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Chapter one
The Definitions and theory of Culture

1.1. The Perspective of Anthropologists and behavioral scientists on Culture

Humans are animals with a difference. That difference is Culture, and a major reason for our
adaptability/flexibility and success. Social and cultural means of adaptation have been crucially
important in hominid evolution. Society is organized life in groups. Like humans, many other animals,
including apes, monkeys, wolves, many monkeys live in social groups called troops, composed of
multiple adult males and females and their offspring, in which dominance hierarchies, juvenile/young
play groups, and various coordinated movements and activities regulate contacts between members.
Human populations, however, are organized not only by their habitual social activities and
relationships but also by exposure to a common cultural tradition. Cultural tradition or, more simply,
cultures are transmitted through learning and language.

Edward B. Tyler in his book, Primitive Culture, published in 1871. Tyler said that culture is "that
complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society." Of course, it is not limited to
men. Women possess and create it as well. Since Tylor's time, the concept of culture has become
the central focus of anthropology.

Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is a fragile phenomenon. It is constantly
changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, governments,
buildings, and other man-made things are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in
themselves. For this reason, archaeologists cannot dig up culture directly in their excavations. The
broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that they uncover are only material remains that
reflect cultural patterns--they are things that were made and used through cultural knowledge and
skills.

1.2. Layers of Culture

There are very likely three layers or levels of culture that are part of your learned behavior patterns
and perceptions. Most obviously is the body of cultural traditions that distinguish your specific
society. When people speak of Italian, Samoan, or Japanese culture, they are referring to the shared
language, traditions, and beliefs that set each of these peoples apart from others. In most cases,
those who share your culture do so because they acquired it as they were raised by parents and
other family members.

The second layer of culture that may be part of your identity is a subculture. In complex,
diverse societies in which people have come from many different parts of the world, they often
retain much of their original cultural traditions. As a result, they are likely to be part of an identifiable
subculture in their new society. The shared cultural traits of subcultures set them apart from the rest
of their society. Examples of easily identifiable subcultures in the United States include ethnic
groups such as Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. Members of
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each of these subcultures share a common identity, food tradition, dialect or language, and other
cultural traits/character that come from their common ancestral background and experience.

The third layer of culture consists of cultural universals. These are learned behavior patterns that
are shared by all of humanity collectively. No matter where people live in the world, they share these
universal traits. Examples of such "human cultural" traits include:

1. communicating with a verbal language consisting of a limited set of sounds and grammatical rules
for constructing sentences;
2. using age and gender to classify people (e.g., teenager, senior citizen, woman, man);
3. classifying people based on marriage and descent relationships and having kinship terms to refer
to them (example, wife, mother, uncle, cousin);
4. raising children in some sort of family setting;
5. having a sexual division of labor (e.g., men's work versus women's work);
6. having a concept of privacy;
7. having rules to regulate sexual behavior;
8. distinguishing between good and bad behavior;
9. having some sort of body ornamentation;
10. making jokes and playing games;
11. having art;
12. having some sort of leadership roles for the implementation of community decisions.
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Chapter Two
Cultural Heritage

2.1. Definitions of Terms on Cultural Heritages

Heritage can be defined in three ways:

1. Property of a country or areas, history and historical buildings or sites that are considered to be of
interest and value to present generation (artefacts, manuscripts, landscapes, buildings, etc) that is or
can be inherited; an inheritance.
2. Something (cultural achievements or custom), which is passed down from preceding/previous
generations, example way of life, culture and tradition a society.
3. The status acquired by a person through birth, which are something immaterial heritages such as a
custom that is passed down from one generation to another, example a heritage of affluence (wealth),
inheritance legacy, a heritage of moral uprights, a rich inheritance of story-telling, a legacy of
philosophical thought and social position.
4. In general, heritage can be defined everything that is inherited from the past such as structures,
objects, images, ideas, sentiments (expression of fillings or ideas), and practices, which describes
and witnesses the evolution of man and nature through centuries.

5. Heritage includes any artifacts, natural sites or intangible culture that contains significance and
value. Regardless of its physical dimensions, the excellence of cultural heritage depends on its
meaning and importance. It carries an intrinsic/basic message from its time to the future generations.
Historic structures, buildings, sites and objects (works of art) are some of the most important
resources and need to be preserved and protected. The history, philosophy and theory of
preservation of historic buildings and structures can be traced back to the 19 th century by examining
the ideas of John Ruskin and Viollet-le-Duc, who are considered by many to be two of the first
conservation/preservation.

6. Heritage includes, but is much more than preserving, excavating, displaying, or restoring a
collection of old things. It is both tangible and intangible, in the sense that ideas and memories--of
songs, recipes, language, dances, and many other elements of which people identify themselves--are
as important as historical buildings and archaeological sites.

2.1. Kinds of Heritages

a. Tangible Heritages: these kinds of heritages are visible, countable and material kind that
can be stored or physically touched and can be divided in to two:

1. Immovable Heritages: are permanent kinds of heritages or in other words the heritages
that cannot move from place to place. The followings might be the examples of such heritages.

1.1. Buildings: an area of land on which historical or an ancient houses are being built;
example, churches, palaces, temples, amphitheatres, etc.
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1.2. Landscapes: the laying out of grounds and gardens in imitation of natural features, which
represents the past. Archaeological sites, an ancient town and caves are also included.

1.3. Monuments/Statues: buildings, serving to keep alive the memory of a person or an

event. Monuments are built on tombs, whereas statues are mainly built to commemorate special
historic interests. Some statues of old buildings are preserved by official bodies, such as kings and
government representatives or religious leaders.

1.4. Caves: hollow place in the side of a hill or a large natural or man-made hollow under the
ground are recognised as a historical or cultural sites.

2. Movable Heritages, these are impermanent and can move from place to place.

2.1. Artefacts: something made by a human being which expresses events, story, etc through
drawing, painting sculpture, architecture.

2.2. Manuscripts: a book, document or such like things written by hand on parchments or a
writing that is different from printed books.

2.3. Archival Materials: a collection of original records assembled in the courses of normal
activities of individual, public and private organizations. Such records might be found from a number
of different sources and kept together for being evident for working process of an institution.

2.4. Historical/ancient materials: belonging to the past time at which the materials could be
employed for various purposes; for example, coins, crosses, fighting weapons and clothes qualifying
the norms of a specific society.

b. Intangible Heritages

Heritages are not limited to material manifestations, such as monuments and objects that have been
preserved over time. They are immaterial, indefinable or invisible kind of heritages. They also include
the living expressions, like the traditions that many groups and communities worldwide have been
passed down by their ancestors and will continue to pass on to their descendants by words of mouth.
Under this topic the followings are examples of intangible heritages.

1. Oral Tradition: Proverbs, oral poems/Ethiopic Qines, folktales, legends Story-telling, saying
accounts of past events, philosophical thought and system of teaching by reasoning are regarded as
parts oral traditions. The reason is that all these things are handed down from generation to
generation through words of mouth.

2. Social Practice: rituals and festive events like naming, marriage, funerals, holidays,
traditional reconciliation, etc.

3. Knowledge and Practice: knowing nature, universe, calendar, traditional medicine, etc

4. Performing arts: like traditional music, dance, theatre and drama;

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5. Moral uprightness: (honourable; straight forward in behaviour), moral habits, standards of

behaviour, principles of right and wrong.

2.2. The Importance of Heritages

It is a means to promote the development of science, education, culture and art in the form
of scientific education;
Making interaction among people in culture and art;
It introduces the identity and history of people in order to promote their culture;
It enables to generate the incomes contributing to economic and social development
attracting tourists to the areas where the object is found;
It can be used as evidence that the degree of civilization of the past generation from which
the present society came;
It reminds us how and what kinds of resources the past generation used for its survival.

2.3. The Criteria Evaluating Materials to be Recognized as Cultural Heritages

In order to evaluate an object as the cultural heritage, there are criteria to categorize a material
that belongs to this group. These are:

Its advantage in the historical and cultural values;

Its artistic content on the subject;
Its artistic beauty and quality of the material;
Its time when it was done;
Its uniqueness or sample to be the work of a specific society.

2.4. General Perspective on Ethiopian Culture

2.4.1. The People and Ancient Cultural Heritage

Ethiopia, like most countries in Africa, is multi-ethnic state. Although the original physical differences
between the major ethnic groups have been blurred by centuries, if not millennia, of intermarriage,
there remain many who are distinct and unique.

Ethnic differences may also be observed from the great variety of languages spoken in the country, of
which there are an astonishing eighty-three, with 200 dialects. These can be broken into four main
groups: Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic and Nilo-Saharan. The Semitic languages of Ethiopia are related to
both Hebrew and Arabic. The Ethiopian languages of this family are derived from Geez, the language
of the ancient Axumite Kingdom, which was also the language of the countrys literature prior to the
mid-nineteenth century, as well as parts of most present day church services.

Ethiopias Semitic languages are today spoken mainly in the north and centre of the country. The
most important of them in the north is Tigrigna, which is used throughout Tigray. The principal Semitic
language of the north-western and centre of the country is Amharic, which is the language of Gonder
and Gojjam, as well as much of Wollo and Shewa. Moreover, Amharic is also the official language of
the modern state, the language of administration, and the language much modern Ethiopian
literature. Two other Semitic languages are spoken to the south and east of Addis Ababa:
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Guragingya, used by the Gurage in a cluster of areas to the south of the capital, and Adarinya , a
tongue current only within the old walled city of Harar and used by the Adare, also known as Harari,
people.

The Cushitic languages, which are less closely related than the Semitic, are found mainly in the south
of the country. The most important tongue in this group is Afan Oromo. It used in a wide stretch of the
country, including Welega and parts Illubabor in the west, Wollo in the north, Shewa and Arsi in the
centre, Bale and Sidamo in the south, and Harege in the east. Other Cushitic languages in the area
comprise Somalinya, which is spoken by the Somali in the Ogaden to the east, as well as in the
neighboring Somali Republic and part of Djibouti, and the Sydaminya language, used in part of the
Sidama region. Cushitic languages, however, are also spoken in the north of the country, namely
Afarinya, spoken by Afar of eastern Wollo and the northern half of the Djibouti Republic; Saho, in
parts of Tigray; and Agawinya, in small pockets in different parts of western Ethiopia.

The Omotic groups of languages, which comprise considerably fewer speakers than either the
Semitic or Cushitic, are spoken in the south-west of the country, mainly in Gamo-Gofa. They have
been given the name in recent years because they are spoken in the general area of the Omo River.

The Nilo-Saharan languages, largely peripheral to Ethiopian civilization, are spoken in a wide arc of
the country towards the Sudan frontier. They include, from north to south, Gumuz in Gonder and
Gojjam, Berta in Welega, and Anuaq in Illubabor.

2.5. The Main Sites of the Ethiopian Cultural Heritages

2.5. 1. Yeha, Ethiopias earliest known capital

Ethiopias earliest known capital, Yeha, is less than two hours drive from Axum through some
dramatic highland scenery. As the birth place of the countrys earliest high civilization, it is well worth
visiting. To reach there, everyone should head east for twenty kilometers to Adwa. Continue along the
main road towards Adigrat for another twenty-four kilometers and then turn north on to a short track,
where you will see the imposing ruins of Yehas Temple of the Moon about four kilometers to the right
of the track. The ruins of the large, pre-Christian temple, erected around the fifth century BC, consist
of a single roofless oblong chamber twenty meters long by fifteen maters wide. The windowless ten
meter-high walls are built of smoothly polished stones; some of them more than three meters long,
carefully placed one atop the other without the use of mortar. Immediately beside the tumble, the
church of Abune Aftse is found. The church contains many crosses, old manuscripts and stones
bearing ancient Sabaean inscriptions, which can be seen on request.

