Report on fieldwork - Preliminary survey in Tigray Region, Ethiopia (March 22nd - April 2nd 2010) : To the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (ARCCH)

摘要

Since the 1970's, Aksum stands in area under discussion since the development of culture in the Ethiopian highlands appears to be, even now, the subject of much debate. What role did it play, when did it emerge to prominence, and what were its relations with pre-existing societies and cultures? And above all, to what extent was Aksum a conduit for external influences, Mediterranean and South Arabian, or even vice versa? The aim of a short visit in Tigrai region was a general survey of Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite sites (Yeha and around, Adowa and around, Hawzen and Gulo Makada, the Eastern part of Tigrai, the region of Atsbi-Dera' and the one of Medri Senafe), and also a geographical study of the kingdom of Aksum, to assert the identification of tribes and regions mentioned in the descriptions of military campaigns. Several pre-Aksumite and Aksumite sites around Aksum and within the study area proposed for a first survey have recently been excavated or surveyed by other teams: Yeha (Iris Gerlach, since November 2009), Haulti (Holger Hitgen, since 2009-2010), Maqabər Ga'əwa (Ricardo Eichmann & Pawel Wolf, since 2009). Thus, the preliminary survey concentrated on documenting several sites first surveyed by H. Berhe (Aksum) et le Tourism and Culture Commission of Tigrai Regional State (TCCTRS, Mekele) in the region of Atsbi-Dera, east Mekelle.