The Giant Obelisks of Axum
In the ancient city of Axum stand towering carved stone obelisks, one of them the largest single stone people ever tried to raise.
What was reported
Axum, in northern Ethiopia, was the capital of a powerful kingdom that traded with Rome and India around 1,700 years ago. In its stelae park stand tall granite obelisks carved to look like multi-storey buildings, with false doors and windows.
The largest, the Great Stele, was about 33 metres long and weighed some 520 tonnes, but it lies broken on the ground; it probably fell while it was being raised or soon after. Another, taken to Rome in 1937, was returned to Ethiopia in 2005 and re-erected.
Explanations offered
The obelisks were cut from quarries several kilometres away and probably moved with ramps, rollers and great numbers of people. They are thought to have marked royal tombs. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- When
- Raised about 1,700 years ago
- Where
- Axum, Tigray, Ethiopia
- Witnesses
- Archaeologists and residents
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.