UNESCO TEAMS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE RETURN OF ETHIOPIAN OBELISK TO ORIGINAL
SITE

One of Ethiopia’s most iconic monuments, the 1,700-year-old Aksum Obelisk,
has been successfully reinstalled at its original location after the third
and final block was mounted in place this week by teams from the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The monument’s reinstallation, completed yesterday, took place six decades
after Italian soldiers carted the obelisk off to Rome during Benito
Mussolini’s invasion in 1937.

UNESCO said locals living near the Aksum World Heritage site in northern
Ethiopia, close to the Eritrean border, greeted the end of the
reinstallation with joy, organizing spontaneous musical concerts. An
inauguration ceremony has been slated for 4 September 2008.

The Aksum Obelisk, which is 24 metres high and weighs 150 tons, is the
second largest stela – or upright stone slab or tablet – on the Aksum World
Heritage site. It has become a symbol of the Ethiopian people’s identity.

After mediation by UNESCO, Italy decided to return the obelisk in April
2005, and paid for the dismantling in Rome and subsequent transport and
reinstallation. The monument’s size meant it had to be cut into three
pieces before being reinstalled.