collapsed whilst being erected in the 3rd century and has remained where it fell ever since. The stele pictured below was "nicked" by the Italians who occupied Ethiopia from 1931-41 and was finally returned in 2005. Archeologists are still working out how to re-erect it.