Ethiopians cheer obelisk restoration

September 5, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — Thousands of Ethiopians on Thursday cheered the long-awaited restoration of the 1,700-year-old Axum obelisk to its original site in the country’s north.

With great pomp, the obelisk was unveiled in the northern city of Axum. The obelisk, an 80-foot high piece of carved granite, was transported from Italy in three separate pieces.

The project took three years of work by Italian engineers and cost an estimated $10 million.

Italy took the funeral stone, or stele, in 1937 on the orders of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Italy, which occupied Ethiopia from 1936-1941, returned the obelisk in 2005, after demands by Ethiopia’s government.

The obelisk is considered a symbol of African civilization and is a remnant of the ancient kingdom of Axum, which ruled the region from about 400 B.C. into the 10th century.

(AP)