THE PRESERVATION OF THE CULTURALHERITAGE OF ERITREA(CASE STUDY QOHAITO)AFRICA 2009
Documentation and Inventory Seminar
Livingstone, Zambia, 9-15 October 2000

Haile Berhe
National Musuem of Eritrea
10 October 2000

THE PRESERVATION OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF ERITREA(CASE STUDY QOHAITO )Introduction
The territory of Eritrea is bordered by a 1,000km. Red Sea Coastline to the North
and East Ethiopia and Djoubouti to the South and Sudan to the West.
It encompasses roughly 124,000 square km. a number of islands and 3.5 millionpeople.
During the long struggle for independence the longest war in Africa, the Eritrean
People is Liberation Front has made a tremendous contribution in documentation ofEritrea Cultural Heritage and history recognizing its influence in the consolidation ofnational identity.
After liberation on 1st of February 1992 the National Museum of Eritrea wasofficially inagurated.
Since Eritrea is a newly independent country (10 yrs) , there has never been asystematic or scientific survey in Eritrea, during the Ethiopian colony. In fact
cultural Heritage was totally ignored or neglected for political reason.
There was not a single nominated site in Eritrea during the Ethiopian colony noteven the site of Adulis which is universally known. (Dated 2nd millennium B.C
almost 4,000 years old). But now Eritrea has five archaeological site nominated forWorld Heritage List. Eritrea multi cultural heritage dates back to many millennia.
Countless Stone Age Sites ranging from Acheulian open air 200,000 B.P toNeolithic painted or engraved caves 5,000 B.P dot the country site.

It is very likely now that the material collection or immovable cultural heritage
pictures of ancient rock paintings, monuments steles, inscription on stone, ruinedbuildings, structural designs work of art, ancient pottery with the help ofdocumentation give the testimonial evidence.
The National Museum collection are the result of excavation and surface collection
from Adulis the ancient port city dated in the B.C and Metera Southern Zone. The
little research everdone at all was by the Italians. Different colonizers have looted
artifacts and documents. Since then that little is known about dating and exact spotof excavation about most things. It remains to be studied all over again in due time.
So our information concerning a most of the sites remains scanty and incomplete.
Eritrea has been a land of great historical reputation and a treasure house of a
wealthy cultural heritage since a long time. The past casts a brilliant reflection oftremendous civilization. I think it was due partly to its geographical position of theRed Sea that Eritrea had never escaped the dangers of threat from its coast the RedSea. It was usually a prey for the incoming invaders and colonizers for across thesea. Therefore the successive colonial domination had not only hampered themonument of earlier civilization but also disrupted the whole cultural achievement.
Eritrea having established its sovereignty and political identity in 1993 is now facedwith the task of cataloguing and preserving its multiple cultural heritage. Thatmodern Eritrea has emerged into the political arena recently should not overshadow
the fact that its inhabitants, the fauna and flora of the land within its modern
borders, and the mosaic diversity of its people have along and ancient history. Like
many African nation-states which have undergone colonialism, Eritrea’s earlyhistory from antiquity to the present needs to be studied, keeping in mind that thepresent boundaries and inhabitants may reflect historical discontinuities as well asinteractions with various peoples in the region.
To ensure an accurate depiction of early history and identity, Eritrea’s cultural
heritage, it is necessary to examine the material remains of its antiquity, and reexamine the non material data regarding the origins of its people and their way oflife. Predominant archaeological, anthropological, linguistic and historical theories
regarding the rise and fall of civilizations dissemination of cultures, languages andinstitutions, conquest, assimilation and resistance of peoples need to be reviewed inorder to assess existing hypotheses or claims.
Archaeological remains are culturally a primary source of data for reconstructing thesocio-economic and cultural history of a region.

