In 1937, after the invasion of Ethiopia, Italian army specialists had brought to Rome the second longest Stele among the many existing in Axum. The 4th-century monolith, which in Ethiopia lay for centuries on the ground and was broken in several pieces, was erected in front of the area designated to host the Ministry of Italian Africa building, in order to show the usage of the new complex. In 2005, after restoration, the stele was taken back to Ethiopia and erected in Axum by the Italian Government.