The Lioness of Gobedra is a rock sculpture located in Gobo Dura (Gobedra), Ethiopia. It is a representation of a crouching lioness around three metres long, which was carved into a relief on a large phonolite[1] rock outcropping situated two kilometers west of Axum. It was first described by German archeologists in 1913.
The reason for this isolated stone carving is unknown, but the subject of much speculation. A local story, according to Philip Briggs, is that Archangel Michael was attacked by a lion here, and "he repelled the lion with such force it left an outline in the rock." Not far away is a quarry, where the stelae that adorn Axum are thought to have been carved, and there is a partially-carved example of one.[2]
Notes
↑ Miruts Hagos; Koeberl, C.; Jourdan, F. (2017). "Geochemistry and Geochronology of Phonolitic and Trachytic Source Rocks of the Axum Obelisks and Other Stone Artifacts, Axum, Ethiopia". Geoheritage. 9 (4): 479–494. doi:10.1007/s12371-016-0199-7.
↑ Philip Briggs, Guide to Ethiopia, fifth edition (Old Saybrook: Globe Pequot Press, 2009), p. 264
Axum, or Aksum, is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents. It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole region in addition parts of West Asia as Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. It ruled the region from about 400 BCE into the 10th century. Axum is located at the La’ilay Maychew district of Ethiopia.
The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is the fifth-largest by area, the fifth-most populous, and the fifth-most densely populated of the 11 regional states.
The Obelisk of Axum is a 4th-century CE, 24-metre (79 ft) tall phonolite stele, weighing 160 tonnes, in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. The obelisk ends in a semi-circular top, which used to be enclosed by metal frames.
A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Because freestanding rocks of sufficient size are rare, such edifices are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain. They can be of comparable architectural complexity to constructed buildings.
The Church of Our Lady, Mary of Zion is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church which is claimed to contain the Ark of the Covenant.
The Book of Axum is the name accepted since the time of James Bruce in the latter part of the 18th century CE for a collection of documents from Saint Mary's Cathedral of Axum providing information on History of Ethiopia. The earliest parts of the collection date to the mid-15th century during the reign of Zar'a Ya`qob.
Imam Ahmed Stadium It is mostly used for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Harar City F.C.. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 people. Dire Dawa City S.C. briefly used the stadium as its home in 2018 while renovation were taking place at their own home stadium, Dire Dawa Stadium.
Kola Tembien is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is named in part after the former province of Tembien. Part of the Mehakelegnaw Zone, Kola Tembien is bordered on the south by Abergele, on the west by the Tekezé River which separates it from the Semien Mi'irabawi Zone, on the north by the Wari River which separates it from Naeder Adet and Werie Lehe, on the east by Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone, and on the southeast by Degua Tembien. Towns in Kola Tembien include Guya and Werkamba. The town of Abiy Addi is surrounded by Kola Tembien.
Dogu'a Tembien is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is named in part after the former province of Tembien. Nowadays, the mountainous district is part of the Southeastern Tigray Zone. The administrative centre of this woreda is Hagere Selam.
Hawzen is an Ethiopian District or woreda in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Hawzen is bordered on the south by Kilte Awulaelo, on the west by the Mehakelegnaw (Central) Zone, on the north by Ganta Afeshum, and on the east by Saesi Tsaedaemba. Towns in Hawzen include Hawzen and Megab; villages include Koraro.
Hawzen is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 13°58′N39°26′E with an elevation of 2105 meters above sea level. Its market day is Wednesday. It is the largest settlement in Hawzen woreda.
Sekota, also spelled Sokota, Sakota, Soqota is a town and separate woreda in northern Ethiopia. The name is likely from the Agaw word sekut, "fortified village." Located in the Wag Hemra Zone of the Amhara Region, Sekota has a latitude and longitude of 12°37′31″N39°02′06″E and an elevation of 2266 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by woreda of Soqota.
The Cramond Lioness is a Roman-era sculpture recovered in 1997 from the mouth of the River Almond at Cramond in Edinburgh, Scotland. The sculpture, one of the most important Roman finds in Scotland for decades, was discovered by ferryman Robert Graham.
The Kingdom of Aksum, also known as the Kingdom of Axum, the City-State of Axum, or the Aksumite Empire, was centered in East Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in what is now northern Ethiopia, and spanning modern-day Eritrea, Djibouti and Sudan, it extended at its height into much of Southern Arabia during the reign of Kaleb, King of Axum.
Descent of the Ganges, known locally as Arjuna's Penance, is a monument at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Chengalpattu district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 96 by 43 feet, it is a giant open-air rock relief carved on two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
Biete Lehem is an underground monolith church carved into rock. It is located in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It was created during the Kingdom of Axum. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. The name Biete Lehem is from Bethlehem Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם.
The phonolite or clinkstone of northern Ethiopia is a shallow-seated igneous rock. The phonolites intruded and punctured the Mesozoic sedimentary rocks and the Tertiary flood basalts some 19 to 11 million years ago.
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