3416400751

Archaeological Collections of

THE ETHIOPIAN INSTITUTE FOR STUDY

and Research, Addis Ababa

Whcn His Imperial Maj es ty Maile Selassie I founded the Archaeological Section of the Ethiopian Institutc for Study and Research, a considerablc part of the premises was reservcd for the display of the archaeological collections.

The idea was to have, not so much a muscum, as an exhibition, designed to familiarizc the public with one aspect of the Section’s activi-ties. This—as each year has brought ncw acqui-sitions—has involved a continual process of fresh sclection, both from sites already known and from those not previously represented in the Scction. Since the premises, and often the materiał itself, wcrc not by naturę suited to archaeological display, a considerablc effort had to bc madę in order to ensurc that muscum principlcs were, ncvcrtheless, obscrvcd.

Special attention was paid to the problcms raiscd by colour, from the plastic and psycho-logical standpoints, sińce a muscum must bc a single unit in which each valuc, whether stem-ming from a form or from a colour, acts on the senses as wcll as on the mind of the viewcr, each psychological valuc, therefore, being accom-panied by a plastic ealue.

Light must always be a vital element in sur-face, mass and space; without it, thcrc can be no hope of conveying, plastically, the form of a surface, the outline of a mass, or the atmosphere of a space. Only through the instrumentaiity of light, therefore, can an object come to life or a particular featurc bc apprehendcd. It was with thcsc facts borne in mind that we embarked on a rational organization of the exhibition rooms.

On entering, the visitor sees a colourcd map, painted on the wali and indicating the various archaeological sites of Ethiopia visited or investigatcd by the Scction. He can thus see the location of each sitc and, from the various ccntrcs of culture, identify the main routes of communication uscd in the time of the Axumite Kingdom.

An intercsdng reconstruction of a seulptured wooden arch from the ancicnt church of Yeha in the Tigre provincc convcys an idea of Axumitc architccture in the 6th century. By a proccss of lining it has bccn possiblc to recons-titute part of the pillars and bases of this arch in restrained colouring, so as not to interfere with the austere beauty of the arch itself. The thrce-dimensional effcct is hcightened by a background canvas representing, in perspcctive, the interior of a church. A lighting arrangement similar to theatre footlights illuminates the background against which appears the outline of the arch, light being cast also on its inner sidc.

Stone altars bearing South Arabian inscrip-tions, dcdicatcd to the moon god Almaqah and originating from the Haulti-Mclazo sitc, arc placcd on stepped plinths covcred in black fabric. This arrangement combines harmony with restraint. Evcn the wali is part of the dccorative schcmc, not so much by its colour as by its surface, which bears, in relief lettering, a short cxp!anation of the objeets displayed.

As regards topography, one arca has been set aside for the inicjał work carricd out in March 1957, on the actual site of the ancicnt Axumite port of Adulis, on the Red Sea,whcrc a number of cut Stones, found at a depth of 20 fcct or so, had enabled the ancicnt harbour to bc locatcd. Several items from these finds arc displayed, together with a relief map showing the confor-mation of the bay and the sitc of Adulis itself.

In the centre of one exhibition room is a series of four showcases arranged in couplcs, back to back; the whole is mounted on a plinth some 20 inches high, which cnables all the objeets displayed to bc clearly seen. The showcases are lit from the inside, each with a different background colouring. One contains pottery and various bronzc objeets from the tombs cxcavated at Sabea, a sitc in the Agamę region; they arc arranged in chronological order, and displayed exactly as they werc found. The objeets stand on three different lcvcls representing, symbolically, the different depths at which they wcrc discovcrcd; but the bronze items arc hung from abovc, so as to givc an impression of space around them. The next showcasc displays, morę convcntionally, pottery and other objeets of acsthctic inspiration, all originating from Haulti, a fcw miles from Axum; these are mounted on stands of various heights or materials, which enhance their attraction (fig. So).

The showcases on the other side have as their subjcct the cxcavations at Axum, the ancient holy Capital of Ethiopia. Here, too, the order of the display is chronological, according to the strata in which the objeets wcrc dis-covercd. They inelude a selcction of pottery, bronzc (nails and rings) and glass objeets (glass pearls or colourcd baguettes used for making jewcllery), found af the rarious lcvcls. This arrangement illustrates the different tcchniques used at each epoch; in the latcr strata, for instance, there is a complete absence of bronze tools, iron having been preferred by rcason of its greater mallcability and suitability for mechanical purposes (fig. Sr).

It is a common error to leavc unexplained, for the visitor, certain archaeological techniques. The new exhibition herc describcd avoids this shorteoming by displaying a number of plans, models and photographs. In this way archaeo-logy, thanks to a judicious cxplanation, attracts the young visitor as a possiblc vocation—a rcsult which, formerly, a mere visit to a muscum could hardly havc achicvcd.

A 1: 50 scalę model representing a vertical section, with horizontal cxtension, of the most recent excavations introduccs the public to elcmcntary stratigraphy in a first-hand, vivid way, and shows the architectural remains uncovered at the surface. This tcchnical display is completed by plans madę before and after the excavations, as well as by photographs taken on the spot and illustrating the different stages of the excavation work itself.

In the casc of the pottery and other utilitarian objeets, it would havc bccn better if the display had been a functional one, bascd on consi-derations of household techniques, but the information so far available in this field was not sufficient to warrant the painting of a picturc which at the present stage would havc been regarded as injustifiably precise.

It was not intended to organizc a permanent muscum. New excavations will add to the collections ; and these will then bc accommodated in a new building—specially designed for the purpose—which His Imperial Majcsty has already presented, thus underlining the great interest taken in the Archaeological Section of the Institutc by the Crown.

G. Catla.

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