2.5. 2. Axum Mysterious Monoliths

Although its very history is unknown, Ethiopia legends first recorded in the 14 th century Kibre-
Negest (Book of Kings) make Axum the capital of the Qeen of Sheba in the 10 th century BC. It does
seem certain that a high civilization was established here in Axum by immigrants from Southern
Arabia in the centuries before the Christian era, and by the first century ADthe time of the earliest
historical recordsAxum was well known to the Greek traders as a fine city and also as the center of
the considerable empire.
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Rising to importance around the time of the birth of Christ, Axum was the capital city of the far-
reaching Axumite Kingdom, which dominated the vital crossroads of Africa and Asia for almost a
thousand years. Its principal ecclesiastical buildings, the church of St. Mary of Zion, is where,
according to Ethiopian legend, the Ark of the Covenant resides, within a special sanctuary chapel.
The Axumites introduced a universal written language, Geez and created a new imperial power and
political cohesion in this part of Africa. They also gave Ethiopia its first organized religion
Christianityin the fourth century AD.

Just north of the town square stand a number of famous obelisks, or monolithic stealae, with which
Axum is widely identified. In ancient times there were seven of these monoliths of granites standing
together, but the biggest, which was the largest monolith in the worldmeasuring over thirty-three
meters and weighing about 500 tonesfell at some remote period in the past, and now lies in broken
segments on the ground close to standing stelae.

The second largest stelae, about 24 meters high, had also fallen and it was looted during the Italian
Fascist occupation on the personal order of the Italian dictator Mussolini. It was taken to Rome in
1937. Though eligible for return in accordance with the Italian Peace Treaty of 1947, it has thus far
not been repatriated, although Ethiopian scholars and patriots are now campaigning for its return. The
third largest stelae, which is slightly smaller, measuring 23 meters, still stands in Axum.

All seven giant stelae are made of single pieces of granite and have identical decoration. Each was
erected in the centre of a step platform of stone on a terrace of polished limestone. At the base of
each standing stela is a stone. At the base of each standing stela is a stone altar containing several
bowl-shaped cavities, which it is thought served as receptacles for sacrificial offering to the dead.
Each stela resembles a tall, slender, multi-storeyed house in the architectural style of the Axumite
houses and places, which had walls displaying an alternate recession and projection and was made
of alternating horizontal layers of stone and timber, with projecting ends of timber-beams, technically
called monkey heads, and a flat roof surrounded by parapet/ramparts.

The stelae are even decorated with representations of doors, windows, and, in some cases, door
handles. Riveted to the top at the front and back were inscribed metal ornaments in the form of the
pagan crescent and disc, symbols of the moon, with an arc at the top of the stela representing the
cosmic universe.

In addition to these obelisks, there are a number of others of various degrees of excellence, including
many roughly hewn, undecorated, slabs of stones. To the left of the principal obelisks, in the park of
the stelae, one can enter the newly excavated tomb of Ramha, a former king of Axum.

Also of great interest is Axums Church of Saint Mary of Zion. There are in fact two such churches,
one old and one new, both located in spacious walled compound directly opposite the park of the
stelae. The older, a spectacular battlemented building was put up in the early seventeenth century by
Emperor Fasiledes, the founder of Gonder; the much more modern structure was erected nearby by
Emperor Hailesilassie, who opened it in the company of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain in 1965.
The older structure, by far the more interesting of the two, is the guardian of many crowns of former
Ethiopian rulers and other valuables, which have been put in a small museum-like building in the
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compound. Unfortunately, the latter are two closed to women, who are, however, allowed to inspect
some of these treasures, which are carried to the edge of the restricted areas for this purpose.

The church courtyard also contains many antiquities. These include sculpted stones, which formed
part of the old demolished church. Visitors may also the stone thrones on which the monarchs of the
past were crowned. Nearby is a small national museum, open to visitors on payment of an entry fee,
which houses a remarkable collection of antiquities. There are several stones bearing Sabaean and
Geez inscriptions, as well as many other artifacts, including clay figurines that reveal the hair style
current in ancient Axum.

From the museum it is a walk of less than half a minute to the ruins of the original church of Saint
Mary of Zion which, according to tradition, was erected soon after the advent of Christianity as the
state of religion in the early fourth century. This, or a later edifice in the place, was described twelve
centuries later by a visiting Portuguese priest, Francisco Alvares, but was destroyed shortly
afterwards by the Muslim conqueror Ahmed Gragn.

Also of immense historical importance in Axum is a trilingual inscription erected by the early fourth-
century King Ezana to record his victories. It is written in three scripts, Sabaean, Geez and Greek,
and housed in a special constructed park in the centre of the town. Of archaeological interest near the
park is a tomb believed to be that of King Bazen, who is said to have reigned at Axum at the time of
the birth of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps the greatest mystery about this strange and ancient city is the claim of that it is the last
resting place of the Ark of the Covenanta claim connected in Ethiopian tradition to legends of the
Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, whose son Menelik is said to have brought the Ark to Axum
some 3000 years ago and founded the Solomonic Dynasty of which Hailesilassie was the last
reigning emperor. The well-guarded sanctuary chapel of the Ark of the Covenant stands in the town,
which the visitor may approach but never hope to enter.

There are a number of sites associated by local folk with the Queen of Sheba herself. Amongst these
the most notable is a huge water reservoir, hewn out of solid rock, known as the Queen of Shebas
Bath, which forms the focal point of the annual ceremony of Timket (Epiphany) in which, each
January, a replica of the Ark is carried out in procession.

Almost equally impressive are the ruins of the so-called Queen of Shebas Palace or Taakha
Maryam, which stands on outskirts of town on the Gonder road. Of particular interest here are a still-
intact flagstone floor, thought to have been a throne room, and a number of stairwells, which hint at
the existence of at least one upper storey. There are also private bathing areas of sophisticated
design and a well preserved kitchen dominated by two brick ovens.

Across the road, in a field facing the palace, visitors may also inspect a number of rough-hewn
granite stelae, some standing more than four meters high, some fallen and broken. Most are
undecorated but one, the largest, is carved with four horizontal bands, each topped by a row of circles
in relief. This crude obelisk, much older than those in the park of the stelae, is thought by the towns
people to mark the grave of Queen of Sheba. No excavation work has been carried out beneath it,
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however, and the field in which it stands is now entirely given over to farmers, who grow crops and
graze their cattle there.

Another monument of great importance, about three kilometers away overlooking the dramatic Adwa
Mountainsnear which Emperor Menelik defeated the Italians in 1896is square in plan and
measures about 60 meters on each side. The walls, which have long since crumbled, show signs of
having originally been projected at the corners to form four towerspossibly the very towers which, in
the 6th century, the monk Kosmos described as being adorned with brass unicorns.

Beneath the fortress, steep stone stairways lead down into a number of underground galleries and
chambers, which are roofed and walled with massive dressed granite blocks that fit precisely against
one another without any mortar in the joints. Local tradition says this cool, dark warren was once the
treasury used by Emperor Kaleb (514-542 AD) and also by his son Gebre-Mesqel. It is now known as
the tomb of Gebre-Mesqel. With a torch, it is possible to see several empty stone coffers, which still
lie withincoffers believed to have once contained great riches in gold and pearls. Further rooms, as
yet unexcavated, extend into the hillside blocked off behind thick granite walls.

Visitors with sufficient time to travel outside the town should not miss the Lioness of Goba Dura, a
drawing of a lioness cut in relief on a large piece of stone at a village of that name. This is located in
an area around which the Axumites once quarried their stone. At one place on the rack to the lioness
one can clearly see a row of small holes made by the quarry workers in an attempt to disengage a
large block of granite. To reach the lioness, you retrace your tack four kilometers towards Gonder and
climber up the rough terrain; about a half-hours walk.

2. 5. 3. Debre-Damo

Forty-eight kms from Axum along the main road to Adigrat will bring you to the village of Inticho, and
25 kms beyond the village, the flat-topped mountain of Debre-Damo will come into view on the left.
The monastery, dates back to early Axumite times, is said to possess the oldest existing intact church
in Ethiopia. legend has it that Abune Aregawi, one of the Nine Saints who came from Syria in the 6 th
century, while wandering at the foot of the cliff, judged the plateau land above him was a suitable on
which to a solitary life. God, hearing his wish, commanded a snake living on the mountain-top to
stretch down and lift up the holy man, who made Debre-Damo his abode.

The mountain, because of its virtual inaccessibility, was later made a place of detention for male
members of the Axumite royal dynasty, to prevent them from conspiring against the ruling monarch.
Subsequently, during the wars of Ahmed Gragn, Emperor Lebne-dingel and hid consort, Queen
Seble-Wongel, by then fugitives, sought refuge on Debre-Damo, and it was there that the unfortunate
monarch died in 1540.

The visitor, lacking the kind snake that helped the monasterys founder to ascend the mountain, will
have to go up with help of a rope lowered by the friendly monks, who will not, however, allow women
to enter. The summit, when eventually reached some twenty-four meters later, offers panoramic
views over the surrounding countryside and complete seclusion and peace for the 100 pr so monks
and deacons who live there. Though local people give food and supplies, the monastic community is
virtually self-sufficient, growing selected crops and rearing male sheep and goats. The monastery
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also has its own reservoirsspectacular caverns hewn deep beneath the surface of the cliff-top
centuries agowhich provide the monks with water throughout the year.

Debre-Damo church, which is called after Abune Aregawi, is built in Axumite style. The beams and
ceilings of the ancient church, around which the monastery is built, are beautifully decorated with
carved wooden panels depicting lion, elephant, rhinoceros, snakes, gazelle, antelope, giraffe, and
camels. Although there are no murals as such, a large number of paintings are preserved there,
including several that depict the legend of the foundation of Debre-Damo by Abune Aregawi. The
treasure secreted within, kept intact through countrys 1,400 tumultuous years of history because of
that arduous, dangerous ascent, include an extensive collection of illuminated manuscripts, among
them the oldest surviving fragments of texts anywhere in Ethiopia. The church now houses about fifty
manuscripts, although the monks claim that they formerly possessed no less than a thousand.

2. 5. 4. Mertule-Mariam

It is located about the distance of seventeen klmtrs from the main road (Mota road). This is one of the
largest and most interesting of the free-standing Ethiopian churches. It is really more of a cathedral
than an ordinary church. It is said to date from the Axum era, although many later hands contributed
to the construction.

2. 5. 5. Lalibela: the Eighth Wonders of the World

Once, the thriving and populous capital city of a medieval dynasty, Lalibela is now not much more
than a village. It is scarcely visible against a horizon dominated by the 4,200-mtr peak of Mount
Abune Yosef. But the anonymity is deceiving camouflage, for in this remote highland settlement some
800 years ago, safe from the prying eyes and plundering hands of hostile interlopers, a noble king
fashioned a secret marvel.

Formerly known as Roha, it now bears the name of King Lalibela (1181-1221), a member of the
Zagwe dynasty. Shortly after his birth at Roha, the future kings mystical life began to unfold. Legend
has it that one day his mother saw him lying happily in his cradle surrounded by a dense swarm of
bees. Recalling an old Ethiopian belief that the animal world could foretell the advent of important
personages, the second sight came upon her and she cried out: The bees know that this child will
become King. Accordingly, she called her son Lalibela, which means the bee recognizes his
sovereignty.

