Postby superCalo » Tue Jul 28, 2015 6:35 pm
HE AMAZING MEGALITHIC OBELISKS OF AXUM IN ETHIOPIA
The Kingdom of Aksum or Axum, also known as the Aksumite Empire, was a trading nation in the area of Eritrea and northern Ethiopia , which existed from approximately 100 to 940 AD. It grew from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period c. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD, and was a major player in the commerce between the Roman Empire and Ancient India.
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The Axumites erected a number of large stelae, which served a religious purpose in pre-Christian times. One of these granite columns is the largest such structure in the world, standing at 90 feet. In the 7th century, early Muslims from Mecca also sought refuge from Quraysh persecution by travelling to the kingdom, a journey known in Islamic history as the First Hijra.
The main Obelisk of Axum (Amharic: የአክሱም ሐውልት?) is supposedly 1,700 years old, 24 meters tall (79-foot) is made of granite, and weighs 160 tonnes. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. How could they have shaped hard granite that long ago, and on that scale?
The stelae were probably carved and erected during the 4th century A.D. by subjects of the Kingdom of Aksum, but the question remains how? With simple iron tools? Erection of stelae in Axum is stated as being a very old practice (today it is still possible to see primitive roughly carved stelae near more elaborated “obelisks”.) Is it possible that they are far older than presumed?
Over the course of time, many of these stelae fell to the ground due to: structural collapse (as, perhaps, in the case of the Great Stele, measuring 33 m), possibly immediately after their erection; earthquakes (Axum is in a seismic zone); or the military incursions of the Imam Ahmad Gragn during the Ethiopian-Adal War from 1529 to 43.
I suggest, that like in Egypt, some of these granite stelae could in fact be far older than presumed, and were inherited by the Kingdom of Axum and were re-erected by them. The major damage to the one seen above may be evidence of a massive catastrophe that severely impacted the first builders, perhaps 12,000
Researchers have uncovered a number of tombs in Axum since the 1970s but some had been pillaged and only one such grave, the so-called “Tomb of the False Door” is now open to visitors, according to UNESCO. We will be visiting the area after our Lost Ancient Technology Tour of Egypt in the Spring of 201