54 architecture: Africa to heaven for the kingdom’s rulers In common with obelisks throughout the ancient world, they may have served as gigantic sundials, enabling people to tell time as the obelisk’s shadow grew shorter and longer and changed position with the movement of the sun The tallest standing obelisk was recently returned to Ethiopia Prior to World War II, Italy invaded Ethiopia, and the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the obelisk to be dismantled and taken to Italy For many years the Ethiopian government asked the Italians to return it Their request was finally granted, and in April 2005 the obelisk was loaded onto cargo planes and returned to its rightful home The Cathedral and the Ark of the Covenant Another archaeological site from the ancient kingdom of Axum is located just a few hundred yards away from the obelisks Two Christian churches, both dedicated to Saint Mary of Zion, are enclosed in a walled compound Between the two churches are the ruins of an ancient temple According to legend, the area had been a swamp infested with evil spirits, but God came to the aid of the local people, who descended from the nearby hills and threw dust on the site to drive out the spirits On this site were built shrines, and around these shines the kingdom of Axum gathered Then, in 331 c.e., Axum’s king Ezana (whose reign began ca 330) was converted to Christianity In 372 he ordered the construction of a magnificent cathedral, the oldest Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa The church was destroyed by Muslim invaders in the 1500s but has since been rebuilt A Portuguese explorer, writing in the early 1500s, left behind a detailed description of the church, with its five long naves, vaulted ceiling, a choir, painted walls, and two surrounding walls A major historical mystery surrounds the site That such a massive church would be built in an area so distant from the center of the Christian world has suggested to some scholars that the church was built for a specific purpose: to house the Ark of the Covenant The Ark was a gold-lined chest According to the Old Testament, the prophet Moses placed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments into the Ark In the centuries that followed, the Ark was the source of mysterious power After it was moved from Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, it was originally housed in the Holy of Holies, a chamber in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem It later disappeared, and for generations historians, treasure seekers, archaeologists, and others have tried to find it (The search for the Ark even formed the basis for one of the Indiana Jones movies.) Some believe it is housed in a mysterious “treasury” that is part of the cathedral site at Axum, where it has been guarded for many centuries Some scholars have theorized that the Ark is in Ethiopia because it was stolen and taken to Axum by Menelik, the son of Axum’s most famous historical figure, the Queen of Sheba According to this theory, the queen traveled to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon because she wanted to see firsthand the results of his architectural skills, particularly the temple of Jerusalem While she was there, she became pregnant by King Solomon, and after she returned to Ethiopia she had a son Years later, her son left Ethiopia to be with his father but was driven out of Jerusalem by the jealousy of the city’s elders He left the city in the company of a number of the elders’ firstborn sons, and according to this theory, either Menelik or the sons took the Ark with them An alternate theory is that centuries later the Jews hid the Ark in Egypt to protect it from invaders Later, after the kingdom of Axum converted to Christianity, church officials moved the Ark to Axum, where it has remained for 1,700 years However, this is pure speculation, as no one has uncovered the Ark at Axum (or anyplace else, for that matter) The City, Palaces, and Homes Archaeologists have uncovered and in many cases tried to reconstruct Axum’s royal palaces and the homes of some of the kingdom’s wealthy citizens These structures consisted of tall pavilions mounted on high foundations These foundations show that Axumite architecture favored walls that were not long and straight Rather, the walls were indented at regular intervals along their length, creating recesses and salients (projecting segments of the wall) on the inside Evidence suggests that most of these buildings were one or two stories tall Some of these buildings were of considerable size The royal palace, called Ta’akha Maryam, is the largest that has been excavated It measures nearly 400 feet by more than 260 feet The pavilion in the center had nine rooms, all with roofs supported by columns and floors covered with flagstones The palace also featured a central peristyle (an open area or courtyard surrounded by columns) and a number of four-columned porticoes, or porches, with elaborate floral carvings at the octagonal bases This style was favored because the walls were made of loose, irregular rock bound together with mud The “in and out” design of the walls made them stronger and allowed them to expand and contract with changes in temperature The walls also featured an architectural device called a rebate, a continuous rectangular recess along the top or bottom edge of the face of stonework Sitting atop each of these rebates was a flat stone that formed a small shelf The purpose of these rebates was to help rainwater run off the surface of the mud walls, making them last longer Further, they strengthened the walls and added an element of ornamentation The walls were also strengthened by the use of granite blocks at each of the corners; sometimes an entire row of granite blocks was used, and granite was also used for features such as columns, capitals, stairways, and the like In some buildings, wooden beams were used to give strength These beams typically projected from the building at the ends These structures were surrounded by more modest homes, giving them privacy and helping to defend them from intruders The larger buildings had carved pedestals made of granite, with capitals at the tops of columns Flooring and