Lalibelas older brother, Harbey, the incumbent monarch, was naturally disturbed to hear this news
and became jealous. As the years passed, he began to fear for the safety of his throne, decided to
eliminate his rival, and unsuccessfully tried to have his brother murdered. Persecutions of one kind or
another continued for several years, culminating in a deadly potion that left the young prince in mortal
sleep. During the three days stupor, Lalibela was transported by angels to the first, second, and third
heavens, which God ordered him to return to Roha and build churches, the like of which the world
had never seen before. The Almighty, it is said, further told the prince how to design those churches,
where to build them, and how to decorate them.
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After Lalibela returned to mortal existence, Harbey, acting on instructions from the Lord, went to pay
homage to him and beg his forgiveness. The two brothers then rode together on the same mule to
Roha, and Harbey abdicated in favor of his younger brother. When Lalibela was crowned, he
gathered masons, carpenters, and constructional tools, set down a scale of wages, and purchased
the land needed for the building. The churches were built with great speed, because the angels
continued the work at night.

Those who scoff at such whimsical folklore are soon silenced when they glimpsed the famous
Lalibela Churches. Physically prised from the rock in which they stand, these towering edifices see, to
be of superhuman creation in scale, workmanship and concept. Some lie almost completely hidden in
deep trenches, while others stand in open quarried caves. a complex and bewildering labyrinth of
tunnels and narrow passageways with offset crypts, grottos, and galleries connected them all.
Throughout the mysterious and wonderful settlements, priests and deacons go about their timeless
business, scarcely seeming aware that they are living in what has become known as the Eighth
Wonder of the World.

Seeing all the Lalibela churches, which are cut out of soft red volcanic tuff, takes a long time, but it is
well worth it. Although the ten main churches are within a very short distance of the town centre, there
are others some distance away. Visiting any church entails a lot of walking, much of it over step
gradients. The churches can actually be divided into two main groupsone to the south and the other
to the north of a stream known as the Jordan River. The first groups of churches lie in their rock
cradles one behind the other north of the river. They are six in number: Bet-Golgotha, Bete-Mechael
(also known as Bete-Debre-Sina), Bete-Maryam, Bete-Mesqel, Bete-Denaghel, and.

The first church most travelers visit is Bete-Medhane-Alem, the largest of all the Lalibela churches.
Taking the form of a Greek Temple, it is unusual in being entirely surrounded by square shaped
columns, with a further forest of 28 massive rectangular columns supporting the roof inside. In a
corner of the church, one can see three empty graves said to have been symbolically dug for the
biblical personage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A theory put forward by various scholars is that
Bete-Medhane-Alem is a copy in rock of the original church of Saint Mary of Zion at Axum.

A few minuets walk from Bete-Medhane-Alem is Bete-Maryam, which stands in a spacious courtyard.
It is the most belovednot only of the Lalibela clergy, but also of the many pilgrims streaming into its
courtyard on holy days. Legend says that King Lalibela also favoured this above all, and attended
mass there daily. A box of the royal family of Lalibela is still shown on the western wall of the
courtyard opposite the main entrance. A deep square pool in the courtyard is said to have miraculous
properties, and infertile women dip themselves in the algae-covered waters at certain times of the
year, particularly at Christmas.

Dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Christ, this church is alone amongst the Lalibela monoliths in that it
has a projecting porch. The remains of early unusual frescoes can be seen on the ceiling and upper
walls, there are many elaborately carved details on the piers, capitals, and arches. In the northern
wall of the Bete-Maryam courtyard is the excavated chapel of Bete-Mesqel. It is a broad gallery, with
a row four pillars dividing the space into two aisles spanned by arcades. One spandrel between two
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arches contains a relief cross beneath stylized foliage, a decorative motif often found in Lalibela.
Bete-Mesqel also contains several large caves, some of them inhabited by hermits.

Jutting out at the south of the Bete-Maryam courtyard is the little chapel of Bete-Denaghel, which is
connected with one of the most fascinating legends of Lalibela. Priests will tell you that the chapel
was constructed in honours of maidens martyred under Julain the Apostate, who ruled Rome in the
mid-fourth century, the time when Christianity was first brought to Axum. It is said that 50 young
maidens, nuns, and novices, who lived a pious life under the supervision of their abbess Sophia in
Edessa (present day Turkey), were ordered to be killed by Julian when he passed through the town
and learned of the nunnery. The abbess and her young maidens were beheaded. This tiny chapel in
the mountains of Ethiopia helps keep alive the memory of their modest contemplative life and their
last moment of bravery in professing their Christian faith.

A tunnel at the southern end of the Bete-Maryam courtyard leads to the interconnected churches of
Bete-Golgotha and Bete-Michael, which, together with the Silassie Chapel and the tomb of Adam,
from the most mysterious complex in Lalibela. Its holiest shrine, the Silassie chapel, is housed here,
andaccording to the whispers of the priestsperhaps even the tomb of King Lalibela himself. It is
likely that some of the most beautiful processional cross of Lalibela will be shown to you here. One, a
very rich and elaborate metal cross, black with age and decorated with inlaid circles, is said to have
belonged to King Lalibela. His rod and stool, also said to have been his throne, may also be shown to
you.

While the ancient entrance to this group was probably from the west, passing the hollowed block of
the tomb of Adam, the courtyard is now entered from the south, being connected by the trench
leading off the Bete-Maryam church. a side doors leads to the first church, Bete-Mesqel, which is
considered a twin church of the more northern Bete-Golgotha. Two windows in the southern wall of
Bete-Golgotha give light to two shrinesthe right-hand one to the Silasie chapel and the one on the
left to the Iyesus cell (cell of Jesus), located at the east end of the right-hand nave of the church
proper. Not far from tomb of Christan arched recess in the north-east corner of the churchis a
movable slab set into the floor, said to cover the most secret place of the holy city: the tomb or crypt
of King Lalibela.

Bte-Golgote, although simple in its architecture, houses some of the most remarkable pieces of
early Christian Ethiopian art: figurative reliefs, rare elsewhere in the country. The tomb of Christ
displays a recumbent figure in high relief with an angel in low relief above its head. The figures of
seven saints, mostly larger than life, decorate arched niches in the walls.

A doorway at the east end of the right-hand nave of Bete-Golgotha opens on to the Silasie chapel, a
place of greatest sanctity that is rarely open even permitted to enter it. The shrine is completely
imprisoned in the rock and features three monolithic altars. The central altar displays a relief
decoration of four winged creatures with hands raised in prayer, thought to be representation of the
four Evangelists. The simple impressive tomb of Adam is a huge square block of stone, which stands
in a deep trench in front of the western face of Bete-Golgotha. The ground floor of this hollowed-out
block severe as the western entrance to the first group of churches, and the upper floor houses a
hermits cell. A cross is the only decoration of the tomb.
 13

The group south of the Jordan River comprises four churches; Bete-Amanuel, Bete-Merkorios, Bete-
Abba Libanos and Bete-Gebriel-Rufael. Bete-Amanuel is perhaps the finest of the group, its elaborate
exterior much praised by art historians. Its walls imitate the alternate projecting and recessing walls of
an Axumite building. The structure contains a large hall with four pillars, and its windows, which are
irregularly placed, are also Axumite in style. A spiral staircase leads up to an upper storey. The most
striking interior feature is the double frieze of blind windows in the vaulted nave, the lower frieze being
purely ornamental and the upper one consisting of windows alternating with decorated areas. In the
rock floor of the southern aisle a hole opens into a long, subterranean tunnel leading to neighboring
Bete-Merkorios.

Chambers and cavities for sacred bees in the outer wall of the courtyard are a reminder of the bees
that prophesied kingship to Lalibela. Some of the chambers, however, are the grave of monks and
pilgrims who wanted to be buried in this holy city. In the outer wall two further underground
massages have been discovered leading to Bete-Merkorios.

Bete-Merkorios, partially collapsed and recently restored, is thought to have originally served a
secular purposeperhaps that of a house of justice, as amongst the secular objects found in recently
excavated trenches were shackles for the ankles of prisoners. The Lalibela clergy only much later
turned it into a shrine for worship, and the part serving today as a church occupies the eastern end of
a subterranean hall that opens to courtyard. The naked walls of Bete-Merkorios were once covered
with rich paintings on cotton fabrics, which were attached to the walls by a thick layer of clay, ox
blood, and straw. For their better preservation they were removed and can now be seen in the
national Museum in Addis Ababa. They were most likely painted in Gonder, and it is thought they
originate from the early 17th or 18th century.

But Abba Libanos, which is separated from the surrounding land on only three sides, is a structure of
great charm, and a good example of cave church. It resembles Bete-Amanuel in that its wall are
chiseled in Axumite style. It is suspected that Bete-Gebriel-Rufael was also not originally intended to
serve as a church, largely because of its disorientation and unusual plan. The labyrinthine floor plan
features three angular halls with pillars and pilasters that are squeezed between two courtyards. The
most impressive part of the church is the monumental faade. Although usually entered from the top
of the rock near Bete-Amanuel in the east by a small bridge of logs leading over the central trench,
you may also approach from the east by a series of small tunnels, a gallery-like passage and another
log bridge ten meters above the courtyard. From the north a path leads from the outer trench to a
narrow chiseled-out ridge of rock called the path to heaven. This in turn leads up steeply to the roof
of the church, although there is no entrance from this point.

Also to the north of the Jordan, but much further to west, and somewhat isolated from the others, is
the remarkable church of Bete-Giorgis, possibly the most elegant of all the Lalibela structures. It is
located in the south-west of the village on a sloping rock terrace. In a deep pit with perpendicular
walls, it can only be reached through a tunnel, which is entered from some distance away through a
trench.

Legend says that when King Lalibela had almost completed his churches, he was severely
reproached by Saint Georgewho in full armour rode up to him on his white horsefor not having
 14

constructed a house for him. Lalibela thereupon promised the saint the most beautiful church, and
Saint George apparently supervised the execution of the works in person, as attested by the fact that
the monks today still show the hoof marks of his horse to visitors. Standing on a three-tiered plinth,
Bete-Giorgis is shaped in the form of a Greek cross, and has walls reminiscent of Axumite
architecture. The church also has an elaborately shaped doorway.

There are several other rock churches within a days journey of Lalibela. Keep in mind that access to
them often requires long walks and stiff climbs or rides by mule. They include Yemhehanne-Christos,
six hours by foot and mule to the north-east of Lalibela, a remarkably beautiful structure built (not
excavated) in typical Axumite style within a cave; Arbatu-Ensissa, south-west of Yemerehanne-
Christos and detached from the rock on only two sides; Bilbila Giorgis, west of Arbatu-Ensissa, only
the faade of which is visible; and Sarsana Michael, which is detached on three sides. Also of interest
is the church of Asheten Maryam, located in the mountain high above the town, with an impressive
view if the surrounding countryside; Naakuto-Laab, a veritable jewel of a church built in a cave,
accessible via a motorable road; and Ukre Mesqele-Christos near Seqota, where the mummified
remains of several wag--Shums--former rulers of Wolloare to be found. Mules and Guides are
easily obtained for visits to these more out-of reach churches.

2. 5. 6. The Monastery of Haiq Estifanos

The monastery is the big site, which is off limits to women. There is a turn off to the left from the
lakeside road, which is also marked by a little sign with a cross indicating the way to the monastery.
You follow this turn around the western edge of the lake and all the way down the northern side t o
get to the church-about five klms or so.

The church and monastery are on a peninsula that almost cuts the lake in two. To the west you
can see an unexpectedly large expanse of water previously not visible. Like older church grounds, it
is heavily treed and very lush. There is a small gate beyond which no human females, or cows or
even chickens are allowed to pass. There are a lot of priests and monks around, some in elaborate
and gorgeous get up, and some in rags.

