The Debre Gergis archaeological site: Ethio-Polish research in the Tigray region of Ethiopia (preliminary results)

Abstract

A new Polish project, the first to be carried out in Ethiopia by the PCMA University of Warsaw, jointly with Mekelle University, focused on the excavation of the ruins of a church tentatively dated to the Late Aksumite period (6th–8th centuries AD). The site, which is located in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, was chosen for multiple reasons, not the least because of its location on ancient trade routes and because the surviving ruins offered the advantage of immediate visual impact. The work was unexpectedly interrupted by the global Covid-19 pandemic and recent political turbulences in the Tigray region. The paper discusses the early findings, providing, among others, a full description of the PolART excavations in the southeastern part of the church and the discovery of a rock shelter with an ancient inscription and painted pictograms.

Keywords

• Tigray region
• Ethiopia
• Late Aksumite period
• excavation
• survey
• digital documentation