By a Staff Reporter

Work has begun to restore a historic obelisk in the ancient city of Axum, after it was returned from Italy.

The Axum Obelisk, a symbol of Ethiopia’s identity, was looted by troops in 1937 during Italy's brief occupation of what was then known abroad as Abyssinia.

Italy returned the 1,700-year-old monument in 2005, after decades of negotiations between the two countries.

The obelisk, which weighs more than 150 tonnes, had to be cut up into three pieces to be taken to Ethiopia.

The officer in charge of its restoration says the process of assembling the giant monument is slow and complicated.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has overseen a multi-million-dollar operation to restore the obelisk in Axum in northern Ethiopia, where it once stood alongside around 100 other obelisks.

The obelisk, along with the Axum and Lalibela crosses, figures among Ethiopia's top national treasures and symbols.

"Engineers arrived this week and completed the verifying work. The first block will be linked with the foundation tomorrow through cables and cranes," Nada Al Hassan, UNESCO's project head said.

The 150 tonnes obelisk, which returned in three pieces to Axum, a listed World Heritage Site in 2005, is expected to be fully re-erected and inaugurated by September this year.

"It's a delicate object and we are trying to avoid any obstacles. The second and third blocks are scheduled to be reinstalled in the middle and end of July but the inauguration will take place on September 10 this year," Hassan added.

Italian soldiers carted away the 24 meter third-century AD granite funeral obelisk in 1937 on the orders of the then-dictator Benito Mussolini during his attempt to colonize Ethiopia.

Despite a 1947 agreement to return the obelisk, it remained in Italy until 2005, standing outside the Rome headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Axum was the capital of the Axumite kingdom that flourished as a major trading centre from the fifth century BC to the 10th century AD. At its height, the kingdom extended across what are today Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.

Many Ethiopians attach great significance to the obelisk as it symbolizes the country's long and rich past.

"It is a very important part of the heritage of Ethiopia. It was very hurtful that we couldn't defend it at the time," Member of Parliament Netsanet Asfaw said.

"It is a reminder to us of the war; of the suffering; of the plunder; and of fascist cruelty to our people. Now we are healing as a result of its return," she added.

British historian Richard Pankhurst joined the chorus of cheers for the obelisk's return.

"The return of the obelisk is a return of Ethiopia's historical culture. It shows the entire people that Mussolini was in fact guilty of war crimes and invasion without justification," he said.

Pankhurst also called for the return of hundreds of manuscripts and crosses looted by British soldiers during an expedition against the Horn of Africa nation's then-emperor Tewodros in 1855.

His mother, Sylvia Pankhurst, was a prominent British feminist who became a tireless pro-Ethiopian campaigner and virulently opposed Italy's invasion. She later moved to Ethiopia and was given a state funeral there in 1960.

The operation to dismantle the obelisk and return it to Ethiopia has been long and complicated. Simone Lattanzi, the technical director of the company Lattanzi which is responsible for the project, said it was the most difficult job he had ever done.

Last year he said when all three pieces have arrived they will be taken to the field where the obelisk was stolen from and stored there until the re-erection which is planned for September after the rains.

UNESCO has been carrying out a scientific and archaeological study on the area.


In 2002, the Ethiopian Government asked the UN to intervene to ensure Italy returns one of its most famous monuments, the Obelisk of Axum.