Returning Ethiopia's looted history

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2020

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

The Stele of Axum, a 4th century Ethiopian treasure, was finally returned by Italy in 2005. It had been taken from the ancient town of Axum in northern Ethiopia by invading Italian fascist forces in 1937. The huge 24 metre tall stele was originally erected to mark the site of a royal tomb during the Kingdom of Axum. The Axumites were a powerful and sophisticated civilisation which emerged in northern Ethiopia more than 2000 years ago. Alex Last spoke to Ethiopian archaeologist Tekle Hagos of Addis Ababa University about the return of the great monument.

Photo: The Stele of Axum , now re-erected back in Axum, northern Ethiopia.(Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.
0:40.0	Hello and welcome to the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service with me Alex Last
0:45.6	as we present personal accounts of events that shaped our world and today a modern story but
0:51.6	rooted in Africa's ancient past.
0:54.8	In 2005, a massive historic Ethiopian monument,
0:58.6	the Axum Stellet, finally returned home almost 70 years after it was taken from Ethiopia by invading Italian forces.
1:07.8	It marked a rare victory in the struggle for the return of looted African treasures. For the people of Ethiopia, the state of Aksu is the symbol of national identity, symbol of national pride. National Pride.
1:34.0	At dawn one morning in April 2005, a huge Antonov cargo plane landed near the ancient town of Axum in the northern Ethiopian highlands.
1:45.0	On board was the first section of a huge carved stone monument,
1:49.0	a symbol of Ethiopia's fabled past, not seen on home soil
1:53.8	since it was taken to Italy by invading fascist forces
1:57.6	in the late 1930s.
1:59.9	To me, to archaeologists, who has been working, and out soon it was really exciting.
2:07.0	Teclay Hagos is an associate professor of archaeology at Aritz Ababa University.
2:12.0	When it arrived in the airport, it was covered with Ethiopia a plaque.
2:17.0	They transported the stainless through tracks.
2:20.0	Hundreds of people were sporting the Stelley.
	...

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