page_title: Mifsas Bahri
hierarchical_section_title: Mifsas Bahri
caption_attribution_description: English: Mifsas Bahri, Tigray, Ethiopia, pier capital perhaps produced in the 7th century CE, surface find, Heidelberg-Mekelle Expedition, 2013, fileː 13c Deutsch: Mifsas Bahri, Tigray, Äthiopien, Pfeiler-Kapitell hergestellt ca. 7. Jahrhundert n.Chr., Heidelberg-Mekelle-Expedition, 2013, Dateiː 13c
context_page_description: Mifsas Bahri, at 2472 m altitude, is a Late Aksumite archaeological site in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
  This highland site contains the ruin of a substantial building constructed of bright red dressed ashlar which may date as early as the late phases of the Aksumite period. Lying 200 m west of the shore of Lake Hashinge, the site came to the attention of antiquities authorities in 1997 as a result of alleged exploitation of its building stone on the part of the local population. In 2013 a group led by Paul A. Yule from Mekelle University and Heidelberg University began to investigate the site. Curiously, the site lies 100 km south of the next site attributable to the Aksumite cultural assemblage, thus far south of the Aksumite site distribution. The building at Mifsas Bahri is a church, to judge from the orientation, masonry excellence and architectural relief sculpture. Preliminarily, the building appears to have undergone three phases including a squatter occupation. Radiocarbon dating suggests that it went out of use in the 15th century.
  Historical reconstruction and local tradition had it that it was destroyed in the 1540s by the mixed forces of Aḥmad ibn Ibrahīm al-Ġazī.
context_section_description: Mifsas Bahri, at 2472 m altitude, is a Late Aksumite archaeological site in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
  This highland site contains the ruin of a substantial building constructed of bright red dressed ashlar which may date as early as the late phases of the Aksumite period. Lying 200 m west of the shore of Lake Hashinge, the site came to the attention of antiquities authorities in 1997 as a result of alleged exploitation of its building stone on the part of the local population. In 2013 a group led by Paul A. Yule from Mekelle University and Heidelberg University began to investigate the site. Curiously, the site lies 100 km south of the next site attributable to the Aksumite cultural assemblage (Wuqro), thus far south of the Aksumite site distribution. The building at Mifsas Bahri is a church, to judge from the orientation, masonry excellence and architectural relief sculpture. Preliminarily, the building appears to have undergone three phases including a squatter occupation. Radiocarbon dating suggests that it went out of use in the 15th century.
  Historical reconstruction and local tradition had it that it was destroyed in the 1540s by the mixed forces of Aḥmad ibn Ibrahīm al-Ġazī. This contradicts a few recent unpublished radiocarbon dates, which suggest a building and construction considerably earlier. Excavation confirmed the presence of a monumental stone building some 20 m x 35 m in surface area. According to local sources the church was named Gebre Menfes Kidus.
caption: Mifsas Bahri, Tigray, Ethiopia, pier capital perhaps produced in the 7th century CE, surface find, Heidelberg-Mekelle Expedition, 2013
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