Aksum

This two-volume work provides a detailed account of five seasons' archaeological research at Aksum, which Dr Phillipson directed on behalf of the British Institute in Eastern Africa and with the support of a Major Research Grant from the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Aksum was, during the first seven centuries AD, the capital of a major state, centred on the highlands of northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, which exercised a powerful influence on international trade. Christianity was adopted in the 4th century and Aksum played a vitally important role in the rise of Ethiopian civilization. The research here described was designed to provide a comprehensive view of ancient Aksum, including aspects that had previously received little attention.

Dr Phillipson and his colleagues describe royal tombs and commoner graves, domestic economy and international trade, monumental architecture and farming settlements, finely carved ivory and flaked stone tools. A secure chronological framework is provided and the whole picture is set in its Ethiopian, African and international context.

• Joint publication with the British Institute in Eastern Africa (Memoirs of the British Institute in Eastern Africa 17/Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London, No. 65)
• ISBN 1 872566 13 8
• 297mm x 210mm 2 volumes, 538pp 431 black and white illustrations (including photos)
• £95 Published December 2000
• Available from Oxbow Books