The Lalibela Rock Hewn Site and its Landscape (Ethiopia): An Archaeological Analysis

Abstract

This article presents the methods employed at the site of Lalibela, Ethiopia during the 2009, 2010, 2011 and part of the 2012 campaigns, as well as the first results obtained. This site consists of a group of rock-cut churches attributed to the sovereign of the same name, King Lalibela, who we know to have reigned in the late 12th century and in the first third of the 13th century. Cut out of solid rock, Lalibela is an exceptional archaeological site since most of the traces of its early phases were eliminated in the process of its transformation. The site thus presents a significant challenge for historians and archaeologists. How is it possible to write its history without excavation? Geomorphological observations of the region offer new keys for understanding Lalibela; identification of the spoil heap, in which we discovered a clear stratigraphy confirming the existence of different cutting phases; the topographic and taphonomic analysis of the remains, and investigations in the cemetery of Qedemt, revealed that the site was formed in multiple phases, probably reflecting a long occupation sequence spanning at least eleven centuries (from the 10th to the 21st century).

Laser ablation strontium isotope analysis of human remains from Harlaa and Sofi, eastern Ethiopia, and the implications for Islamisation and mobility

“…Munro-Hay 1989;Phillipson 2000Phillipson , 2004Finneran 2007), or the architecture and archaeology of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity (e.g. Finneran , 2012Phillipson 2009;Bosc-Tiessé et al 2014). This is a significant omission, for historical records indicate that contacts by Muslims with Ethiopia were maintained from the very beginning of Islam.…”

The rock-cut churches of Lalibela and the cave church of Washa Mika'el: troglodytism and the Christianisation of the Ethiopian Highlands

“…Both of these construction types testify to a centuries-long occupation of the site before its architectural transformation into a religious centre under King Lalibela. Our landscape archaeological surveys of a large area around the site, however, show that the human impact on the region was very low until the nineteenth century (Bosc-Tiessé et al 2014: 151–52; for a different view, see Finneran 2009, 2012). How can we reconcile these apparently contradictory observations?…”

“…Our excavation indicates that the same wall running beneath the spoil heaps dates to between the early tenth and early eleventh centuries. Abundant pottery fragments and faunal remains were also recovered, attesting secular occupation (Bosc-Tiessé et al 2014: 156–57). Finally, other architectural features have provided evidence for a monumental wall that once surrounded the entire complex, as indicated by segments of the wall found in situ in various places at Lalibela (Figure 2: inset map).…”

“…How can we reconcile these apparently contradictory observations? The apparent 'emptiness' of the landscape may be a consequence of how the territory was occupied in the past-occupation that was centred in or around troglodytic features that are both ubiquitous in the landscape and difficult to document due to recent disturbance, as is the case for the remains of dwellings, monolithic structures, granaries and tombs in the vicinity of rock-cut structures at Qulta, Gannata Maryam and May Maryam (Figure 1; Bosc-Tiessé et al 2014).…”

The archaeology of complexity and cosmopolitanism in medieval Ethiopia: an introduction

“…2010); examining the churches in their landscape setting (Bosc-Tiessé et al . 2014); placing Lalibela within its wider geographic context (Finneran 2012b); and excavation of a cemetery at Qademt, 500m north of the churches (Gleize et al . 2015).…”