Predictably, there is a large graveyard and lots of small rooms for the monks. The church is a fairy
typical tukul style, less than a hundred years old, with corrugated-iron roof and decorated in the
Ethiopian colours-red, yellow and green. However, the history of the church is dated back to the time
of Saint Tekle-Haimant in the 1300s. Haiq became one of the biggest centers of religious power in
Ethiopia for a couple of hundred years, until it was destroyed, like so many churches, by t6he Harare
ruler Ahmed Gragn in the 1500s. After Gragn, the area fell under Oromo influence until regained by
the Shoan Christian rulers in the 1600s. The current church was obviously a recent addition, built on
the foundations of its predecessors.

There were a couple of interesting stones in the yard; the priest dated them from Gonderine times
(1600-1800). They also had one of those marvelous bells (a cylindrical rock tied to a frame by ropes)
that make a deep and satisfying gong when struck.
 15

2. 5. 7. Debre-Libanos

It is not hard to see why Debre-Libanos was selected as a holy site. For hundreds of years it was
probably the most holy site of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It was founded by Saint Tekle-
Haimant, who Christianized much of present day of Ethiopia. The current church was built in the
1950s, and forms the center of a number of sites. A short walk up a hill takes to the cave in which
Tekle-Haimanot reputedly stood on one leg for seven years. He survived in one seed a year, fed to
him by a bird. As a result of this habit his leg fell off. There are wonderful paintings of Tekle-haimanot,
usually with the foot that has fallen off flying to heaven with angels wings.

As a result of this auspicious beginning, Debre-Libanos not only became a center for pilgrimage of
the church, it became the center of teaching. The Portuguese priest Francisco Alvares wrote of
Debre-Libanos in 1520 as the center of the church. This remained the case up still the 1930s. the
Italians who invaded and occupied much of Ethiopia in 1930s also recognized that Debre-Libanos
was the center of the church. They regarded the church as the center of patriotic opposition to their
occupation, and Debre-Libanos as a hotbed/source of sedition/agitation. The attempted assassination
in Addis Ababa of Governor Graziani in 1937 set off not only the massacre of Ethiopians near Arat-
Kilo, it also set in motion the destruction of Debre-Libanos.

Graziani was convinced that Debre-Libanos needed to be suppressed. He sent troops there, rounded
up the priests, monks, and deacon boys, and took them away. The official report was that about four
hundred priests and monks were shot, and others along with the deacon boys, were sent away to
prison near Debre-Birhan. Recent evidence uncovered by the intrepid Ian Campbell is pointing to a
second massacre of priests and boys near Debre-Birhan. The total number killed looks like it was
over a thousand.

Graziani not only killed the priests but he also killed Debre-Libanos as the center of the church. It
never recovered from the loss of the priests and teachers. Although it was resurrected, and a now
and wonderful church was built there in the 1950s, it could never become the center of learning it has
been previously been. The church at Debre-Libanos has a wonderful inferior with stained glass
depictions of biblical figures and saints. It is particularly scenic during the major festival days of the
church in particular timket in January. The many priests and monks line up their classical dances with
their flowing white robes, large drums, and other instruments. It is a splendid sight. The tabot, the
centre of any Ethiopian church, is prepared around the church, carried on sticks like the original Ark
of the Covenant on which on it is based.

Another tradition popular amongst Ethiopian Christians is baptism. During timket the pilgrims come
from all over to douse themselves in the holy water of Debre-Libanos. There are various holy
springs and ponds. Priests assist in the baptism, but many of the throng do it themselves, splashing
themselves with the water or throwing off their clothes and hopping in. It is festive and fun.

2. 5. 8. Debre-Birhan Silassie of Showa

Debre-Birhan has a remarkable early history. The settlement was founded by one of Ethiopias most
important, early rulers, Emperor Zera-Yaecob (1434-1468), when at night compatriots saw a heavenly
 16

light over the area. This vision, which was vividly described by old Ethiopian authors, was almost
certainly Haleys Comet, which appeared in 1456, in the latter part of Zera-Yaecobs reign.

ZeraYaecob, accordingly to his chronicle, thereupon decided to make the place his permanent
residence and named it Debre-Birhan, meaning mountain of light. He accordingly ordered his chief
and nobles to collect wild olive trees and other woods for the construction of a palace a stout
surrounding wall, the likes of which no previous ruler had ever erected. The monarch spent much of
his time in this palace, and it was there that he must have carried out many of the governmental and
religious reforms for which he is remembered. In the vicinity of his palace he also built a fine church,
which was fitted, the chronicle proudly claims, with a strong lockperhaps an innovation of the time.

Afeter Zera-Yaecob had lived et Debre-Birhan for a long time a major epidemic broke out,
killing many people in the capital. The emperor, remembering a divine promise that the disease could
not come a place of worship, thereupon erected a new church, called Bete-Qirqos, whereupon the
epidemic was checked and failed to approach the palace. Though beloved by Zera-Yaecob, the town
was abandoned by monarchs son and successor, Beide-Mariam, who chose another capital, after
which his fathers palace and other buildings at Debre-Birhan soon fell to ruin. The settlement was not
heard of forever two centuries, until a successful Shewan chief called Negasi made his residence.
Debre-Birhan was, however, later used by several of his successors, notably by King Sahile-Silassie
(1813-1847), who had a fine palace there in which he spent several months a year.

The town was subsequently almost destroyed when the reforming Emperor Teodros advanced
into Shewa in 1855. On that occasion SDahile-Silassies son and successor, King Haile-Melekot,
ordered that his fathers place should be burnt to the ground. Menelik, the founder of modern
Ethiopia, later resided at Debre-Birhan on several occasions. He was so pleased with area that he
ordered the construction in 1865 of a new capital at a nearby place called Liche, five klms to the
north-east, but, under from the then emperor, Yohannes IV, soon abandoned it in favor of Debre-
Birhan. For several years Menelik considered the latter his capital but later moved to nearby Ankober.
Liche, though abandoned almost immediately after its establishment, is still the site of many stately
ruins about ten minutes drive from the road.

Because of its location on the main trade route to the north, Debre-Birhan has remained a
road-side town of considerable importance. The Trinity church built by Emperor Menelik in 1906
contains many interesting mural paintings.

2. 5. 9. Gishen Mariam-Site of the True Cross

Gishen Mariam is unique in two ways. It is the site of the true cross; that is right, the one which
Jesus died on, a large section o0f which is buried there. It is also an Amba (a flat-topped mountain or
plateau) which is shaped like a giant cross, which is it was chosen as the site for the true cross. It is
wonderful why the true cross is buried in north central Ethiopia, some distance from the location of
Christs slaying, Legend has it that the true cross came to Ethiopia during the reign of Emperor Dawit,
one of the Successors of King Lalibela. Reputedly, the Saint Helena who carried the cross was
feeling from Jesus who wanted to destroy it. It is a great story, although the timing does not quite fit
as Saint Helena was around in the 3rd century, about one thousand years before Emperor Dawit.
 17

Probably, it is as historian Thomas Pakenhem Conjugates in his the Mountains of Rasselas

that the story of the cross arises from the shape of the amba, rather than the crosscutting to the amba
because of its shape, as in Ethiopian legend. Whatever the dubiousness of the story behind the
arrival of the true cross in Ethiopia, it does not necessarily mean that it is not there. Perhaps the cross
arrived but, the stories to justify it coming are weak. The true cross is, of course popular in Catholic
Europe, and there is little doubt that if all the pieces of the true cross were put together it would be
probably seven hundred feet high (sorry 242.5 mtrs). The fact that the section of the true cross at
Gishen Mariam is buried and reputedly accessible only to the anointed few by an underground
stairway makes scientific investigation problematic.

Gishen Mariam itself is a wonderful plateau, wit6h the length of the cross about one klmtrs and
t5he width about 600 mtrs. It takes some imagination to get the hang of the cross while standing on it
but, once you catch on, its pretty obvious. The biggest pilgrimage of the year is Meskerem 21st, which
is the Saint Day of Mary. As the festival is growing annually, this was the biggest pilgrimage ever to
Gishen Mariam, and it is heard that it would be about hundred thousand people there. This figure is
not directly counting the pilgrims but estimating.

It was quite a scene, nevertheless,. There are five churches on top of the plateau, with largest
and busiest being the church of Saint Mary. There is a pond next to the church filled by an aqueduct
with holy water. Some people were gathering the holy water, while further down screens had been set
up, directly in a mens and womens section, where baptisms were taking place. A few people who felt
a little more informal threw off their clothes and baptized each other with the holy water in the middle
of the crowd. Nobody seemed to mind.

2. 5. 10. The Monastery of Mount Ziquala

Back on the main road to Debre-Zeit and 35 klms from Addis Ababa is the village of Dukem,
which makes the turn off for another enjoyable detour; the volcanic cone of Mount Ziquala, which
towers some 600 mtrs over the surrounding countryside. Two klms across and 60 mtrs deep, the
crater is occupied by a shallow lake, well known as a holy lake. For many centuries there has been a
monastery at the top of the mountain. Ahmed Gragn destroyed one of the buildings, but the octagonal
church of Gebre-Menfes Kidus was rebuilt in 1912 and is still in use today. Twice a year, in March
and October, the tabot comes of the church and is carried processionally around the lake before it is
carried it back into the church. Many pilgrims come for the festivities, which are quite colorful and
interesting to seesimilar to the Timqet celebrations.

The inside rime of the crater is covered with juniper and eucalyptus forest, as well as a heavy
growth of trailing lichens. You can climb down the 800 mtrs or so to the edge of the Crater Lake if you
wish, but swimming is prohibited by the local clergy.

2. 5. 11. Debre-Birhan Silassie of Gonder

There are two famous churches in Gonder, although many others less celebrated. One of them
is justifiably more famous for the castle of Empress Mintwab than the church itself.
 18

The Geez name bright light is not from camera flashes to take pictures of the wonderful
paintings as flashes are prohibited. The church is old; it was built by Emperor Iyasu I who reigned in
1682. It is beautifully stone made3, with nice archways. A protective roof was added by Haile-Silassie
around 1954, supported by stone pillars which blend nicely with old structure (unlike Lalibela with its
ghastly scaffolding).

In side the4 church is open and plain, except the wonderful paintings which covers the walls
and the roof. These are entirely attributed to Abba Haile-MesqelWolde, who completed them
immediately after the building of the church. These paintings are generally considered the best in the
Ethiopian church, and are the main reason that Debre-Birhan Silassie is famous. Probably the most
power image is the faces of numerous angels (eighty they say) all over the ceiling. They are all similar
except they are looking in four different directions to symbolize their knowledge and control of them.

The centerpiece on the back wall is Jesus on the cross. As is common in older depictions of
Jesus in Ethiopia, the Romans killing him look a lot like Turks. Another interesting symbol is the blood
of Jesus trickles down the cross on to a skull and bones bellow. The bones belong to Adam. I was
told that the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy. Although our Abba (priest) guide could not tell me in
which book of the Bible this was prophesied, I suspect it is the testimony of Adam or one of the other
books which are not in the western Bible. The full roster of the Ethiopian Saints seems to be in the
paintings: Samuel riding his lion, the wonderfully named Abune Gebre-Menfes-Kidus wearing only his
long locks of gray hair, and Tekle-Haymanot, who lost one foot when he stood on one leg for seven
years.

In one corner of the front wall Mohammed the prophet is seen riding a camel and following the
evil. I suppose they could be forgiven this intolerance only one hundred and fifty years after Gragn
almost defeated them in the name Islam. Fortunately, this intolerance is no longer common. On the
right hand wall is a big feature on the last ju7dgment at end of t5he world. The righteous go off to
paradise. The bad people side depicts a big black devil that is in the mildest of devouring a girl. I bet
this picture has fed lot nightmares over the centuries.

