page_title: Megaliths in Ethiopia
section_title: Megaliths in Ethiopia
hierarchical_section_title: Megaliths in Ethiopia / Megaliths in Ethiopia
caption_attribution_description: Stones in the Tiya Stele Field, Gurage Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia
context_page_description: Megaliths in Ethiopia are large, monumental stones, that exist in Ethiopia.
  Ethiopia is one the country where several megalith site exist. The megalithic monuments exist in all regions. Most of the megaliths sites are located in the Southern Nation Nationalities and peoples Regional State. The major megalithic sites are found in Gedeo Zone, Gurage Zone and Sidama Zone. Tiya is one of the megalithic sites registered by UNESCO. Stele, tumuli and dolmens are the common megalithic monuments found in Ethiopia.
  Megalith is a Greek word meaning big stone. The term megaliths first coined by Algernon Herbert in 1849. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology describes megaliths as a general term applied to monuments of Neolithic and early Bronze Age in northwest Europe. It is used for tombs and standing stones, forming circles Dolmen, Alignment and Menhir. Megaliths are large stone structures built without mortar.
  The existence of stelae, dolmens, tumuli, stone pillar and stone circle/ stone have been reported from North Africa and West Africa East Africa. Megalithic tradition was one of the common practices in most part of Africa.
context_section_description: The existence of megaliths is reported in the 19th c by travelers and missionaries. Alfred Ilg and Jules Borelli had information about Tiya, one of the world heritage sites, in 1886. In 1905 F.J. Bieber had similar information about few megalithic sites south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. In 1905 V.  Chollet and H. Neuville visited Tiya, Sombo, and Seden megalithic sites. Currently, these sites are in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS). But studies on Ethiopian megaliths started in the 20thc. In the 1920s Azais and Chambard reported some megalithic sites from Gurage, Silti, Hadiya, Kambata, Gedeo, Sidama and other areas. Later they published their report in 1931. The report of V.Chollet and H. Neuville instigated many scholars and missionaries to visit the sites. In the meantime, many missionaries and travelers were curious about the megalithic culture.  In 1932 Abbé Breuil wrote a letter to Azaïs which requests about any affinity with the megaliths of India could be an example for their curiosity. Also, in 1934 Jensen, the team from Frobenius Institute reported additional stelae sites in Gedeo. In 1939 some stelae from Gedeo were taken in Germany and still located in the Ethnological Museum of Frankfurt. Also, some stelae from Gurage are were taken to Rome. Since then several megalithic sites are identified from different regions. Anfray listed about 150 stelae from Sodo, Maskan, Dobi and Silti area. He mentioned the presence of additional sites that would be investigated. Also 11 stelae sites were reported from Sodo and Mehur-Aklil. 
  The nature and distribution of megaliths in Ethiopia vary from region to region. The types of megaliths in southern Ethiopia are different from megaliths of Eastern Ethiopia. Dolmens are the type of megaliths widely distributed in the Eastern part of the country. It is not common to identify dolmen in the central and southern regions of the country. The type of megaliths found in southern and central Ethiopia are Tumulus and stelae. Some Tumuli sites are reported Shewa (central Ethiopia) Gedeo and Borana zone (southern Ethiopia).
  Stelae are a type of megaliths found in central, south and southwestern Ethiopia. Several stelae sites have been discovered in the southern part of Ethiopia. In the 1920s Azais studied some of the megalithic sites of located in Gedeo zones and Sidama zones. A significant number of stelae sites are identified in other areas of the southern region. Anfray and Joussaume reported several stelae sites from Gurage, Silti, Hadiya, Kambata and Wolayita.  The stelae are commonly named as Ya Gragn Dingay (literary the stone of Gragn). The total number of stelae in the southern region was estimated at ten thousand. The southern region is known for the huge concentration of megalithic culture. Due to this the region is referred to as “stelae belt”.  
  Stelae also found in Aksum in northern Ethiopia. The Aksumite stelae are somehow different from other stelae. Aksumite stelae are part of Aksumite civilization and dated to 2nd and 4th century AD. Some of these stelae have an association with cemeteries. It is believed that dolmens and tumuli pre-date pre-Aksumite civilization.
  Azais and Chambard conducted an excavation in Kibet, Gatir-Dama, Dimbo-Der, and Tiya in Gurage area. They recovered nothing from Kibet. But from Gatir-Dama, Human fossil and ceramics were recovered and is dated to 750 ± 110 BP. Dimbo-Der and Tiya human fossil had been recovered. They believe that Kibet might be stolen or destroyed. Gatira Dama). In Sodo and Sadden there exist 3000 and 200 burials were documented respectively. Mulicha, Gababa, Gayot Garno Harbo unspecified number of burial were reported.
caption: Tiya Stele
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