Axum Obelisk
Object or Group Name
Axum Obelisk
Case Summary
During the 4th century C.E., King Ezana, the ruler of the Aksumite Kingdom, commissioned the carving and erecting of a 24ft tall graphite stone megalith, surrounded by six smaller (17ft tall) megaliths. The Aksumite Kingdom was centred on the Tigray Plateau in today's central-north Ethiopia, Eritrea, eastern Sudan, and Djibouti. It was a major regional power until the 12th century C.E., well known for its fine arts, metalsmithing, and monumental architecture.
In 1937, during Benito Mussolini's occupation of Ethiopia, Mussolini ordered that at least one of the six smaller obelisks (this one) be broken into three pieces and removed to Rome as a spoil of war. Re-erecting it at the Piazza di Porta Capena, south of the Colosseum, it stood as a trophy from Abyssinia (as the Horn of Africa region was then known). It remained there for 68 years.
In 1947, Italy signed a pledge to the United Nations to give back all property plundered from Ethiopia during Mussolini's regime, including the central obelisk of King Ezema, as well as manuscripts, metal artefacts, etc. Due to the logistics of how to take down, dissassemble and ship even this smaller obelisk, however, talks between Italy and Ethiopia stalled for decades.
After mounting pressure from Ethiopia for restitution, and the rejection of an offer to build hospitals or schools in Ethiopia in exchange for keeping the obelisk, the Italian government finally took action beginning in 2003. It dismantled this obelisk into three pieces and initially stored it in an airplane hanger in Rome while they sought a plane large enough. Eventually, each piece was shipped separately, with the first segment (the middle) arriving back in Axum (today a Christian town of 60,000) in early 2005.
Once all three pieces were assembled later that year, the obelisk was re-erected in its former position within the ring around the King of Ezana Obelisk. All of these obelisks are now a part of the City of Axum UNESCO World Heritage site.
In 1937, during Benito Mussolini's occupation of Ethiopia, Mussolini ordered that at least one of the six smaller obelisks (this one) be broken into three pieces and removed to Rome as a spoil of war. Re-erecting it at the Piazza di Porta Capena, south of the Colosseum, it stood as a trophy from Abyssinia (as the Horn of Africa region was then known). It remained there for 68 years.
In 1947, Italy signed a pledge to the United Nations to give back all property plundered from Ethiopia during Mussolini's regime, including the central obelisk of King Ezema, as well as manuscripts, metal artefacts, etc. Due to the logistics of how to take down, dissassemble and ship even this smaller obelisk, however, talks between Italy and Ethiopia stalled for decades.
After mounting pressure from Ethiopia for restitution, and the rejection of an offer to build hospitals or schools in Ethiopia in exchange for keeping the obelisk, the Italian government finally took action beginning in 2003. It dismantled this obelisk into three pieces and initially stored it in an airplane hanger in Rome while they sought a plane large enough. Eventually, each piece was shipped separately, with the first segment (the middle) arriving back in Axum (today a Christian town of 60,000) in early 2005.
Once all three pieces were assembled later that year, the obelisk was re-erected in its former position within the ring around the King of Ezana Obelisk. All of these obelisks are now a part of the City of Axum UNESCO World Heritage site.
Number of Objects
1
Object Type
Obelisk
Culture
Kingdom of Axum
Receiving Country
Ethiopia
Sources
Obelisk returned to Ethiopia after 68 years
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/apr/20/italy.ethiopia
Italians struggle to hand back looted Ethiopian obelisk
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/15/italy.artsnews
Aksum Journal; Looted Obelisk Casts a Long Shadow
https://web.archive.org/web/20210323201430/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/17/world/aksum-journal-looted-obelisk-casts-a-long-shadow.html
Obelisk of Axum
https://www.brilliant-ethiopia.com/obelisk-of-axum
MOLA Contributor(s)
Damien Huffer
Peer Reviewed By
Jason Felch
Liv Siefert
Citation
“Axum Obelisk,” Museum of Looted Antiquities, accessed December 10, 2025, https://mola.omeka.net/items/show/1765.