There are various other paintings squeezed in. peter and Paul are being persecuted for
following Jesus. Judah is hanging after his betrayals, and so on. Leaning on the back wall is a portrait
of Mary and Jesus in the western style. This contrasts with Ethiopian style Mary and Jesus on the
wall, which demonstrates to the perspective eye inadequacies of the western traditions. Mary is
shown with small eyes and a narrow face. Jesus is blonde and blue eyed. These no doubt come from
the hated Portuguese Catholics thrown out of Ethiopia by 1640. All good Ethiopians know that holy
people are shown with round faces and big brown eyes, and the baby Jesus is shown with curly dark
hair. This is the proper way.

2. 5. 12. The Church of Debre-Qusquam

The big attraction at the hill-top Qusquam church is not the fairly modern church; it is the
ruined compound of the Empress Mintwab behind the church. A round monstrosity, the church has
only one redeeming feature. This a set of bones from Mintwab, her son Iyasu, and her grandson and
successor Iyoas. Apparently the bones were lying around mixed together on a floor until Haile-
Silassie had the decency to collect them and put them in a box. The glass-topped box has mixed up
 19

jumble to bones, with three small skulls lined up next to one another at the head. It is marvelously
gruesome.

2. 5. 13. The Monasteries of Lake Tana

Lake Tana is the biggest lake in Ethiopia, and the third largest in Africa-ninety klmtrs by about
forty klmtrs. It is shallow-the maximum depth is said to be ten meters. The islands of the lake are
mostly holy shrines with churches and monasteries. Old churches in Ethiopia are usually found in
secure places-mountaintops or islands or hewn out of solid rock. Ethiopia went through two periods
where churches were destroyed-the first under the pagan/falasha Queen Yodit in the 9th century, and
the other under Ahmed Gragn in the 1500s. Little wonder that those churches which survived are
impregnable.

The tradition of holiness of churches on the islands of Tana dates back over a thousand years.
Graham Hancock in the sign and the seal identifies ancient Jewish symbols on one island where the
Ark of the Covenant was said to be kept. There are seven villages with seven historic churches on
Zegie, along with about ten thousand people. Iot ia a lash place. As it is holy, there is almost no
livestock and no agriculture. The impoverished population ekes out a living by raising coffee and
selling firewood. Neither is very lucrative, and the transport by reed boat to the market is long and
very difficult.

I visited the main churches on Zegie-Ura Kidanemihret. You land at a makeshift dock, and then
proceed up a path for a klmtr through a marvelous forest. The church is fairly standard looking, but
inside are impressive paintings. Although they are unlikely to be more than one hundred years old,
they are based on much older paintings apparently. They depict scenes ranging from well-known
Christian themes to historical events in Ethiopia. The Holy Ghost mingles with John the Baptist. You
can also see Abune Aregawi, one of the nine saints who converted Ethiopia to Christianity climbing a
snake to the church of Debre-Damo. Quete a few of the scenes reflect the conflict between the Jews
and the Christians in Ethiopia. Most Christians today still minimized the Jewish influence here, no
doubt a legacy of the bitter struggle which occurr3ed, particularly in the ninth century, when the
Jewish faithful apparently tried almost successfully to reverse the Christian tide. As a result, the long
Jewish heritage that seemingly dominated the highlands of Abyssinia has been observed and
consciously forgotten.

The paintings at Ura Kidanemihret depict Saint Thomas being flayed and killed by Jews. They
show cannibalism and child sacrifice. They show a host of saints spearing and beheading Jews. They
are quite startling and fascinating. Although I had to sacrifice visits to other churches I could not tear
myself away from these visiting images. There is another smaller church at the same site by the
same name. They keep various relics there, including crowns attributed to the Emperors Teodros,
Tekle-Giorgis and Yohannes as well as the King Tekle_Haimanot of the local region. They have a
Bible that dates apparently from the ninth century and another from the 14th.thet also have one of
those marvelous large crosses normally kept on the peak of the churchs roof, which is iron and is
supposed to be from the 14th century.

There are a number of other holy places on the lake; Deq Estefanos which is the burial place
for many of the Gonder era Emperors; Tana Qirkos where the Ark of the Covenant was said to be
 20

kept, and Christos-Semra where there is a large annual pilgrims. The Deq Island is the big island on
the lake, and has many holy sites, including Narga Silassie that is inhabited by the married people
and served by the married priests.

Kibran Gebriel is also one of the monasteries founded in the islands of Lake Tana. It is the
nearest monastery to Bahirdar like Debre-Mariam, Felge-Tsehay St. Michael and Baata-Lemariam. It
has graceful scenery for it is covered with the indigenous trees, such as Doqma, Eshie and Chibha.
Kibran is unique due to its ancient manuscripts; of which Metshaf-Hawi is the one which has the
largest volume. Mehal-Zegei Giorgis, Abune Betre-Mariam, Qorata Wolete-Petros, and Mendaba
Medhanealem are among the famous monasteries of the Island of Lake Tana in which numerous
ancient manuscripts, golden crowns and holy metallic objects are reserved.
 21

Chapter Three

3.1. Christian art

Christian art is sacred art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form
the principles of Christianity, though other definitions are possible. Most Christian groups use or have
used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of religious image,
and there have been major periods of iconoclasm within Christianity.

Images of Jesus and narrative scenes from the Life of Christ are the most common subjects, and
scenes from the Old Testament play a part in the art of most denominations. Images of the Mother of
God and Saints are much rarer in Protestant art than that of Roman Catholicism and Eastern and
Oriental Orthodoxy.

Of the three related religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, Christianity makes far wider use of
images of Christ , Saint Mary, Angels and other Saints, which are forbidden or discouraged by Islam
and Judaism. However there is also a considerable history of iconism in Christianity from various
periods.

3.1. 1. The History of Christian Art

Art history as we know it in the 21st century began in the 19th century but has precedents that
date to the ancient world. Like the analysis of historical trends in politics, literature, and the sciences,
the discipline benefits from the clarity and portability of the written word, but art historians also rely on
formal analysis, semiotics, psychoanalysis and iconography. Advances in photographic reproduction
and printing techniques after World War II increased the ability of reproductions of art-works. Such
technologies have helped to advance the discipline in profound ways, as they have enabled easy
comparisons of objects. The study of visual art thus described, can be a practice that involves
understanding context, form, and social significance.

Early Christian art survives from dates near the origins of Christianity. The oldest surviving
Christian paintings are from the site at Megiddo, dated to around the year 70, and the oldest Christian
sculptures are from Sarcophagi, dating to the beginning of the 2nd century. The largest groups of
Early Christian paintings come from the tombs in the Catacombs of Rome, and show the evolution of
the depiction of Jesus, a process not complete until the 6th century, since when the conventional
appearance of Jesus in art has remained remarkably consistent.

Until the adoption of Christianity by Constantine, Christian art derived its style and much of its
iconography from popular Roman art, but from this point grand Christian buildings built under imperial
patronage brought a need for Christian versions of Roman elite and official art, of which mosaics in
churches in Rome are the most prominent surviving examples. Christian art was caught up in, but did
not originate, the shift in style from the classical tradition inherited from Ancient Greek art to a less
realist and other worldly hieratic style, the start of medieval art.
 22

3. 1. 2. The Development of Art

3. 1. 2.1. Middle Ages

Much of the art surviving from Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, in 476 is Christian art of
Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. Although this happened to the Romans, the continuity of church
ownership has preserved church art better than secular works. While the Western Roman Empire's
political structure essentially collapsed after the fall of Rome, its religious hierarchy, what is today the
modern-day Roman Catholic Church commissioned and funded production of religious art imagery.

The Orthodox Church of Constantinople which enjoyed greater stability within the surviving
Eastern Empire was a key in commissioning imagery there and glorifying Christianity. As a stable
Western European society emerged during the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church led the way in terms
of art, using its resources to commission paintings and sculptures.

During the development of Christian art in the Byzantine Empire (see Byzantine art), a more
abstract aesthetic replaced the naturalism previously established in Hellenistic art. This new style was
hieratic, meaning its primary purpose was to convey religious meaning rather than accurately render
objects and people. Realistic perspective, proportions, light and color were ignored in favor of
geometric simplification of forms, reverse perspective and standardized conventions to portray
individuals and events. The controversy over the use of graven images, the interpretation of the
Second Commandment, and the crisis of Byzantine Iconoclasm led to a standardization of religious
imagery within the Eastern Orthodoxy.

3. 6. 3.2. Renaissance and Early Modern period

The fall of Constantinople in 1453 brought an end to the highest quality Byzantine art,
produced in the Imperial workshops there. Orthodox art, known as icons regardless of the medium,
has otherwise continued with relatively little change in subject and style up to the present day, with
Russia gradually becoming the leading centre of production.

In the West, the Renaissance saw an increase in monumental secular works, but until the
Protestant Reformation Christian art continued to be commissioned in great quantities by churches,
clergy and by the aristocracy. The Reformation had a huge effect on Christian art, rapidly bringing the
production of public Christian art to a virtual halt in Protestant countries, and causing the destruction
of most of the art that already existed.

Artists were commissioned more secular genres like portraits, landscape paintings and
because of the revival of Neo-Platonism, subjects from classical mythology. In Catholic countries,
production continued, and increased during the Counter-Reformation, but Catholic art was brought
under much tighter control by the church hierarchy than had been the case before. From the 18th
century the number of religious works produced by leading artists declined sharply, though important
commissions were still placed, and some artists continued to produce large bodies of religious art on
their own initiative.
 23

3. 6. 3.3. Modern period

As a secular, non-sectarian, universal notion of art arose in 19th century Western Europe,
ancient and Medieval Christian art began to be collected for art appreciation rather than worship,
while contemporary Christian art was considered marginal. Occasionally, secular artists treated
Christian themes (Bouguereau, Manet) but only rarely was a Christian artist included in the
historical canon (such as Rouault or Stanley Spencer). However many modern artists such as Eric
Gill, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Jacob Epstein, Elizabeth Frink and Graham Sutherland have
produced well-known works of art for churches.

3. 6. 3.4. Popular Devotional Art

Since the advent of printing, the sale of reproductions of pious works has been a major
element of popular Christian culture. In the nineteenth century, this included genre painters such as
Mihly Munkcsy. The invention of color lithography led to broad circulation of holy cards. In the
modern era, companies specializing in modern commercial Christian artists such as Thomas
Blackshear and Thomas Kinkade, although widely regarded in the fine art world as kitsch,[2] have
been very successful.

3. 6. 3.5. The Re-birth of Christian Fine Art

The last part of the 20th and the first part of the 21st century have seen a focused effort by
artists who claim faith in Christ to re-establish art with themes that revolve around faith, Christ, God,
the Church, the Bible and other classic Christian themes as worthy of respect by the secular art
world. Some writers, such as Gregory Wolfe, view this resurgence as part of a larger rebirth of
Christian humanism. Artists such as Makoto Fujimura have had significant influence both in sacred
and secular arts. Other notable artists include Larry D. Alexander and John August Swanson.

3.7. The Ethiopian Art

Ethiopian art from the 4th century until the 20th can be divided into two broad groupings. First
a distinctive tradition of Christian art comes, mostly for churches, in forms including painting, crosses,
icons, illuminated manuscripts, and other metal-work such as crowns. Secondly there are popular arts
and crafts such as textiles, basketry and jewellery, in which Ethiopian traditions are closer to those of
other peoples in the region. Its history goes back almost three thousand years to the Kingdom of
Damat. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has been the predominant religion in Ethiopia for
over 1600 years, for most of this period in a very close relation, or union, with the Coptic Christianity
of Egypt, so that Coptic art has been the main formative influence on Ethiopian church art concerning
paintings, specifically on the image of Christ and Saint Mary.
 24

Mural depicting Saint George in the church of Mengiste-Berhan Selassie in Gondar

3. 7. 1. Overview

Prehistoric rock art comparable to that of other African sites survives in a number of places,
and until the arrival of Christianity stone stelae, often carved with simple reliefs, were erected as
grave-markers and for other purposes in many regions; Tiya is one important site. The "pre-Axumite"
Iron Age culture of about the 5th century BCE to the 1st century CE was influenced by the Kingdom
of Kush to the north, and settlers from Arabia, and produced cities with simple temples in stone, such
as the ruined one at Yeha, which is impressive for its date in the 4th or 5th century BCE.

