Archaeology of Ethiopia

Ethiopia has several UNESCO World Heritage Sites related to archaeology which include Axum, one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa, the Awash Valley where Lucy, a hominin who lived around 3.2 million years ago was discovered, and Tiya, where Middle Stone Age tools and megaliths have been found.

Ethiopia is well known for its significant fossil-bearing beds which have borne some of the oldest and most complete fossil hominids.

[1] In 2019, archaeologists discovered a 30,000-year-old Middle-Stone Age rock shelter at the Fincha Habera site in Bale Mountains of Ethiopia at over 11,000 feet above sea level.

Thousands of animal bones, hundreds of stone tools, and ancient fireplaces were revealed.

[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Excavations at Mochena Borago Rockshelter in the Southwest Ethiopian Highlands have been taking place since 1998.

The obelisk which the ruler of Italy, Benito Mussolini, gave order should be moved from Axum in Ethiopia to Rome, where it stood in front of the FAO headquarters until 2005. Picture taken in the 1960s.