Ancient tombs found near obelisk

[emad]

BBC


Archaeologists have found a vast new network of royal tombs in Ethiopia, near the site where the 1,700-year-old Axum obelisk is to be re-erected.

Experts using sophisticated imaging equipment discovered the burial chambers, even older than the obelisk, under a 1963 car park, said the UN.

The stone monoliths were originally erected to mark burial sites for deceased members of the aristocracy.

The final piece of the Axum obelisk was flown home from Italy on Monday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4484813.stm

[Atlas Mugged]

1. Thanks!

I'm nuts for this kind of diversion.

[maxsolomon]

2. i want to visit ethiopia

but i don't want to die doing it.

axum, the source of the nile, good music, good food.

anyone been there?

[On the Road]

3. I Don't Think It's a Particularly Dangerous Country

I would be much more concerned visiting Brazil, for example.

Ethiopia is beautiful. And Axum is supposed to have the Ark of the Covenant.

[alfredo]

5. I livedin Asmara in what was then the Eritrean province.

I have been to Axum on several occasions. I went into a couple tombs. A friend did some digging, finding some artifacts, an incense burner and a Sistrin. He said he found a skeleton missing its head.

I was in the basement of the church that is reputed to hold the Ark.

If you can go, please do. That region is not that dangerous. I would not go to the border regions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, or the hot coastal regions, though Massawa in Eritrea should be OK. If you can go to Matara near Axum I recommend that you do. Debra Damo is unlike any other place you will ever experience. Lalibela should not be missed.
http://www.imperialsociety.com/symbolism.htm

Debra Damo Not for the faint of heart or weak of body.
http://www.ethiopiantreasures.toucansurf.com/pages/damo.htm

Matara
http://members.aol.com/atobrukh/archaeology/matara/matara.html?f=fs

Massawa the hottest or sometimes the second hottest port in the world.

http://www.erey.50megs.com/massawa.html
One night on that causeway pictured on the site, some MP's stopped some US soldiers and started hassling them. Some Aussies pulled up and confronted the MP's. While they were busy with some of the Aussies, other Aussies pushed their jeep into the bay. The MP's couldn't do a damn thing.

BTW, Massawa gets down to about 90 degrees at night. Gin and Tonic is recommended during the day to prevent Malaria and to take your mind off how fucking hot it is. I had my first encounter with a Moray Eel while snorkeling near some reefs. There are a lot of sharks in the Red Sea so care is advised.


BTW times two.
The outback, even in pre revolution Ethiopia, was a dangerous place. Bush's policies have made being an American much more dangerous. Go Canadian.

[LibertyLover]

9. Ethiopia

I visited Ethiopia briefly in 1974. Just Addis Abbaba. But it was a fascinating place. Great beauty and great poverty alongside each other. I was with my mom on an African safari tour and the group went down to the main market in Addis. We were told to watch our bags and wallets carefully because of the thieves and pickpockets. One woman (I do not make this up - she, her sister and brother-in-law were staunch Republicans from Pennsylvania and were traveling together. We were in Capetown SA when Nixon resigned - you should have seen their long faces and heard their dolefully moaning) was still in the tour bus, standing by the back door with her bag on her shoulder when a thief reached in, grabbed it, ripped the strap right off her shoulder and took off. Luckily the tour guide and the 3 local guides were right there and the guy didn't get far. They ran after him, tackled him, the local guides shouted in Amharic that he had robbed a little old lady and hurt her badly and then left him for the crowd. The last time we saw him he was being surrounded by people.

[alfredo]

10. I saw the same type of justice up in Asmara. Addis is called

the world's biggest village. Whenever I went out at night in Addis, we were armed to the teeth. I had a Bedoin dagger I carried. We would go to the dance clubs, smoke pot and drink ouzo. Nobody cared what we did. Most of the crowd was politicians, businessmen and diplomats and their "dates." Nobody saw nuttin.

[carnie_sf]

4. Isn't Ethiopia

supposed to be the birthplace of humanity or something?

[JustJill]

6. No silly - the Garden of Eden is eom

[newyawker99]

8. Hi JustJill!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[alfredo]

7. Some of the earlies remains have been found there.

I believe it was near Lake Tana.

Coffee and the salt trade may have started there. Axum at one time was the center of the Hashish trade. Marijuana is called Hashish in Ethiopia.

I wonder if the new tombs have any connection to the Queen of Sheba and King Menilik 1, the reputed son of the Queen and Solomon.

http://www.crystalinks.com/queenofsheba.html

[maxsolomon]

11. its not the violence i'm afraid of

lets say that i'm wary of malaria. i don't want it.

other than that, the whole culture & history & geography fascinates me.

and the ehtiopian immigrants i meet here in seattle are really really nice.