-The Archaeological sites of Eritrea hold a rich and unparalleled heritage;-Eritrea has one of the highest densities of archaeological sites known in the African
continent;-It is estimated that there are about 25-30,000 archaeological sites within Eritrea withremains from practically all periods: paleontological, prehistoric sites, proto-historicsites, rock paintings and engravings, historic sites such as medieval churches,
early Islamic monuments and magnificent necropolice, and what we have classified
as recent sites i.e. the creative underground dwellings (schools, pharmacies,garages, hospitals, factories, offices, entertainment halls, etc.) the result of the longstruggle for independence.
Paleontoligical finds: are perhaps the most exciting aspects of all of Eritrea’s
archaeological discoveries. In the Debubawi Qeyeh Bahri (Southern Zone of the redSea) region at a place called Buya several well-preserved hominid fossils dating
about 2 million years ago, were unearthed in 1995.
Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sites: So far fifty one prehistoric sites have been
documented whose geographical distribution covers a large part of the country. In
northern Eritrea close to the Sudanese border is the Karora site and at another endof the country close to the Ethiopian border in the south are found otherprehistoric sites near Beilul.
Rock Art : Rock paintings and engravings represent one of the most remarkableaspects of Eritrean archaeology, Rocks were the first canvas used by prehistoric
people. Rock art reveals the most ancient testimony of human economic and socialactivities. It provides a unique insight into their intellectual life and cultural patterns,
since it describes people’s life such as hunting, herding, family life and existence ofboth wild and domestic animals.
A large concentration of known rock art is found in the Debub (south) region. At
Iyago near Qohaito there is an open shelter 8m long has 90 figure painted. In otherrock painting at Hismele 26 figures are depicted of which 17 are bovines. At Selum
Baati a rock shelter 33m long 275 figures are more abundant and diversified.

Awalu Ghalba Rockshelter

On July 2, 1997 members of the National Museum of Eritrea and University ofFlorida team investigated the Awalu Ghalba Rockshelter on the Awalu Guda
plateau. The Awalu Guda plateau is located approximately 2 km north of the townof Adi Qeyeh (south) approximately 1 km north of the rock painting sites
documented by Paolo Graziosi at Hishmele (Graziosi 1964 - . New discoveries ofRock Paintings in Eirtrea and approximately 3.5 km west of the Qohaito plateau.
The Awalu Guda plateau is located at the point where the Hischmele valley area andHimbrten canyon area meet situated at the base of the Awalu Guda plateau is theSaho Community of Hayenba.
The Awalu Ghalba Rockshelter is located approximately 50m down thenorthwestern cliff face of the Awalu Guda plateau. Saho people from thecommunity of Hayneba use the place names “Awalu Guda” and “Awalu Ghalba”
referring to the plateau and rockshelter respectively. The rockshelter measuresapproximately three meters in depth from the deepest point at the base of theinterior wall to the shelter’s drip line. The length of the rockshelter is approximately
12m. The floor of the rockshelter was observed to contain a dense concentrationof ceramic sherds, many of which resemble Gray/Black Aksumite wares (asdescribed by Wilding 1989). Similar ceramic sherds were documented in great
density on the top of Awalu Guda plateau and on the Adi Qeyeh plateau.
The Awalu Ghalba rockshelter was observed to contain elaborate pictographs inred, white and black pigments. A number of pictographs have been destroyed bynatural exfoliation, and by the chipping of images from the wall by the people.
Humpless longhorn cattle and possible human-like figures are depicted on therockshelter’s walls. While one cattle figure is depicted in a highly schematic form,
the majority of cattle figures are depicted in a largely naturalistic fashion reminiscentof the Sorre-Hamakiya style of pastoral rock art (Cervicek 1979). Several of thecattle figures at Awalu Ghalba resemble those documented by Paolo Graziosi at
the Ba’atti Sollum rockshelter near Ghenzabo, Eritrea (Grazziosi 1964 a). The
human like figure are so faintly depicted and damaged due to exfoliation andchipping that interpretation was not possible. In addition to the pictography apetroglyph inscription of probable South Arabian Script is visible on the northernside of the rockshelter wall. Rough sketches of the pictographs and inscription
were made and slide photographs taken. The sketches and copies of the slide
photographs are available in National Museum of Eritrea, for reference. From thedata presented tentative pattern of ancient settlement on the Adi Qeyeh plateau canbe proposed:(1)The existence of human occupation over a large area of the survey area,
as evident in the wide ranging aereal extent of ceramic sherd scatter
distributions.

