Now in paperback. Illustrated account of Aksumite civilisation in its African and wider context. The author describes Ethiopia before Aksum, reviews the Aksumite civilisation, material culture, beliefs and social system, and surveys Christian Ethiopia after the end of the Aksumite kingdom. 14 col & 60 b/w ill, notes, refs, bib, index, 176pp, UK. BRITISH MUSEUM PRESS.

2002 0714127639 Paperback

Provides the first truly comprehensive multi-period study of the archaeology of Ethiopia, surveying the country's history, detailing the discoveries from the late Stone Age, including the infamous 'Lucy' and moving onto the emergence of food production, prehistoric rock art and an analysis of the increasing social complexity that can be observed from the remains of the first nucleated settlements. The author then discusses the Aksumite empire, the emergence of Christianity in the Middle Ages and Ethiopia's encounters with the west, leading up to the feudal Ethiopia of the twentieth century and the present day. Index, bib, b/w illus, 312pp, UK. ROUTLEDGE.

An account of research at the ancient Ethiopian capital. Index, bib, many illus, 369pp, UK. OXBOW BOOKS.

Now in paperback. In a chapel in the old church of Mary of Zion in Aksum, Ethiopia, is kept an object that emperors, patriarchs and priests have assured the world is the most important religious relic of all time: the Ark of the Covenant. Are the legends true? Or is this story a monumental deception? In a triumph of historical detective work the acclaimed Ethiopia expert Stuart Munro-Hay traces the extraordinary legend of Ethiopia's Ark through ancient texts, local stories, from the Bible and from the writings of sixteenth and seventeenth century Jesuits up to modern times before he reaches his shocking conclusion. 'The Quest for the Ark of the Covenant' promises to settle the mystery of the Ark of the Covenant for once and for all. Index, notes, chronology, app on document sources, map, b/w illus, 276pp, UK. I B TAURIS.

The story of the author's search for the Ark of the Covenant, ending in Ethiopia. Illustrated with b/w photos. Index, refs, maps, 600pp, UK. ARROW.

Explores the relationship between Portugal and Ethiopia during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries through historical research and many years of fieldwork to reveal Portugal's early Renaissance contact within the Ethiopian Highlands using a description of contemporary architectural vestiges. What started as a mission of exploration and discovery for the Christian kingdom of the great Emperor Prester John and Portugal's search for an ally against Islamic forces developed into diplomatic, military, religious, cultural and most long lasting of all, architectural ties between Portugal and Ethiopia. This great search started with the overland route of Portuguese explorer Pêro da Covilho that led him to the Ethiopian Highlands in 1493, thirty-seven years before Portugal's diplomatic embassy mission of 1520. Fully illustrated with colour photos and drawings. Index, bib, chrono, gloss, 198pp, CANADA. CCB PUBLISHING.