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The rock-cut churches of Lalibela and the cave church of Washa Mika'el: troglodytism and the Christianisation of the Ethiopian Highlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2021

Marie-Laure Derat ,
Claire Bosc-Tiessé ,
Antoine Garric ,
Romain Mensan ,
François-Xavier Fauvelle ,
Yves Gleize  and
Anne-Lise Goujon
Marie-Laure Derat*
Affiliation:
CNRS, Orient et Méditerranée, Paris, France
Claire Bosc-Tiessé
Affiliation:
INHA, CNRS, Paris, France
Antoine Garric
Affiliation:
CNRS, CFEE, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Romain Mensan
Affiliation:
TRACES, Toulouse, France
François-Xavier Fauvelle
Affiliation:
Collège de France, Paris, France
Yves Gleize
Affiliation:
ANR EthioChrisProcess, INRAP, PACEA, Bordeaux, France
Anne-Lise Goujon
Affiliation:
University of Paris Nanterre, PreTech, Ethiopia
*
*Author for correspondence: ✉ ml.derat@gmail.com
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Abstract

The monolithic churches of Lalibela are commonly regarded as evidence for the shift of the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia from Aksum to the Ethiopian Highlands during the thirteenth century AD. Recent research, however, has shown that the rock-cut churches were not created ex nihilo. New archaeological evidence has emerged for an earlier, local troglodytic culture, particularly at Washa Mika'el, further illuminating the cosmopolitan society that existed in medieval Ethiopia. This article considers the role played by this troglodytic culture in the Christianisation of the Ethiopian Highlands and how it attests continuity with its predecessors, especially in the way that sculpted decor are perpetuated and transformed in the frame of a new religious background.

Keywords

EthiopiaLalibelaWasha Mika'elChristianisationtroglodytismrock-cut church
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 95 , Issue 380 , April 2021 , pp. 467 - 486
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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