Under the supervision of Dr. Susan McIntosh, Brian Clark will conduct dissertation research including surveys and excavations around the historically significant 13th-century church of Geneta Mariam in north-central Ethiopia. As in many present day nations, especially in the developing world, religion plays an important role related to governance and centers of power and influence may shift over time. This project is significant because it examines in detail one such system which served to preserve social stability within a traditional society for an extended period.
As a pivotal part of historic imperial governance, the royal church of Geneta Mariam is a prime location to investigate the political structure and economy of the early Solomonic Dynasty as it reconstituted the empire following the decline of the former capital, Aksum. Three archaeological sites have been identified in the vicinity of the church; these include an extensive iron working area likely associated with the church's construction and the remains of a large community, possibly a royal camp, a mobile settlement type that replaced the use of fixed capitals.
As a means to support the emperors' consolidation of control over the empire, Solomonic emperors patronized clerical communities, granting them rights similar to the feudal nobility. Such royal churches then became the political and economic centers of territories under their control and were essential nodes in the support network that permitted Ethiopian emperors to migrate perpetually around the empire, consolidating their hegemony. The mobile royal court traveled in large camps, which were in effect urban capitals by most definitions save their mobility. The proposed archaeological research project will investigate the political and economic conditions of the Empire as it emerged around such royally-sponsored churches in part by examining archaeological remains relevant to the organization of labor and industry at the iron working sites associated with the church. In addition, extensive surface and subsurface surveying and targeted excavations of the probable royal campsite will shed light on the structure of social organization and of mobile political capitals in Ethiopia and their direct associations with prominent royal churches.
Aside from its significance as one of the few archaeological investigations of post-Aksumite archaeological sites in Ethiopia, this project will contribute to a number of major contemporary theoretical issues. The collection of economic, political and social data comparable to that from the Aksumite Period, for example, will contribute to archaeological understandings of how and why complex societies collapse and regenerate. The study of a mobile capital with an analytical emphasis on cross-cultural comparison to similar political systems will also contribute greatly to the understudied fields of mobile political capitals and mobile cities. This study will also contribute to our understanding of the variability of governance in complex societies and provide a further example of indigenous African urbanism that challenges normative notions of urbanism more generally.
This project will permit the completion of Mr. Clark's PhD research and further train two Ethiopian archaeology graduate students from Addis Ababa University. The students already hold government positions in Ethiopia's heritage management infrastructure and further training and experience will ultimately benefit their country. Local residents also hope that greater scientific attention toward the church and its surroundings will emphasize its historical significance on par with better-known sites such as the neighboring UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela. In turn, greater recognition is expected to have important impacts on local tourism and development.
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Archaeological Investigations at Genta Mariam. Outcomes Report This project examined the archaeological remains around the historic Post-Aksumite church of Geneta Mariam, near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela, Ethiopia. The broad goal was to examine archaeological evidence for the formation and development of civil, economic and political institutions related to royally-sponsored churches, which were in effect extensions of the revived monarchy. Because very little archaeological research has been conducted on post-Aksumite sites (c. 800 CE to present), the primary objectives were to develop baseline archaeological data including, for example, a ceramic chronology and typology, the identification and characterization of various habitation and occupational features, and the description of settlement and land-use patterns. Archaeological data was supplemented with local oral-historical and ethnographic research, particularly as they relate to specific practices such as blacksmithing, pottery manufacture and an area locally considered to be the site of a royal encampment, a feature that could greatly improve our understanding of Ethiopian and African urbanism. At the church itself, collaboration with other researchers was also undertaken, studying and documenting church records and artifacts. Analysis of the material remains and data gathered is ongoing. However, the initial findings may be summed up as follows: surface surveying, shovel tests and test excavations revealed an unequal preservation of archaeological remains across the study area with erosion and deflation the primary causes. Historical and oral-historical studies demonstrate that the recent past has also seen dramatic shifts in settlement and land-use patterns, including extensive resettlement, deforestation and recent land-management projects. The net impact of these changing patterns has been to abet erosion and deflation and an increased muddying of the archaeological record. As these processes became clearer, however, it was easier to distinguish and typify different types of archaeological materials and features, leading to the identification of a number of domestic and occupational sites and features extending from the recent past back through at least the 1700s. It is still early to confirm or dismiss the existence of even earlier archaeological remains, specifically those contemporary with the founding of Geneta Mariam Church in the early second millennium CE; however, it is entirely possible such remains have been disturbed by the combined factors of detrimental natural forces and changing human subsistence and settlement patterns. Whether this is the case or not, the outcomes of this project will provide an invaluable case study in the natural and anthropogenic processes affecting highland Ethiopian archaeology at non-monumental occupational sites. In turn, this may then be used as a guideline for future research in similar areas of Ethiopia, helping to define more effective research techniques and isolate the most promising archaeological sites from potentially heavily disturbed areas. Throughout the project, engagement with the local community was considered an important step to sustain good will between researchers and the community while helping to advance the community’s interests in using its cultural heritage to encourage economic growth. Meetings were held with community groups to explain the nature of our research and discuss the significance of the region’s history and material remains. The two most tangible outcomes of these discussions was the production of an English- and Amharic-language poster for Geneta Mariam Church which explains the history and significance of the church and region and takes into account the sensibilities of the modern residents. The second was the facilitation of a dialogue between church leaders and the community on how best to deal with the artifacts that residents recover regularly recover in the course of their daily work. Currently, many residents attempt to sell these items to tourists, which is illegal. We proposed alternative options such as housing artifacts in a communal building or at the church’s newly constructed treasury building, which could act as an informal museum, further enticing tourists while preserving the region’s material heritage for both residents and scholars. In exchange, we proposed alternative means of gaining tourist revenue that we felt might be more attractive to tourists and sustainable for the local community.
