Medieval Church Site Investigated in Ethiopia

News April 23, 2020

(M. Mackiewicz, CAS UW)
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Ethiopia Christian Church
(M. Mackiewicz, CAS UW)

WARSAW, POLAND—Science in Poland reports that researchers led by Michela Gaudiello of the University of Warsaw investigated the site of a medieval Christian church on a hilltop in northeastern Ethiopia. The church was located in the town of Debre Gergis, a stop on the route to the ancient capital of Axum. Gaudiello and her team found stone pillars, wooden foundation pieces, stone blocks from the floor of the church’s semicircular apse, and an inscription written in Ethiopic. Pottery from the site suggests the church dates to between A.D. 700 and 1100. The researchers also used a drone to help complete a survey of the site. To read about a fourth-century A.D. Christian basilica recently discovered at an Aksumite site in Ethiopia, go to "Early Adopters."

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