The powerful Kingdom of Axum emerged in the 1st century BCE and dominated Ethiopia until
the 10th century CE, having become very largely Christian from the 4th century. Though some
buildings, and large pre-Christian stelae, survive, there appears to be no surviving Ethiopian Christian
art from the Axumite period. However the earliest works remaining show a clear continuity with Coptic
art of earlier periods. There was considerable destruction of churches and their contents in the 16th
century when the country was invaded by Muslim neighbours. The revival of art after this was
influenced by Catholic European art in both iconography and elements of style, but retained its
Ethiopian character. In the 20th century Western artists and architects began to be commissioned by
the government, and to train local students, and more fully Westernized art was produced alongside
continuations of traditional church art.

3. 7. 2. Types of Art

3. 7. 2.1. Painting

Ethiopian painting, on walls, in books, and in icons, is highly distinctive, though the style and
iconography are closely related to the simplified Coptic version of Late Antique and Byzantine
Christian art. It is typified by simplistic, almost cartoonish, figures with large, almond-shaped, eyes.
Colours are usually bright and vivid. The majority of paintings are religious in nature, often decorating
church walls and bibles. One of the best known examples of this type of painting is at Debre Berhan
Selassie in Gondar (pictured), famed for its angel covered roof (angels in Ethiopian art are often
represented as winged heads) as well as its other murals dating from the late 17th century. Diptychs
and triptychs are also commonly painted with religious icons.[3] From the 16th century Roman
Catholic church art, and European art in general, began to exert some influence, but Ethiopian art is
highly conservative, and retained much of its distinct character until modern times, with the production
of illuminated manuscripts for use continuing up to the present day.[4] Pilgrimages to Jerusalem,
 25

where there has long been an Ethiopian clerical presence, also allowed some contact with a wider
range of Orthodox art.

Churches may be very fully painted though until the 19th century there is little sign of secular
painting, other than scenes commemorating the life of donors to churches on their walls. Unusually
for Orthodox Christianity, icons were not usually kept in houses (where talismanic scrolls were often
kept instead), but in the church. Some "diptyches" are in the form of a "ark" or tabot, in these cases
consecrated boxes with a painted inside of the lid, placed closed on the altar during Mass, somewhat
equivalent to the altar stone in the Western church, and the antimins in other Orthodox churches.
These are regarded as so holy that the laity is not allowed to see them, and they are wrapped in cloth
when taken in procession.

Ethiopian "diptychs" often have a primary wing with a frame, and a smaller second wing which
is only the size of the image within the frame, and is painted on both sides to allow closed and open
views. Icons are painted on a wood base support, but since about the 16th century with an
intervening cloth support glued to a gesso layer above the wood. The binding medium for the paint is
also animal-based glue, giving a matt finish which is then often varnished. A range of mostly mineral
pigments are used, giving a palette based on reds, yellow and blues. Underdrawing was used, which
may remain visible or reinforced by painted edges to areas of colour in the final layer.

From the 15th century the Theotokos or Virgin Mary, with or with her Child, became
increasingly popular, using versions of a number of common Byzantine types, typically flanked by two
archangels in iconic depictions. She is often depicted with a neighbouring image of a mounted Saint
George and the Dragon, who in Ethiopian Christianity is regarded as especially linked to Mary, for
carrying messages or intervening in human affairs on her behalf.

3. 7. 2.2. Crosses and other metalwork

Brass Ethiopian processional cross with silver plating

Another important form of Ethiopian art, also related to Coptic styles, are crosses made from
wood and metal, usually copper alloy or brass, plated (at least originally) with gold or silver. The
heads are typically flat cast plates with elaborate and complex openwork decoration. The cross motif
emerges from the decoration, with the whole design often forming a rotated square or circular shape,
though the designs are highly varied and inventive. Many incorporate curved motifs rising from the
base, which are called the "arms of Adam". Except in recent Western-influenced examples, they
usually have no corpus, or figure of Christ, and the design often incorporates numerous smaller
 26

crosses. Engraved figurative imagery has sometimes been added. Crosses are mostly either
processional crosses, with the metal head mounted on a long wooden staff, carried in religious
processions and during the liturgy, or hand crosses, with a shorter metal handle in the same casting
as the head. Smaller crosses worn as jewellery are also common.

Royal crown in the National Museum of Ethiopia

The Lalibela Cross is an especially venerated hand cross, perhaps of the 12th century, which
was stolen from a church in Lalibela in 1997 and eventually recovered and returned from a Belgian
collector in 2001.

Distinctive forms of crown were worn in ceremonial contexts by royalty and important noble officials,
as well as senior clergy. Royal crowns rose high, with a number of circular bands, while church
crowns often resemble an elongated version of the typical European closed crown, with four arms
joined at the top and surmounted by a cross.

3. 7. 2.3. Other Arts and Crafts

Ethiopia has great ethnic and linguistic diversity, and styles in secular traditional crafts vary
greatly in different parts of the country. There are a range of traditions in textiles, many with woven
geometric decoration, although many types are also usually plain. Ethiopian church practices make a
great deal of use of colourful textiles, and the more elaborate types are widely used as church
vestments and as hangings, curtains and wrappings in churches, although they have now largely
been supplanted by Western fabrics. Examples of both types can be seen in the picture at the top of
the article. Icons may normally be veiled with a semi-transparent or opaque cloth; very thin chiffon-
type cotton cloth is a speciality of Ethiopia, though usually with no pattern.

Colorful basketry with a coiled construction is common in rural Ethiopia. The products have many
uses, such as storing grains, seeds and food and being used as tables and bowls. The Muslim city of
Harar is well known for its high quality basketry, and many craft products of the Muslim minority relate
to wider Islamic decorative traditions.

3. 7. 3. Some Examples of Ethiopian Arts

Stone statue from Addi-Galamo, Tigray Province, 6th - 5th century BCE
 27

Stelae in the royal cemetery at Tiya The one of the seven Obelisks of Axum

12th century processional golden cross King Lalibela

Depiction of John the Evangelist in one of the Gunda Gunde Gospels, circa 1540

Bible from a monastery on Lake Tana, 12th-13th century

Page from Gunda Gunde Gospel, circa 1540

Axumite style processional cross of

19th century pendant cross

The roof of Debre-Berhan Selassie church

Folding Processional Icon in the Shape of a Fan

Painting of Solomon, Ethiopian Chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
 28

Chapter Four

The Causes of Physical Damage to Cultural Heritages

The causes of cultural heritage can be divided into two: man-made and natural causes.

4.1. Man-made Causes

4.1.1. Urban development or large scale agriculture

The long term global benefits of significant heritages are often discounted against opportunities
for short term domestic economic developments, urban development or large scale agriculture
activities are a driving force in the loss of many heritages. Ancient cities, buildings are torn down,
archaeological sites are also neglected or surrounded by poorly commercial development to make
modern infrastructure, instead of funding heritage sites for conservation.
4.1.2. Unsustainable Tourism
Tourism is the primary source of foreign exchange in developing countries, but the rapid
growth of international travel has placed unsustainable pressure on weak heritage sites and
repeatedly on surrounding areas and communities as well. Millions of visitors will come into sights
within these precious areas, thus a suitable tourism environment should be established around those
significant heritage sites and capable conservation leaders or agencies should have to protect them
from damage or eventual destruction.
4.1.3. Poor Management
Heritage sites are required to have a management plan, but many plans exist on paper only
and numerous sites especially in the developing countries have no management plan at all. Because
of poor management, unscientific restoration of heritages can be happened, even if restoration is not
conceived, supervised or implemented by skilled man power. Then the actual result is the loss of
some or all of the cultural integrity that defined the sites original character and value.
4.1.4. Looting
Looting is an old age threat and continuous to be a problem in all countries, but it often makes
worse in developing nations by an enforcement vacuum resulting from war and conflict or when law
enforcement is still weak or nonexistent. Economic desperation, a common side effect of sanctions
and war, can also lead to widespread looting as people seek any means to support their life.
4.1.5. War and Conflict
War and conflict mainly treats heritages, especially war which is emerged through iconoclasm,
or image breaking is particularly shocking , because it involves the deliberate destruction of another
cultures images, icons or monuments to demoralize that cultural group and establish political or
religious superiority over it.
4.2. Natural Causes
4.2. 1. Humidity

Of the factors related to climate, humidity is particularly severe cause of damage to works of
art. The alternation of high and low humidity leads to a constant expanding and contracting of panel
painting, wooden sculptures, furniture and wooden tools. Overly high humidity causes iron to rust and
leads to rapidly spreading signs of corrosion in objects made of copper, bronze and lead. Silver
 29

tarnishes only under conditions of high humidity. The surface of highly alike glass is also quickly
attached by humidity and transformed in to whitish opaque products(glass disease).Hygroscopic salt
normally contained in objects of stone and ceramics found at excavations or in the mural and stone
work of historical building crystallize or dissolve according to the humidity, or they change from a dry
to a wet state(MgSO4 MgSO4.6H2), where by the texture of the material is worn down by the
pressure of crystallization or the increase in volume. Humidity is the basis for the growth of micro-
organisms, which not only infest organic materials such as paper, leather, textiles and wood, but also
attack stone, glass and even bronze.

4.2. 2. High Temperature

High room temperatures are indirectly destructive in that they lower the humidity and dry out
wood. Damaging temperatures can be reached in museums by improper lighting in the display cases
or by the strong lighting used for photography. Otherwise art works are not ordinal subjected to such
potentially damaging high temperatures. Temperature fluctuations occurring on the surfaces of
building, amounting in extreme cases to up to 60-800C.difference between night and day or after a
rain shower, cause characteristics scaling that is known as wool sack weathering. In Egypt this has
often led to the destruction of surfaces bearing inscriptions.

4.2. 3. Low Temperature

The cause of the pest, the powdery disintegration of tin objects, is the conversion of solid tin
into powdery tin, which takes place at 130C. At temperatures below the freezing point of water the
increase in volume due to the water's freezing causes the mineral structure in natural stone to burst
and disintegrate in to sand. The action of frost is the main cause of damage to buildings and
sculptures made of stone in our climatic Zone.

4.2. 4. Wind and Rain

The loosing effect brought about when frost bursts the stone in buildings is augmented by the
eroding effect of wind and rain. Serious damage occurs particularly in desert areas and sandy
beaches, where the sand increases the erosive effect.

4.2. 5. Air Pollution

Damage to our cultural property due to air pollution has played an important role since the 19th
century. Industrial emissions, smoke from coal heating in the large cities, and more recently the
exhaust gases from motor vehicles react with rain and humidity to from acidic compounds that cause
lasting damage to stone and metal in the open air. But such air pollution can also have negative
effects on various materials in doors. It is not yet possible to evaluate the damage caused to paper,
textiles and leather by absorbing pollution gas, which threatens whole libraries and archives. Damage
to exponents in exhibitions brought about by air pollutants emitted by improper display case
materials, such as impregnated wood or certain sealing materials and adhesives, is also not to be
 30

overlooked. A part from gaseous pollutants, dust and soot have a negative effect on objects in doors
and outside requiring cleaning which often attacks the substance of an artwork.

