Matara (Metara)
Matara · Metara · Matar · Kaskase
Pre-Aksumite Ethio-Sabaean to Late Aksumite (800 BCE–800 CE)·Ethio-Sabaean D'MT / pre-Aksumite → Aksumite·🇪🇷 Debub Region (Southern), Eritrea
About
About Matara (Metara)
Key Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite town on Tigrayan highlands caravans route Hawulti–Adulis corridor, Matara was 10 ha metropolis with 6 m tell, Pre-Aksumite palace of Kaskase (6th c BCE Sabaean?), Hawulti obelisk 5.5 m pre-Aksumite stone tower with Sabaean inscription, 5 Aksumite stelai (incl. largest south of Aksum), reservoir dam 12×8 m rock-cut, twin churches (Christian 6th c basilica over pagan), and aristocratic tombs (shaft). German mission 1959–63 (Anfray, Pirenne). Shows continuity Yeha→Matara→Aksum via Sabaean corridor. Surrounds teff fields. 1930s Italian. Erosion.
Why it mattersDocuments continuous urban tradition from Sabaean Yeha phase to Aksumite Christianity with stelai evolution.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Obelisk whether 5th c BCE Sabaean vs 2nd c CE Aksumite – Pirenne vs Fattovich
- 02Kaskase palace whether Sabaean outpost vs indigenous
Theories
- 01Fattovich cultural continuity Yeha→Matara corridor (1990)
- 02Hawulti obelisk as ancestor of Aksum stelai (Phillipson)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Pre-Aksumite 800–400 BCE obelisk; Aksumite town 100–800 CE; palace 6th c BCE
- Period
- Pre-Aksumite Ethio-Sabaean to Late Aksumite (800 BCE–800 CE)
- Culture
- Ethio-Sabaean D'MT / pre-Aksumite → Aksumite
- Builders
- Ethio-Sabaean elite then Aksumite
- Purpose
- Highland caravan city linking Yeha to Red Sea port Adulis for ivory and obsidian
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Pre-Aksumite 800–400 BCE obelisk; Aksumite town 100–800 CE; palace 6th c BCE
Initial construction
c. 1239 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
14.6794° N · 39.4242° E · 2100 m · 3 mapped features
Hawulti Obelisk (Pre-Aksumite)
obelisk5.5 m monolithic obelisk with Sabaean inscription 6th c BCE atop tell
14.6798° N · 39.4245° EAksumite Stelae Field
stelaeFive Aksumite stelai tallest 6 m near Matara tell
14.6790° N · 39.4238° EReservoir Dam
hydraulicRock-cut reservoir 12×8 m for town water supply
14.6788° N · 39.4240° E