By: Samuel Kahsay

Eritrea is blessed with unique and marvelous archeological sites of national, regional and global significances. So far about 40,000 archeological sites have been identified, with more sites yet to be excavated in the course of time. Solid and compelling evidences of artifacts so far discovered at limited sites, nevertheless, indicate the existence of ancient civilizations in the Eritrean highlands prior to 800 BC (this was the period associated with the rise of the Axumite civilization).

These excavations eventually contradict inaccurate views previously held by the world and counterbalance imprecise historical facts, which argue that the Axumite civilization had been the core of ancient civilization in the Horn of Africa.
Evidences with regards to the existence of a more civilized and centralized civilization in the Eritrean highlands even before the foundation of the Axumite Kingdom have also been attributed to these new archeological findings.

The archeological site found in Dembezan, Dekemhare can be taken as solid evidence in highlighting the role of the region in the leadership of the Axumite kingdom. The stone that was collected by the Italian government during the Italian colonial period has inscriptions in Greek and Amharic, dedicated in the memory of King Sambrutes of Axum in the 2nd century AD. The most fascinating thing is that the king came to the village of Dembezan to celebrate the 24th anniversary of his reign. The first question that comes to one’s mind is why the king chose to celebrate his anniversary in one of the villages in the highlands. Administrator and Cultural Resource Manager in the National Museum of Eritrea, Mr. Rezene Russom, said that this monument could prove that Eritreans were also participating in the affairs of the Axumite royal family, because only the royal clan had access to power at that time. ”This stone is a documented evidence because all the information was inscribed on it in Greek and Amharic,” he said “ the power of kingship at that time was not simply confined to Tigrayans, but Eritreans from the highlands as well.“ He further said that chances are the King’s roots can be found in Dembezan, which gives more meaning to the fact that he chose to celebrate his anniversary in a village on the Eritrean highlands.

The findings of other recent scientific excavations also contradict the dominant historical paradigms that have prevailed in this region for the last 300 years. Excavations of the sites in the Great Asmara region-in Maitemenay in 1995 by Dr. Yosief Libeseqal and the Sembel sites by Dr. Peter Schmidt in 1998-99, and other sites in the greater Asmara by Matt Curtis testify to the rise of indigenous complex societies in 800-400 BC in the Eritrean highlands. Mr. Daniel Habtemichael, lecturer in the Department of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Asmara in a thesis paper he presented for his masters degree program wrote,” the date of this finding overlaps with the time of the alleged Sabaean immigration, thus disproving or at least questioning these ‘taken for granted’ hypotheses.”

Moreover, archeological findings in Maitemenay in the year 1997 produced historical relics dating back to 400 BC, which is 600 years before the foundation of Axum. The joint research undertaken by the Department of Archeology at the University of Asmara, and their colleagues at the University of Florida in 1998 also revealed that the “precursors of urbanism” in Eritrea were indigenous, and older than the well-publicized legacies of the Axumite Empire.

Mr. Daniel said, “the taken for granted theories about the first millennium BC are insufficient and not strong enough to withstand the challenge of the recent research around the Great Asmara area and other sites.” In his survey in the valley of Keskese, Daniel questions the long held claims of the Sabaean influence and the dominant historical paradigms. “Giving the rise of early Pre-Aksumite communities in the Eritrean highlands, there is a need for further research to explain what regional relationships may have existed during this period on either side of the Red Sea,” he said.

Professor Peter R. Schmidt in his discoveries also came up with findings that change the way the rise of urbanism is seen in the horn of Africa. In his research in the Great Asmara area, Professor Peter argues that the communities around today’s Asmara were the first in the region to show an organic growth toward demographic complexity. He concluded his research paper by saying,“ the ceramics of the Ona culture suggests that the communities around Asmara were indigenous. There is currently no evidence that the Ona communities were influenced by Sabean incursions to the south or that they were an integral part of the Ethio-Sabean cultural complex.” Similar research works have also revealed the development of an indigenous culture without any major outside influence.

Needless to say, intensive scientific research should be pushed forward to change the history of the region and revise the dominant historical paradigm that existed for the last 300 years. Therefore, comprehensive and extraordinary archealogical discoveries are critical to convince the world, and to maintain our national identity as well as the history of our ancient civilization.