Always Something New
2,700-Year-Old Town From One of Ancient World's Major Powers Revealed
by Archaeologists
By Aristos Georgiou |
12/11/19 at 12:24 PM EST
Researchers
have revealed an ancient town in Ethiopia belonging to one of the ancient
world's major powers.
The
settlement, known as Beta Samati, once formed part of the Aksumite Empire—one
of Africa's most influential ancient civilizations, which ruled over what is
now Eritrea and northern Ethiopia between 80 B.C. and 825 A.D. The empire is
notable in the region for its conversion Christianity, which occurred during
the fourth century.
A team led by
Michael Harrower from Johns Hopkins University has now described scientifically
for the first time in a study published in the journal Antiquity, which estimates—according to
radiocarbon dating—that it was first occupied by the pre-Aksumites around 750
B.C. and persisted for nearly a thousand years before finally being abandoned
in 650 A.D. Little is known about the Aksumite Empire or the people who came
before it, making this an important find, the researchers say.
To date, most
archaeological fieldwork regarding the empire has focused on the capital city
of Aksum in northern Ethiopia. However, the research at Beta Samati has
revealed that this site was an important regional hub along the trade route
which connected the capital to the Red Sea and beyond.
"The
Empire of Aksum was one of the world's most influential ancient civilisations,
but it remains one of the least widely known," Harrower said in a
statement. "The excavations of Beta Samati help fill important gaps in our
understanding of ancient Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite civilisations."
Excavations
at Beta Samati have uncovered evidence of a densely populated ancient
settlement, rich in both residential and religious architecture.
"Residential
areas revealed evidence of architectural planning, food preparation and
workshop activities, including small-scale metal and glass production,"
another author of the study, Ioana Dumitru, said in a statement.
Among the
most notable finds, the team found one of the oldest Aksumite basilicas—key
sites of Christian worship after the religion spread to the empire. The team
found both religious and secular artefacts in and around the basilica,
indicating that it may also have served an administrative or commercial
function.
Some of these
artefacts display influences from the Roman Empire and ancient polytheistic
traditions, casting light on the cultural diversity of the empire.
"Beta
Samati spans Aksum's official conversion from polytheism to Christianity and
the arrival of Islam in northern Ethiopia," Harrower said. "It also
clarifies the nature of political and religious authority at an important
administrative center located on the trade route that connected the capital of
Aksum to the Red Sea and beyond."
"Our
findings are not only important to understanding ancient African civilizations,
but are also important to understanding political and religious change among
ancient civilizations more broadly," he said.
The Empire of
Aksum was one of the ancient world's most powerful and influential
civilizations, according to Harrower.
"The
Kingdom of Aksum developed in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea during the 1st
century BC from a complex combination of local and international influences,"
he told Newsweek.
"Over the next few hundred years, Aksum gained control of a vast territory
that included parts of what is today southern Sudan and western Yemen. The
Aksumites were important in Red Sea trade networks that connected, for example,
the Indian Ocean world with the Roman Empire."
Source: Newsweek.com
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