4.2. 6. Light and lighting

Museum pieces can be damaged by overly strong light. The radiation from artificial and natural
light sources brings about different kinds of damage in the visible and invisible range of the
electromagnetic spectrum, depending on the wave lengths of the rays striking the object. Ultraviolet
light, which has only a minimal part- less than 1%- of the spectrum of normal light-sources, but whose
effect nevertheless quickly becomes evident in sensitive materials due to the duration of the reaction,
causes changes particularly in organic materials. Dyes for textiles and organic pigments are
especially likely to fade whereas mediums and varnish tend to darken. Paper turns yellow and
becomes brittle, and poor quality paper is soon destroyed. Infrared light, whose share of the total
radiation in the usual lighting installations amounts to about60-90%, causes thermal damage, either
directly or combined with a change in the humidity of the air or of the object fissures in wood caused
by contraction or stretching the warping of painted panels, or changes in easily melted materials are
the usual kinds of damage.

4.2. 7. Natural disasters

Earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters impact many heritages sites every
yea, but without presentation funding and expertises few sites in the developing world can be
prepared to with stand the damage inflicted. Preparation requires planning and mitigation to reduce
the exposure to risk of cultural heritage sites. Sites worldwide remain vulnerable to damage or
destruction from natural hazards. Yet with expertise and funding appropriate strategies can be built in
to management plans to address these plan.
Object of cultural historical interest are exposed to various kinds of danger from the very
moment of their manufacture, no matter whether they are still fulfilling their original functions out
doors or are within the protective walls of a museum. The variety of causes of damage must be
described briefly in order to provide comprehensible explanation of the different damage on
preserving agents used in carrying out the conservation measures describes further below.
Impairments caused by the influence of the climate, of light or of polluted air, by the activity of
vegetable or animal parasites, by mechanical stress, vandalism or catastrophes adapted specifically
to the kind of damage and the material involved.

4.3. Mechanisms of Cultural Heritage Preservation

4.3. 1. Preservation of Cultural heritages

The deliberate act of keeping cultural heritage from the present for the future is known as
Preservation (American English) or Conservation (British English), though these terms may have
more specific or technical meaning in the same contexts in the other dialect.

Cultural heritage is unique and irreplaceable, which places the responsibility of preservation on
the current generation. Smaller objects such as art-works and other cultural masterpieces are
collected in museums and art galleries. Grass-roots organizations and political groups, such as the
 31

international body UNESCO, have been successful at gaining the necessary support to preserve the
heritage of many nations for the future.

4.3. 2.The Ethics and rationale of Heritage preservation

Objects are a part of the study of human history because they provide a concrete basis for
ideas, and can validate them. Their preservation demonstrates recognition of the necessity of the
past and of the things that tell its story. In The Past is a Foreign Country, David Lowenthal observes
that preserved objects also validate memories. While digital acquisition techniques can provide a
technological solution that is able to acquire the shape and the appearance of artifacts with an
unprecedented precision in human history, the actuality of the object, as opposed to a reproduction,
draws people in and gives them a literal way of touching the past. This unfortunately poses a danger
as places and things are damaged by the hands of tourists, the light required to display them, and
other risks of making an object known and available. The reality of this risk reinforces the fact that all
artifacts are in a constant state of chemical transformation, so that what is considered to be preserved
is actually changingit is never as it once was. Similarly changing is the value each generation may
place on the past and on the artifacts that link it to the past.

Classical civilizations, and especially the Indian, have attributed supreme importance to the
preservation of tradition. Its central idea was that social institutions, scientific knowledge and
technological applications need to use a "heritage" as a "resource". Using contemporary language,
we could say that ancient Indians considered, as social resources, both economic assets (like natural
resources and their exploitation structure) and factors promoting social integration (like institutions for
the preservation of knowledge and for the maintenance of civil order). Ethics considered that what
had been inherited should not be consumed, but should be handed over, possibly enriched, to
successive generations.

4.3. 3. Division of Preservation and Access

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections (SCHC) helps cultural institutions meet the complex
challenge of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities materials for future generations by
supporting preventive conservation measures that mitigate deterioration and prolong the useful life of
collections.

Libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country are responsible
for collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images,
archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art, and historical objects that facilitate research,
strengthen teaching, and provide opportunities for life-long learning in the humanities. To preserve
and ensure continued access to such collections, institutions must implement preventive conservation
measures, which encompass managing relative humidity, temperature, light, and pollutants in
collection spaces; providing protective storage enclosures and systems for collections; and
safeguarding collections from theft and from natural and man-made disasters.
 32

As museums, libraries, archives, and other collecting institutions strive to be effective stewards
of humanities collections, they must find ways to implement preventive conservation measures that
are scientifically sound and sustainable. This program therefore helps cultural repositories plan and
implement preservation strategies that pragmatically balance effectiveness, cost, and environmental
impact. Such a balance can contribute to an institutions financial health, reduce its use of fossil fuels,
and benefit its green initiatives, while ensuring that significant collections are well cared for and
available for use in humanities programming, education, and research.

4.3. 4. Registration of Heritages

Registration of heritages is to record the tangible and intangible heritages that can fulfill the
requirements going to the place where the materials are found. The process of the registration is
done with two forms: the movable and Immovable heritages which are separately recorded on each
form. The main points that should be known during registration the heritages are:

1. its content 2. how it was done

3. its present situation 4. its owner

5. its amount 6. the year when it was done

7. its artistic condition and 8. its historical significance.

4.3. 5. The Importance of Registration

To identify how many tangible and intangible cultural heritages are found in the country
as well as in the regions;
To give responsibilities to an institution or individual to protect the nearby cultural
heritages;
To know the heritages which have been damaged and to facilitate repairing them;
To categorize the status of the cultural heritages at international and national level;
To restore the plundered and lost heritages and to bring the plunders the justification.

4.3.6. Helpful Factors Encouraging Preservation of Cultural Heritage

1. A national heritage map that exhibits the distribution of the sites of the country's historical,
cultural and natural heritage should be prepared. Additionally, the sites of the country's historical and
natural heritage should be registered.

2. Measures should be taken to protect heritages from theft/illicit trafficking and illegal
exchanges, expatriation and from all sorts of illegal merchandise.

3. Appropriate preconditions should be arranged to protect sites of heritage from damages

caused by works of construction and other developmental activities. The heritages of the country
 33

should be conserved and preserved in the manner that they retain their original state and artistic
quality;

4. Heritages should be collected and organized in museums, libraries and archives that may
be established at different levels;

4.3. 6.1. Founding Research Centers

1. Scientific and technological material and knowledge that could assist the activities of the
various fields of culture, standard study and research in the field of archaeology, paleontology, paleo-
anthropology, historical and cultural anthropology can help to preserve cultural heritages;

2. An archive assessment should be conducted to properly identify the historical value of

documents found in the possession of the state, organization and individuals in and outside the
country;

3. Large scale research should be carried out to look for methods and means of using
traditional arts and handicrafts.

4. A language distribution map of the country should be prepared; scientific study and analysis
should be made on the oral literature; Phonological, orthographic, syntactic and socio-linguistic
studies and researches shall be carried out on the languages.

5. Alphabets should be developed to those languages that do not have script and put these
into service taking into account the psychological attitude of the speakers;

6. In order to promote the literary tradition of the people, an enabling environment should be
created for the preparation of dictionaries, encyclopedia and grammar texts in the languages;

7. Scientific and technological terminologies that could help in promoting the capacity of the
languages; translation works that could assist in sharing the experience and knowledge of the world
should be widely practiced;

8. Multilateral studies and researches should be conducted on the dying and endangered
languages of the country and the records thereof shall be preserved;

4.3. 6.2. Increasing of Cultural Institutions

Museums, theaters, cinema halls, galleries, other institutions that can fulfill the artistic needs of
children and the youth, cultural centers, mobile libraries, libraries, archives, record and documentation
centers, fine arts and handicraft training centers, and institutions for language studies of various
levels and capacities should be established in different towns; those already existing institutions
should also be properly organized and strengthened.
 34

4.3. 6.3. Repatriation and Compensation of Heritages

Heritages that are expatriated in various ways should be returned through purchase, donation
and exchange; diplomatic campaigns shall be made at national, continental and international levels
for the return of heritages pillaged and expatriated at different historical events.

4.3. 6.4. Property Rights and other Related Rights

1. Existing laws of the country dealing with heritages and other related rights should be
amended and new laws pursuant for the advancing of preservation effort;

2. Necessary measures should be taken to ensure the rights of the creative works of a society;

3. The rights of individuals, groups and organizations who entrust archives and other movable
heritages to the national and regional archives and museums should be protected;

4.3. 6.5. Developing Knowledge through Education

1. Cultural themes should be included into the educational curricula with the aim of integrating
education with culture and thereby to shape the youth with a sense of cultural identity;

2. Educational programs reflecting the various cultures of the country shall be broadcast by
mass media institutions in order to promote the cultural knowledge.

4.3.6.6. Training and Modernizing Working Mechanisms

1. Professionals working at different capacities in the cultural sector should be provided with
long-term and short-term training in order to develop their professional competence;

2. A training program in the arts should be devised to recruit more amateur artists and to
develop their creative competence; a series of such training shall be put into effect at the center and
in the different regional states;

3. Modern methods and application that could assist in the development of the sector should
be put into practice.

4.4. Fundamental Causes Deteriorating Cultural Heritages

Despite the fact that identifying the threats to cultural heritages is relatively easy, countering
them effectively requires understanding their root causes. The underlying issues are necessary to
consider them both individually and collectively.

a. Lack of Information for the Severity and Scale of the Problem.

To grasp the severity and scale of the general failure of the problem, media and other
communication should cover acts of damages or destructions. But there is little reporting on the
 35

overall scale and severity of the problem. This makes the insufficient understandings of the treats to
over value of countries treasures.

b. Lack of National Funding and International Support

In many countries and regions almost no funding goes to preserve some of the worlds most
important and unique archaeological sites and historic towns and cities. Committed international
support for emergency and on-going conservation in the developing countries is very little compared
to the problem.

c. Lack of Skilled Experts

A short time of trained people is an especially urgent problem in developing countries. In most
especially the poorest ones, havent skilled professionals, archaeologist, conservation expertise,
material specialists, structural engineers and historic architects to participate in conservation
activities. Thus the future looks miserable to save the significant cultural heritages in the developing
countries. Most of which do not have sufficient expertise and funding to ensure that their heritage
sites are conserved to international standards.

d. Lack of Effective Monitoring and Enforcement

Lack of monitoring and enforcement is a problem to every level for governments, with limited
financial resources, monitoring and enforcement are often unaffordable or unjustifiable in the face of
more urgent national needs, at the local level, and neighbouring communities are seldom given a
stake in a heritage sites successful preservation or the proceeds that can derive from good
management with the result that law enforcement has to regularly counter their illegal activities rather
than create benefit from their positive involvement.

4.5. Restoration of Cultural Heritage

Cultural heritages can be repaired or saved depending on the material from which the object
has been made. The following are good examples that can show how the cultural heritages are
repaired or saved.

4.5. 1. Gold

During storage underground exhibition in the museum gold is not subject to chemical alternations
brought about by external influence that require conservation measures or preventive protection.

Dirt and grime/stain sticking to archaeological finds can be removed in an ultrasonic bath or with a
soft brush, whereby it is also possible to use the method already favored by applying hot water with a
few drops of ammonia or soapsuds. Lime deposits ca n be dissolved with diluted hydrochloric acid if
they cannot be removed manually .Horn silver deposit \s that occur in jewelry found in the ground can
be removed with potassium cyanide. Green colouring that can result from alloying with copper or
occur at seams can usually be rubbed off gently with a metal polishing cloth .Another suggestion for a
 36

cleansing bath for gold is solution of 1 to 25 parts sulfuric acid, 1 to 10 parts hydrochloric acid and 1
to 15 parts hypochlorite in 1 liter of water.

