2012-03–POISSONNIER

The Giant Stelae of Aksum
in the Light of the 1999 Excavations

Bertrand POISSONNIER

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Abstract

Excavations were carried out in 1999 on the location of Stela 2 at the ancient site of Aksum in northern Ethiopia. These excavations have permitted the documentation of the foundation of this stela, which was transported to Rome in 1937. Preparations were also made for the stela’s return to the site in 2005 and its re-erection in 2008 at the exact location where it stood in the 3rd or 4th century AD. The excavations also made it possible to re-examine our perception of the three giant stelae on the site, from their conception and erection to their destruction.

To cite this article

Poissonnier B., 2012 – The Giant Stelae of Aksum in the Light of the 1999 Excavations, in F.-X. Fauvelle-Aymar, Palethnology of Africa, P@lethnology, 4, 49-86.