18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists have unearthed two early Aksumite Churches in Africa

New discoveries in the port city of Adulis on Eritrea’s Red Sea coast show that two ancient churches discovered more than a century ago were built during the reign of the legendary Kingdom of Aksum, which ruled Northeast Africa for the entire first millennium AD.

The two ancient religious structures have finally been dated to the mid-1st millennium AD, thanks to a detailed analysis performed by a team of archaeologists from the Vatican-sponsored Pontificio Instituto di Archeologia Cristiana, with dates of construction beginning no later than the 6th and 7th centuries, respectively.

The Aksumite Kingdom arose in the former territories of the fallen D’mt Kingdom in the mid-first century AD. From an early stage, the kingdom played an important role in the transcontinental trade route between Rome and India, rising to become one of the most powerful empires of late antiquity.

Archaeologists excavating at Adulis’ port discovered two churches built after the kingdom’s conversion to Christianity in the 4th century AD. One of the churches is a large cathedral with the remains of a baptistry, while the other is smaller but has a ring of columns that supports a dome roof.

Excavation of one of the early churches found in Adulis, which likely served as the city’s cathedral. Photo: Antiquity
Excavation of one of the early churches found in Adulis, which likely served as the city’s cathedral. Photo: Antiquity

Like their Mediterranean neighbor, the Aksumite leader—King Ezana—converted to Christianity in the 4th century AD but securely dated churches from this period are rare.

The churches incorporate elements from a variety of traditions, reflecting the various influences on the kingdom’s conversion. The domed church is one of a kind in the Aksumite Kingdom, and it appears to be inspired by Byzantine architecture. Meanwhile, the cathedral is built on a large platform in the Aksumite tradition.

To accurately date the structures, the researchers used modern scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating on materials recovered from both sites.

Photo: Antiquity (2022). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2022.136 – Adulis sector 4 – eastern church

“This study provides one of the first examples of Aksumite churches excavated with modern methods and chronological data coming from modern dating methods,” said Dr. Gabriele Castiglia.

In a study published in the journal Antiquity, the cathedral was built between AD 400 and 535, while the domed church was built between AD 480 and 625. Both structures are some of the earliest Christian churches from the Aksumite Kingdom, and the oldest known outside the capital’s heartlands.

From this vantage point, the construction of these two striking and ambitious structures in a port city far from the Aksumite capital suggests that Christianity spread relatively quickly throughout the kingdom. Work on the first of the two structures may have begun less than a century after King Ezana’s conversion, indicating that the people of the region were open to new spiritual belief systems.

Excavations at the domed church, revealing a room near the entrance. Photo: Antiquity
Excavations at the domed church, revealing a room near the entrance. Photo: Antiquity

With the arrival of Islam, the churches fell into decline and disuse; however, they were later re-appropriated as a Muslim burial ground, indicating that the region’s conversion to Islam was also a multicultural phenomenon, with local customs mixed with the new religion.

“This is one of the first times we have the material evidence of the re-appropriation of a Christian sacred space by the Islamic community,” said Dr. Castiglia.

Antiquity

https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2022.136

Cover Photo: Photogrammetry of the central-eastern church. (S. Bertoldi and G. Castiglia/ Antiquity Publications Ltd ).

Related Articles

A former Spanish disco-pub confirmed as lost medieval Synagogue

11 February 2023

11 February 2023

In the Andalucian city of Utrera, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 14th-century synagogue. The discovery, made public on...

Roman mosaic found under the pavement in the narrow streets of Hvar

13 February 2022

13 February 2022

In the Old Town on the Adriatic island of Hvar, Croatia, a Roman mosaic was unearthed beneath a narrow street....

Ancient Greeks Built a Road to Haul Cargo Overland: The Father of the Railway: Diolkos

6 May 2024

6 May 2024

The Diolkos, an ambitious road that crossed the entire Isthmus of Corinth and was partially paved with stone, was built...

A rare statue of K’awiil, Mayan god of Lighting have uncovered in Mexico

1 May 2023

1 May 2023

In southeastern Mexico, archaeologists uncovered a rare sculpture of a powerful Mayan god near the path of a large-scale rail...

4,500-Year-Old Three Warrior Graves Found in Germany, One Still Wearing an Arm Guard

30 January 2025

30 January 2025

Extraordinary discovery during the construction of a New Power Line: Archaeologists unearth a cemetery from the Copper Age with Three...

Origin of Ivory Rings Found in Elite Anglo-Saxon Burials

2 July 2023

2 July 2023

An elite class of ancient Anglo-Saxon women were buried with hundreds of ivory rings, and the origin of these ivory...

Archaeologists discover a 4,000-year-old stone board game in Oman

10 January 2022

10 January 2022

The joint Polish-Omani archaeology team has discovered a 4,000-year-old stone board game whilst excavating a Bronze Age and Iron Age...

2800-year-old two Swords found in Germany from the start of the Iron Age

8 June 2022

8 June 2022

During archaeological excavations in preparation for the construction of the fire station in the Frieding district of Andechs in southern...

350,000-Year-Old Human Settlement have been Discovered on the Arabian Peninsula

17 May 2021

17 May 2021

One of the world’s oldest Acheulean sites was found in the northern region of Hail in Saudi Arabia. Al Nasim...

Australia’s 1,400-year-old Mysterious Earth Rings: Evidence of Millennia of Human Effort, Not Natural Formation

21 January 2025

21 January 2025

A chain of mysterious earth rings in the Sunbury hills at the fringe of Melbourne, in Australia have been found...

3,500-Year-Old Tomb of King Thutmose II Discovered: The First Royal Burial Unearthed Since King Tutankhamun

19 February 2025

19 February 2025

Egyptian officials have announced a groundbreaking discovery: the long-lost tomb of King Thutmose II, marking the last of the royal...

Recent Excavations Unveil Five Remarkable Statues, Shedding Light on Perge’s Roman Heritage

12 February 2025

12 February 2025

During the excavations in the ancient city of Perge in Antalya, one of the most organized Roman cities of Anatolia,...

The excavation, which started in a cave in Turkey’s Mardin, turned into a huge underground city

19 April 2022

19 April 2022

In an underground city known used as a settlement in the early Christian era, in the Midyat district of Mardin,...

A Scandinavian Roman gladiator in York: Research Reveals Unknown Migrations Before the Viking Age

7 January 2025

7 January 2025

Scandinavian genes were present on the British Isles several centuries earlier than previously thought, including evidence from a man buried...

The discovery that surprised archaeologists; a Rare glass cup adorning the table of rich Romans in Crimea

2 April 2022

2 April 2022

A discovery made in Frontovoye-3 necropolis in Crimea shows that during the Roman Empire there were more centers of glass...