Ethiopia says ancient obelisk finally to be put back

Sept 19, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — An ancient obelisk plundered by Italy but recently returned to Ethiopia may be re-erected by the end of the year after studies showed it would not damage nearby tombs, a minister said on Monday.

The Axum obelisk — a 24-metre (78 feet), 160-tonne granite funeral pillar taken by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in 1937 as a spoil of war — was flown back in three parts in April to the jubilation of Ethiopians.

But the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) asked Ethiopia to delay putting it back on its original site in the historic northern city of Axum until a newly-found nearby necropolis was properly examined.

Culture Minister Teshome Toga told Reuters that Ethiopia, UNESCO and Italy, which is funding the project, had now agreed placement of the obelisk can go ahead without harming the tombs.

“If all goes well and according to plan, it is possible the re-erection of the obelisk could be completed by the end of 2005,” he said.

The work is expected to be a major engineering challenge.

The obelisk is considered to be among the finest of over 120 in Axum, the city of the legendary Queen of Sheba who ruled 1,000 years before the birth of Christ.

Legend has it that God bestowed his favour on the city after the queen’s son Menelik I stole the Ark of the Covenant from his father King Solomon in Jerusalem and brought it to Axum, where many Ethiopians believe it remains to this day.

An Italian firm involved in dismantling the obelisk in Rome would help put it back in Axum, the Ethiopian minister added.

Rome promised to return the obelisk after its World War II defeat. But arguments and logistical challenges kept the obelisk in Italy for six more decades.

(Reuters)