The rock-cut churches of Lalibela and the cave church of Washa Mika'el: troglodytism and the Christianisation of the Ethiopian Highlands. (April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Derat, Marie-Laure; Bosc-Tiessé, Claire; Garric, Antoine; Mensan, Romain; Fauvelle, François-Xavier; Gleize, Yves; Goujon, Anne-Lise
• Is Part Of: Antiquity. Volume 95:Number 380(2021)
• Page Start: 467
• Page End: 486
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Subjects: Ethiopia, -- Lalibela, -- Washa Mika'el, -- Christianisation, -- troglodytism, -- rock-cut church; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Antiquities -- Periodicals; 930.05
• DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2021.20
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-598X

Abstract

Abstract: 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.