(2)

A relatively dense settlement pattern in the form of ancient mound sites
closely spaced throughout much of the survey area; and(3)Spatial dominance of three large mound sites seemingly strategicallyplaced on the plateau periphery overlooking adjacent canyons and valleyareas.

In addition to the 27 mound sites documented and mapped on the Adi Qeyeh
plateau via systematic transect survey, reconnaissance survey data gathered around
Adi Qeyeh in July 1997 suggest that at least 35 additional mound sites are locatedwithin a 5 km radius of the Qohaito plateau. Based on a non systematic estimate ofmound site size, these 35 sites range from under 500m2 to 4-6 hectatcs in areas.
Such sites await systematic investigation, but when combined with the systematictransect survey mound site data, it is possible tentatively to suggest that the densityof ancient settlement in the Qohaito area may be similar to that documented for thearea surrounding the ancient urban center of Axum in Tigray, Ethiopia. (Littman etal. 1913; Michels 1994; Philipson and Reynolds 1996).
It must be recognized that the 1997 Adi Qeyeh Survey project was designed toprovide a relatively rapid first attempt to document archaeological resources
threatened by rock quarrying and building construction.

Qohaito
The Debub or the southern region is one of the richest historical regions in Eritrea.
The ancient urban city of Qohaito’s position at the crossroads of the maincommunication axes between the Red Sea area in the north and the mainland ofMettera and Axum in the south made it one of the most important political centersof the kingdom of ancient Eritrea.
Qohaito appears to have been a garden city, with cultivated areas between thebuilding complexes. There are dozens of these ruined complexes varying greatly instructure, size and depth; only further survey will reveal precisely the configurations
and numbers of these features on this landscape. There are also about half a dozen

column structures or temples on platform dispersed widely. On one of the temples,a tall pillar balances curiously a four sided capital as if to affirm and announce thepast glory of this antique city. There are certain indications about the existence ofseveral dams. Today, however, only one dam exists that still serves the local
population as the main source of water. The dam is found at a place called Saphira.
The wall of the dam is built of large rectangular blocks of stones; the largest
measures 98cm x 48cm. On one of the rocks inside the dam are some inscriptionsin ancient Ge’ez.
The temples were refereed to in the Saho language as “Weiro Omyiler or Weiro”
and the location upon which they are standing was locally referced to as the “abodeof the prestigious ones” or as the guide put it in Tigrigna “Sefra Abeyti”
An underground tomb which was previously and erroneously referred to as“Meqabir Ghibtsi” or “Egyptian tomb” is located close to one of the temples atQohaito. The tomb which faces east and overlooks the Hedmo river is known as“Amharti Kebri” by the local population. It is a rectangular construction made oflarge blocks of stones. Inside the tomb carved on walls and facing each other are
two quadrifoil (flower shaped) crosses.
The site of Qohaito, positioned on top of the Qohaito plateau at an elevation of
approximately 2,600m.a.s.1, contains many large mounds, elaborate monumentalarchitecture, cistern-like features, and a large ancient dam and reservoir basin(Anfray 1981: Dainelli and Marinelli 1912; Litman et al.1913; Wenig 1997). it has
been suggested that Qohaito might be “Koloe” (Bent 1893; Munro Hay 1991: 47) anancient market city described by the Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy (Stevenson1932) and mentioned in the first century A.D. merchants’ document the Periplus of
the Erythraean Sea (Huntingford 1980; Casson 1989).
Research in July 1997 revealed pockets of dense ancient occupation and an intricate
pattern of settlement linking Qohaito with its hinterland.
As I have already mentioned a systematic survey and inventory was done at
Qohaito by the National Museum of Eritrea in collaboration with the German
University of Humboldt and another survey was accomplished at the plateau of Adi
Qeyeh in collaboration with the University of Florida.
The archaeological survey of the season 1997 had the aim to enable an idea of theextent and wealth of the site and the variety of the monuments. Thus the survey