The more difficult things about gold conservation is restoring the original form, since
archeological finds made of gold foil are usually quite deformed. Sometimes it is necessary to use
metal adhesive in order to connect the parts that belong together. For this purpose, and to replace
missing parts epoxy resins have proven reliable.

4.5. 2. Silver

There are a great deal of cleansing methods used for the purpose of clearing off the layers of
chloride from archeological finds made of silver or silver alloys. Their application depends primarily
on the degree of transfomation of the silver and on the type of alloy, especially the copper content.

Silver that has been transformed to a great degree can be treated with formic acetic acid or
citric acid. A cleansing agent for use in thee ultrasonic bath consist of 8% thiocarbamide,5%
phosphoric acid 0.3% wetting agent and 86.7% water. Ammonia and pure ammonium thiosulphate
solutions are somewhat more effective (chloragyrite). I t is better not to use potassium cyanide,
which effectively removes dark spots if one rubs a good- sized piece of it over the surface ,because it
is dangerous .

Apart from these purely chemical means of cleaning silver ,there is also the electrolyte
methods ,Which is described extensively in the the literature listed in the bibliography .The
electrolytic methods acts strongly on the horn silver layer, so that there is danger of weakening the
metal structure of heavily corroded objects.

For the removal of blacks silver objects the normal commercially-available silver baths are
suitable. It is only necessary to use electrochemical means if the sulphide coating is very heavy

4.5. 3. Copper and copper alloys

With archeological finds made of copper and its alloys the surface is more or less converted
into chlorides or carbonates on top of a layer of copper oxide, depending on the consistency of the
ground. Thin walled objects made of sheet metal, but also hallow cast statuettes can be entirely
converted into such products of corrosion are converted into chlorides.

Whereas a carbonate painting is always stable and poses no danger to the metal, copper
chlorides can continue to corrode even under the conditions found in museums, soon leading to a
disintegration of the metal into powder. This phenomenon, knows as bronze disease, is very
common.

Bronze sculptures and monuments that are displayed outdoors are soon coated, abetted by
moisture from precipitation, with an oxide layer, so that they take on a block appearance in the first
few years, before a greenish patina of basic copper sulphates develops. Damage by corrosive
materials deposited through air pollution has only been recorded in exceptional cases, e.g when the
alloy contained a great deal of lead.
 37

4.5. 4. Iron

In general, iron objects found in the sea or under the ground are still so compact that the first
conservation measure to be taken is desalt them. Although with iron objects there is only one
significant detrimental phenomenon, rust, its removal, its stabilization and the protection against
constitute some of the most difficult tasks facing restorers. Iron rust is caused by the conversion of
metallic iron oxides and iron oxide hydrates, which occurs especially rapidly in the presence of
moisture and salts. Rusting due to moisture can often be prevented by technical measures, but the
removal of salts, particularly the chlorides that infiltrate the weakened iron structure in finds from the
sea and from the soil as well, is extremely difficult. For this reason, the desalting of rusting iron
objects developed early on into a specialized field of research; it is very important today, because
more and more objects are being recovered from the sea.

With regard to desalting, there are a number of methods, apart from chemical processes: the
chloride can be removed thermally in the form of hydrochloric gas or iron chlorides driven out by high
heat; or by electrolytic process, which are now considered the most effective method of desalting.
Chemical desalting processes are of less importance, because it is known that such a high portion of
chloride remains in the iron that the corrosion is not stopped. It is basically useless to simply
macerate iron objects in distilled water. It is also not enough to wash off the salts with caustic
solutions such as sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate in an attempt to form freely soluble sodium
chloride. This process is aided by warming the solutions.

4.5. 5. Lead

Lead objects found in the sea or underground are usually covered with a crust made of
carbonate of lead that often renders the original form almost unrecognizable. Lead is also highly
susceptible to attack by carbon dioxide, which can cause severe damage to museum pieces if
appropriate conservation measures are not undertaken on time. It is particularly damaging to store
lead objects in oaken cabinet, because basic carbonate of lead forms especially rapidly in the
presence of the tannic acids exuded by oak. Acidic reaction products precipitating from adhesives
have a similar effect. There are four possibilities available to the restorer to remove the basic lead
carbonates.

First of all, electrolytic techniques can be used for lead conservation either to remove the basic
carbonate of lead or to convert it into lead.

4.5. 6. Natural and Artificial Stones

Among the most important measures for the restoration of stone and its protection against further
destruction are the removals of salts, the cleaning of the surface, the stabilization of crumbly stones,
the protection of the surface by means of water repellents or paints, gluing, patching and replacing,
as well as measures to prevent penetration of the stone by moisture.

4.5. 6. 1. Desalting

In the description of the cause of damage it was mentioned that salts are among the most significant
destructive agents for stone. Correspondingly, it is one of the primary tasks of the restorer to remove
 38

them. Three techniques are common: firstly, placing the entire object in water; secondly, the salt-
infested object with most compressors; thirdly, the suction of water through the stone in a vacuum
according to the method patented by Kratz in 1962. In practice all three process are used, depending
on the size and condition of the object.

4.5. 6. 2, Cleaning

Dirty stone surface can be cleaned mechanically or chemically. The mechanical methods,
which will not be described here, range from brushing off and sand blasting on up to the use of a
laser beam. A link between the mechanical and chemical methods is provided by the high pressure
water or team jet process, in which the surface grime is not only washed away manually, but the
water also acts to dissolve the dirt, and with even greater efficiency if wetting agents, acids and
alkalis are added. Liquid cleaning agents on an acidic or alkaline base are also used and provide
useful results if they are applied properly.

4.5. 6. 3. Consolidation

The most important task of stone conservation is no doubt the stabilization of the stone
structure that has become crumbly. Ever since the end of the 18th century when the idea that original
materials must be preserved began to prevail, a great deal of effort has gone into the search for
suitable methods of impregnating stone. Many originally based products (oils, waxes, resins, soaps),
artificial resins, inorganic solutions, fluates, water glass and silicic acid esters are offered for the
purpose of stabilizing stone. Artificial resins have been used a great deal for stone conservation in the
past years. Recently, remarkable success has been achieved in Germany with acrylic resins. With the
method employed by some companies sculptors and architectural parts are soaked with monomeric
acrylic resin so that it penetrates deeply. Only then is the polymerization begun.

4.5. 6. 4. Water-repelling

Most damage to stone results from the effects of moisture. Moisture leads to weathering
through frost, to damage through crystallizing salts, and to the growth of bacteria and micro-
organisms. It is therefore a top priority for the protection of stone sculptors and facades to make the
surface water-repellent. Nowadays there are a number of protective coatings that remain transparent
when they dry, are effe4ctive on a long-term basis, and have no damaging effect on stone.

4.5. 6. 5. Paints

Due to the rapid development of synthetic resin chemistry, the kinds of paints that are used in
the preservation of monuments for re-painting sculptors or facades have also changed. In addition to
a lime pigment, calcic casein paints and cement paints, silicate colours and resinoid-boned paints
play a special role. The bonding agent for silicate colours that has proven particularly resistant to
weathering ever since the 19th century is silicate of potassium. Paints with a synthetic resin bonding
agent are normally manufactured as water dilutable latex paints, primarily acrylic latex paints.
 39

4.5. 6. 6. Dehumidification

Moisture in walls can have different causes. Most often it comes from moisture rising from the
ground, from condensation, from rainfall, from the humidity of the air and from the seepage of
moisture due to damage to the wall. Whereas, in most cases structural measures such as the repair
of technical defects, (re-doing the joints, re-pairing protective coverings) or the choice of the proper
plaster-work can help a great deal, special arrangements have to be made in order to halt the rise of
moisture from the ground. Apart from physical methods such as passive or active electrical osmosis,
the compensation method or heat generating installations, all manner of available chemical
processes are employed to this end. In addition to the vertical insulation of the walling with a coating
of bitumen, horizontal insulation plays an important role.

4.5. 6. 7. Replacing stone

It is often necessary to replace the missing parts of sculptors or buildings. Synthetic stones
that can be applied in a pasty form and processed after they solidify, or which can be cast, are
specially suitable. In addition to the advantage of being able to adopt to the texture and the colour of
the natural stone that is to be completed, artificial stones are characterized by their extremely high
resistance to weathering. Previously, synthetic stoned boned by lime, cement or trass were
commonly used, but in the last 10 years artificial stone bonded by synthetic resin has started to play a
still modest role. But the later material has such advantageous characteristics and there has been
such a rapid development in the field of synthetic resin-bonded construction materials that they will no
doubt find steadily increasing use.

4.5. 6. 8. Stone Cementing

The usual method of joining stone pieces by cementing in bronze or steel rods that was
formerly used out to be extremely damaging, since the salphates contained in the cement caused an
increase in the volume of mortar even objects exhibited inside museums, and the stone then burst.
The Kuros In Munich, which was restored in this way in 1912, burst into 130 pieces in 1964. At the
Acropolis, where all of the important building complexes were restored in this manner, the damage
has reached disastrous proportions. Owing to synthetic-resin glues this kind of damage no longer
occurs. Polyester resin, which was developed specially in order to cement stone, is now widely and
successfully used for museum pieces as well as for objects exposed to weathering. Epoxy resin has
also proven suitable for cementing stone.

There are also various ways of restoring or healing the cultural heritages made of mud-bricks,
ceramics, mosaics, and glasses. Paintings (including mural-paintings), Polychrome wooden sculptor
and other materials from which the heritage has been made have scientific method that can help to
live for a long period of time resisting any kind of man-made and natural damaging factors.

4.6. The Safety Rules Protecting Heritages from Damage in Museum

Prepare a magazine in which the materials can be reserved;

They should be protected from possible damages by rodents and pests;
 40

Put them above some heights of the ground avoiding the possible damages by
termites;
Put them on the places where they are not exposed to sun-light, rain and flood;
Put them on the places where they are free of chemicals and dusts;
If the materials are fragile, they should be far from the possible breaking objects;
Do not put the materials that can be exposed to rust connecting with other metallic
objects;
It is good to put them at airy room.

5. Conclusion

Having made a critical reading on the given handout, the distance student is expected to create
awareness on cultural heritages and their possible preservation transferring to the next generation.
Additionally, the learner is responsible to know the geographical location of the Ethiopian cultural and
historical sites at which the cultural heritages are found. The kinds of the Ethiopian arts and their
foundation including their historical development are one of the core points of the course. Based on
this concern, the distance student should involve himself in identifying also such resources how they
are prestigious.
 41

Bibliographies

Camerapix-compiler. (1995). Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia (Revised Edition). Nairobi: Camerapix

Publisher International.

Ethiopian Airlines. (1992). Selamta (Volume-9, number-3, Octover-December): Glorious Gondar.

Nairobi: Camerapix Publisher.

Ethiopian Airlines. (1995). Selamta (Volume-12, number-1, April-June): Discovering the Sources of
the Blue Nile Falls. Nairobi: Camerapix Publisher.

Ethiopian Airlines. (1997). Selamta (Volume-14, number-1, January-March): The Lost Oblisk of
Axum. Nairobi: Camerapix Publisher.

Ethiopian Airlines. (1998). Selamta (Volume-15, number-4, October-December): Ethiopias Historic

Hand-Crafts. Nairobi: Camerapix Publisher.

Ethiopian Airlines. (2011). Selamta (Volume-28, number-3, July-September): Buhe. Nairobi:

Camerapix Publisher.

Graham, John. (2001). Ethiopia Off the Beautiful Trail. Addis Ababa: Shama Books Publisher.

Reinderer, Josef. (1989). Restoration and Preservation. Munich: Goethe- Institute Press.

Teferi Teklu. (unknown written year). Cultural Heritages (unpublished Teaching Handout).

(2001)

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