Modern scholarship

David W. Phillipson, *Archaeology at Aksum, Ethiopia, 1993-7, Volume II* (2000), p. 479

Concluding likewise apparently unfinished. Excavation on the site where Stela 2 formerly stood also revealed the remains of massive associated structures, the funerary nature of which - although highly probable - cannot yet be conclusively demonstrated. Excavations in the immediate vicinity of the still-erect Stela 3 are not practicable. The 1993-7 research provides additional support for the now widely accepted view that many stelae were grave-markers. By far the largest and most elaborate are the six storeyed stelae and it would be a reasonable inference that these mark the graves of those Aksumites who wielded the greatest power and influence and who had access to the most abundant resources. The most likely contenders for this position are the kings. The sequence here proposed carries the implication that westward development came to a sudden halt when Stela 1 collapsed, and it obviates any suggestion that the use of the area for the erection of stelae continued after the collapse, with no attempt being made to remove the debris. It would also explain the apparent abandonment of the much smaller Stela 8 which lies incompletely dressed to the north of the Mausoleum's western entrance, no attempt apparently ever having been made to finish or erect it (D.W.Phillipson l 994a: fig. 4). It remains to consider the absolute date at which these developments took place. The archaeological evidence is not as conclusive as one would wish, largely because of the very extensive robbing and other disturbance to which the area has been repeatedly subjected. Most of the primary deposit had, for example, been removed from the Mausoleum. Two radiocarbon dates indicate, however, that construction and primary use of the Mausoleum probably took place within the period covered by the late third century AD and the first half of the fourth (p. 223, above). This is not contradicted by such evidence as has been derived from the artefacts associated with primary use of the Mausoleum and East Tomb nor from those (not yet studied in detail) apparently contemporary with the erection of Stela 2. It is both remarkable and unfortunate that none of the Aksum stelae or associated monuments bears any inscription which might indicate the ruler or other individual in whose name they were erected. (Fragments of an inscribed brass rondel which may have been intended to adorn the apex of a stela were recovered from the Tomb of the Brick Arches, as noted on pp. 97-100, above.) This lack is all the more remarkable in view of the evidence from stone inscriptions and from coinage that Aksum was, from at least the third century, a literate society some of whose members were familiar with the Ge'ez and Greek languages and with Ethiopic, South Arabian and Greek scripts. The only inscription so far found on any of 47 Discussion these monuments is the single letter carved on one of the roof slabs of the Mausoleum: although Roger Schneider (Appendix IX) is unable to propose a meaning for this glyph, he does suggest that its form precludes a date later than the reign of Ezana in the midfourth century AD. In the absence of purely archaeological evidence, it is necessary to rely on circumstantial inference and historical arguments in the attempt to obtain a more precise estimate for the date of the Stela-1 complex than the broad chronological bracket indicated by the radiocarbon analyses. The epigraphic argument summarised above suggests that the second half of the fourth century may be excluded from consideration, leaving a period of approximately one hundred years, between the mid-third century AD and the mid-fourth. This is the period which saw Aksum' s prime florescence and effort to integrate itself with the international economy, as is reflected in the issue of its first coinage. As a result, by the early fourth century if not before, the polity had emerged from its previous obscurity and was recognised as an important and powerful state, influential both in political matters and, following the formal adoption of Christianity, in the religious sphere also (Taklasedik 1981). The scenario which best fits the archaeological and historical data would attribute Stelae 3, 2 and 1 in that order, with their associated monuments, to the period from the late third to the mid-fourth century AD, when the aspirations of Aksumite rulers were at their height. It would follow from this that the attempt to erect Stela 1, the final and most ostentatious manifestation of the old tradition, broadly coincided with the adoption of Christianity. The failure of this attempt may have been seen as symbolising the passing of the old order and would explain both why the series of great storeyed stelae came to an end and why no attempt was apparently made to remove the wreckage after the stela collapsed. If these arguments are accepted, together with those presented above that the three principal storeyed stelae mark royal graves, we are led to the tentative conclusion that the Stela-1 complex may have been intended as the burial place of the last Aksumite king to be interred according to the pre-Christian tradition. Epigraphic, numismatic and historical evidence combine to suggest that Ezana's reign was followed by a period when Aksumite influence and prosperity declined, not recovering until the reign of Kaleb early in the sixth century. This may be reflected archaeologically in the apparent rarity of sites and monuments to which a final-fourth- or fifth-century date may be attributed. There are at Aksum no large or elaborately carved stelae for which there is any reason to propose a date subsequent to that of the Stela-1 complex. Indeed, 79 …