was conducted for the most part by personal GPS - receivers. Due to methodical
considerations and the priority assignment of the project, the survey has focused on
the archaeological evidence presumably coming from the pre-Axumite and Axumite
culture - equivalent mainly to remains of architecture in general.
This objective has been realised to an unexpected extent. The complete plateau
with an area about 32 square kilometers was surveyed. The whole plateau iscovered by archaeological features - more than eight hundred objects wereidentified, mapped and documented in that season.
As a result of this overall survey a preliminary archaeological map of the plateau of
Qohaito was prepared; showing the present state of knowledge. Archaeologicalobjects and features contained in a catalogue are almost exclusively architectural
remains and come presumably mainly from the Axumite culture. These objects aredistinguished into several types. The most frequent type are separate mounds.
They may still show remains of architecture in a different state of preservation. The
greater part of mounds is included in extensive structures of different size,complexity and number of objects. Depending on these criteria, these structures
are described as mound complex, agglomeration of mounds or “town ruin”. Otherarchitectural remains, like ground plans for instance, are preserved at ground level
only. According to the visible architectural remains a number of objects could beidentified as podium buildings with or without pillars, further as terraced buildingsor (large) platforms. Further types of architectural remains are terrace retaining
walls, situated mostly in context with other archaeological features as well as ancientroads or streets.
Mapped were also structures of water supply, like cisterns, basins, dams orreservoirs - irrespective of their ancient or modern origin. The modern hydraulicinstallations were recorded with regard to the requirements of a masterplan forresettlement and the development of infrastructure. Although for methodical
reasons, they did not represent the actual subject of the survey, all rock engraving
and inscriptions are noted when they were met. The same applies to places withlithic artifacts, which are scattered in large number all over the plateau. Specialsurveys have to be effected for a complete record of these features, methodicallyadapted to their specific nature.

SYSTEM OF THE CATALOGUE
All features are named according to the designation of the square of the gridsystem, in which they are located. Then they are numbered consecutively within thesquare. Preliminary information is provided by the term describing the object(“mound” “mound complex” etc.). Added are remarks giving more detailedinformation concerning the superficially visible architectural remains and their stateof preservation for instance “mounds with remains of walls” “of building” etc.
Sometimes only a term like “remains of building” or “plan of building” is used as
description for the type of object. The mission of the term “mound” indicates thenan isolated structure into further preserved or visible archaeological context.
The objects are listed in alphabetical order of their designation relative to the gridsystem. Therefore they are simultaneously in topographical order, proceeding fromNorth to south. The positions of the objects are mostly given in global coordinatesof decimal degrees as shown by the personal GPS - receiver. Within “town ruins”
mound complexes or agglomerations of mounds, the positions are given as polar
coordinates (distance and direction in relation to GPS - measurement point.
Metrical coordinates (UTM System Molodensk 37 North) of objects measured byelectro - optical theodolite are comitted.
Descriptions of the superficially visible features of objects were made, a part ofthem is shown in ground plan. Layout plans of mound complexes, agglomerationsof mounds and of the so called “town ruins” were prepared. Further are showndetailed drawings of some special features and finds like architectural blocks,
potsherds etc. Drawings of ground plans exactly recorded (orignal drawing in scale
1:100) are presented in a scale of (c) 1 : 200; plans recorded more approximately
are shown in scale 1:500 or 1:1000 to provide an impression only. “Town runins”
etc (original drawing in scale 1:000) are shown in a scale (c) 1:2000 finds andarchitectural blocks are in scale of (c) 1;1 upto 1:100. Rock engraving andinscriptions were sketched only and are shown not in scale. Photographs weretaken of remarkable objects and surface finds, but not shown in the catalogue.
This is an example of a sampe study achieved in the surrounding of Qohaito whichis unique of its kind for, the country has never had a systmatic or scientific survey
before indipendence.

REFERENCES
Anfray, F.
1991, Les Anciens Ethiopiens, Paris.

Beckingham, C.F. & Huntingford, C.W.B. (eds),
1958, The Prester John of the Indies, London.

Curtis M,
Archaeological Survey in the Adi - Qeyeh area

Damelle, G. & Marinelli, O.
1912, Risultati di un viaggio Scientifiche nella colonia Eritrea, Firenze.

Fattovich, R.
1991, The problem of punt in the Light of Recent Field in theEastern Sudan, London.

Yoseph Libsekal
1995, Archaeological prospects in the region of Akkele-Guzay (Eritrea),
The national Museum of Eritrea, Asmara.

Asmara. 1996,