Archaeologist Michael Harrower of Johns Hopkins University and his colleagues have discovered a Christian basilica dated to the fourth century at the site of Beta Samati in northern Ethiopia, in what was the ancient kingdom of Aksum. Located on the Red Sea, Aksum was on the trade route linking Rome and India. The church is thought to have been built at about the same time as Aksum’s King Ezana converted the powerful kingdom to Christianity in A.D. 325. “There have been other fourth-century basilicas that are known, but most of them were discovered a long time ago and some of them just without a lot of artifacts or information to be had,” Harrower said.
Harrower, Michael J., Ioana A. Dumitru, Cinzia Perlingieri, Smiti Nathan, Kifle Zerue, Jessica L. Lamont, Alessandro Bausi, et al. “Beta Samati: Discovery and Excavation of an Aksumite Town.” Antiquity 93, no. 372 (2019): 1534–52.
The Empire of Aksum was one of Africa's most influential ancient civilisations. Traditionally, most archaeological fieldwork has focused on the capital city of Aksum, but recent research at the site of Beta Samati has investigated a contemporaneous trade and religious centre located between Aksum and the Red Sea. The authors outline the discovery of the site and present important finds from the initial excavations, including an early basilica, inscriptions and a gold intaglio ring. From daily life and ritual praxis to international trade, this work illuminates the role of Beta Samati as an administrative centre and its significance within the wider Aksumite world.