Axum's Obelisks: The Stepped Stelae That Defied Gravity

Episode 91 of The Kingdom of Axum: Rome's Forgotten African Rival turns from kings and battles to the monumental architecture that still defines the ancient city of Aksum. Lucas and Luna explore the giant obelisks — some over 100 feet tall, quarried from single blocks of granite, carved with intricate window-and-door patterns to mimic multi-story buildings. How did Axumite engineers quarry, transport, and erect these stelae without iron tools or draft animals? What do they reveal about social hierarchy, royal power, and religious beliefs before and after Christianity? And why did the tallest one fall, shattering into pieces that lay scattered for centuries? The conversation also touches on the so-called 'King Ezana's Stele' (actually a fourth-century monument), the mysterious underground tombs beneath the stelae field, and the modern restoration of the 1,700-year-old Obelisk of Axum after its decades-long journey from Rome. Specifics include: the Gudit Stele, the Great Stele (33 meters tall and never erected), the Italian occupation and 1937 removal, and UNESCO World Heritage status in 1980. #AxumObelisks #SteppedStelae #AksumiteArchitecture #KingEzana #GuditStele #GreatStele #ObeliskOfAxum #UNESCOWorldHeritage #AncientEngineering #ItalianOccupation #EastAfricaHistory #AncientMegaliths #AksumiteGraves #KingEndubis #MonumentumAdulitanum #History #FexingoHistory #AfricanCivilizations Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo