The next couple of blog posts will be about the Kingdom of D'mt and the Queen of Sheba. If you have never heard of the Kingdom of D'mt , you're forgiven! Not too much has been written about D'mt and quite frankly that's because there just isn't that much known about it yet. I learned of and became intrigued by the Kingdom of D'mt when I heard about the historical D'mt sites dotting the country side around the city of Adigrat that archaeologists have yet to really document. We do know that the Kingdom of D'mt dates way back to 1000 years before Christ which makes it the earliest known kingdom to rise to power in Ethiopia.
| It is worth noting that "The Land of Punt" the Egyptians referred to 2,500 years before Christ is often ascribed (at least partially) to the north of Ethiopia, but its exact location has apparently not yet been satisfactorily determined. |
It isn't really clear how or when the civilization ended and when it became the Aksumite kingdom . The Sabean Kingdom had some influence on the region although the full extent of its influence is unknown. There is a belief that the Kingdom of D'mt and the Sabean Kingdom might have even merged at some point, but IF they did, it certainly did not last too long, a century at the very most.
Yeha is a small town in the north of Ethiopia that is believed to have been the capitol of D'mt . In town there are ruins of a beautiful tower built over 2,600 years ago known as the 'Temple of Yeha'. It has been studied somewhat and is described as being in excellent condition considering its age.
British archaeologist David Phillipson attributes its "excellent preservation" to two factors, "the care with which its
original builders ensured a level foundation, firmly placed on the
uneven bedrock; and to its rededication -- perhaps as early as the sixth
century AD -- for use as a Christian church."
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| Temple of Yeha |
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| Great care taken in the construction |
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| Built over 2,600 years ago |
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| Length of temple.. and a beautiful view. |
The Sabean people who moved to Ethiopia seem to have brought with them some extra sophisticated blacksmithing skills and they are believed to have pretty heavily influenced the Kingdom of D'mt's surge in blacksmithing. In March of this year I had the opportunity to visit an ancient iron forging site where a scattering of iron and pottery can still be found all over the ground - all these many years later! It is a site easily accessed off the main Adigrat - Addis Ababa road, just north of Idaga Hamos. It is not yet a properly documented and protected site and it is unoccupied so kids seem to currently enjoy hanging in and around it. It was pretty dirty inside when I visited, there was trash scattered about and a distinctly nauseating smell of urine. Having said that, there were also symbols on the walls inside that were clear signs of the D'mt kingdom and it was pretty exciting to see a historical site which doesn't yet really officially register in the academic historical conversation about the Kingdom of D'mt. There are plans to study the site in the near future.
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| Still shot from documentary footage: pottery shards in front of the blacksmith site |
I don't know what my assumptions about ancient historical sites in Agamé were up to this point, but it was surprising and remarkable to me to freely wander through SUCH an old site which is so accessible and is as of yet undocumented and unprotected .
But then I heard from community members in Adigrat like the
legendary english teacher Tadesse Tefari that the kids who play in the
country side around Idaga Hamos (a town just south of Adigrat in the
Agamé Region) have discovered caves full of ancient inscriptions and paintings . An adult also accidentally fell into a cave full of paintings recently. It is believed there is an extensive network of
tunnels and caves in the Idaga Hamos area with these writings and
images. All of which have not yet been properly documented, cataloged
or studied.
What I hear over and over from my friends in the Agamé region is that it
is a district crammed with historical sites. Only a portion of which have
been cataloged . An even smaller portion is accessible to the public in any informed manor.
There
are great hopes that much more will be learned as archaeologists
explore the many sites scattered throughout the north of Ethiopia.
| A
new university in Adigrat has plans to attract archaeological students
from near and far to further grow their local documentation efforts. |
Next up, all about the Queen of Sheba (aka Makeda) and her connections to the Agamé region and House of Agamé ...
Further Reading
There are some international academics currently working in these geographical areas.
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