Archaeological Rescue Excavations at the Dejazmach Gebreslassie Palace, Aksum, Ethiopia

Abstract

Archaeological rescue test excavations that were carried out by the Ethiopian Cultural Heritage Project Site Planning and Conservation sub-component at the Gebreslassie Bariya Gabir palace enclosure at the back of The Main Stelae Field in Aksum from the 5th of June to the 15th of July 2005 yielded at least four underground rock-cut tombs 4 meters depth below modern ground surface level, dating at least to about the 3rd century AD. In the course of the excavations, a large number of classical Aksumite ware, imported pottery, glass, beads and Aksumite iron tools dating between about the 3rd and 4th centuries AD were also retrieved from the same site.

Keywords: Stelae, rock-cut, mortuary, Aksumite