Built by angels? Towards a buildings archaeology context for the rock-hewn medieval churches of Ethiopia

Abstract

The medieval rock-cut churches of northern and central Ethiopia bear witness to an ancient Christian heritage. Hitherto, their study has been largely confined to art-historical and architectural-historical disciplines, but this contribution argues that an archaeological approach may reveal much about their development, chronology and symbolism. Methodologies used in the study of the fabric and form of traditional ‘built’ churches may not be wholly applicable to the study of rock-cut structures, but there are other avenues which may be investigated using these techniques, and this paper outlines some of the approaches which might be usefully employed. Special attention is paid to the ‘functional’ engineering context of these structures as well as a consideration of some of the more symbolic ideas which might be ‘read’ from a study of architectural space.

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