ETHIOPIA: Unveiling of a 1,700 year-old obelisk which was returned by Italy in 2005, after being stolen under Mussolini

Record ID: 806245

  • Title: ETHIOPIA: Unveiling of a 1,700 year-old obelisk which was returned by Italy in 2005, after being stolen under Mussolini
  • Date: 5th September 2008
  • Summary: PEOPLE SINGING (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) WAHID AREGAWI, AXUM RESIDENT, SAYING: "I am feeling so happy. I am very delighted as today is the inauguration of the re-installation of the Axum obelisk. I came here with Diquo, Ambasha and Injera (traditional foods)."
  • Embargoed: 20th September 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ethiopia
  • Country: Ethiopia
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,History
  • Reuters ID: LVA20DFU7YHTMTUG24NFLHJ3D8C3
  • Story Text: Tens of thousands of Ethiopians cheered on Thursday (September 4) as a 1,700-year-old giant stone obelisk taken to Italy by invaders in the 1930s was restored to its historic site in an ancient northern town.
    The national treasure was returned to Ethiopia three years ago by the Italian government and U.N. engineers have helped install it at its original location in Axum, which was once the centre of a powerful trading empire.
    Alfred Mantica, Italian Under-Secretary for Foreign affairs, was among dignitaries attending the ceremony, told the crowd the unveiling of the obelisk was a special event for both Ethiopia and Italy.

    "What we are witnessing here today in Axum is an extraordinary event from many points of view. Indeed we are witnessing not only the return to its homeland of the work of art of highly symbolic value but we are also having the privilege to live a moment which represents an historical turning point in the relations between Italy and Ethiopia," he said.
    Plundered during Italy's 1937 invasion, the 24-metre (78-foot), 160-tonne chiselled granite tower had been placed in a Rome square by fascist leader Benito Mussolini.
    It was returned in April 2005, but its return to the Axum site was delayed while scientists studied newly discovered subterranean funeral chambers and royal arcades used by several dynasties before the Christian era.
    As the monument was unveiled to roars of approval from the crowd, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the cooperation with Italy to return the Obelisk was "the right decision".

    "I would like to express happiness on behalf of my own and the government of Ethiopia over the re-erection of the ancient Axum obelisk that was down for a long time before being taken to Italy in exile," said Zenawi.
    The Italian government paid some 10 million U.S. dollars in shipping and installation costs.
    Historians see Thursday's ceremony as a significant sign of improving relations between Ethiopia and Italy, but said the Ethiopian authorities should now turn their attention to erecting six other fallen obelisks in Axum.
    But local residents were ecstatic at the monument's return and stayed on celebrating long after the unveiling.

    "I am feeling so happy. I am very delighted as today is the inauguration of the re-installation of the Axum obelisk. I came here with Diquo, Ambasha and Injera (traditional foods), said Wahid Aregawi, who lives in Axum.
    A thousand years before Christ, Axum was the city of the legendary Queen of Sheba and the heart of Axumite civilisation, one of the greatest in the ancient world. Modern Ethiopians see themselves as the descendants of this Biblical kingdom.
    Legend has it that God blessed 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.
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