Thirty-two historic/archaeo Sites in the Central Shoa-Addis Ababa area.

A first grouping attempt, description and suggestions for their study, promotion and preservation.

Prepared for the ARCCH

The new sites were found mainly via remote sensing and short visits, published by H. Breternitz/
R. Pankhurts and M. Viganò from 2009, three rock hewn churches are known since generations.

All these sites, with the exception of the 1950s limited excavations in Washa Mikael, and an
investigation on the Wodela (Wechacha) site by F. Anfray, have not been sounded.

Four groups of extremely interesting sites, mostly first seen from satviews. The richest archaeo site cluster in Ethiopia to our
surveys so far, with areas in Tigray and a swathe of eastern Hararge. Where those who destroyed the area historically come from.

Entoto Group:

1. Washa Mikael.
2. An Hamlet to its South, limited to just over one hectare and about fifteen structures.
3. The Entoto Citadel and Town, including two rock hewn churches and two other niches or
tombs in tufa rock. A thirty hectares site of standing with a pentagonal towered fortress and
some elitist grand structures. It appears to correspond with Barara on the Fra Mauro map.
Some seven soundings in areas I selected of the 1,4x0.4 km elliptical overall site are
urgently needed to start evaluating the major and vast built area.
4. The Kalu hill, briefly occupied by the Fascist Italian 2nd gun battery of the 1st Reggimento
Autotrainato, Car-pulled Regiment. Stone “casermes”, possibly not fascist are seen near
much older perimetral walls on the top. Inscriptions on a post detail the Italian presence.
5. The Yeka “Talian Meda” or “Italian Field” parallelogram fortress. I presume it is ancient,
while one of three casermes has a concret floor and is obviously recent. At a limited distance
from it lies a very interesting destroyed fortified palace with four towers in the outer walls.
6. A set of occupational soils on the west side of the Gojjam pass, towards the newly found
town. It hosts ancient tombs absolutely worth investigating and excavating.
Wechacha-Menaghesha Group:

7. Menaghesha Mariam: excavated monk's shelters and some wall remnants, most likely were
represented as Ambanegest on the AD 1450 Fra Mauro map. It is locally well known as a
crowning site, its name derived -with little doubt- from this medieval role.
8. The Wechacha summit fort, 2.3 km of walls in three orders, doubled on the only attack
prone site, with a bastion to the west of the access gates, now largely destroyed by a peasant.
9. The Sahle Selassie 1830 granaries, now largely ruined by a Church construction (2011-14),
could have an underlying medieval Church. Video of the present Church superposition.
10. The main medieval site, also occupied by Sahle Selassie, then by his nephew Minilik, kings
of Shoa was inspected and limitedly excavated by Anfray.
11. A 100m by 60m ca. rectangular structure with very thick walls.
12. An area with round structures associated apparently with the above, possibly Sadai, or a
patriarchal siege on the Fra Mauro map. (Site six and following seven in the group).
13. A site similar to the above, both yet unvisited.

Dukem Group

14. Insilale Tiko. Terraces investigated by Anfray, see above: no artefacts available.
15. An enclosure on Bolo Doyo hill, yet to be visited.
16. Kora Mariam rock hewn Church, two roomed.
17. A possible fort N of Kora Mariam and W of Bolo Doyo.
18. A 15 m long wall found by Hartwig just north of Dukem.
19. A group of round walls.
20. A second group, apparently similar.
21. A group of eight circles, possibly house bases.

Group N East of Mount Yerer, accessible from Debre Zeyt

22. Sire, a complex hilltop site described by Hartwig Breternitz.

23. Ichichie terraces.
24. Double long terracing (2,4 km) north of Ichichie.
25. Ginbi Church, excavated by Lanfranco Ricci in 1973, ornated and rich in medieval artefacts.
26. The Wefuh Dejazmacc Segen Mulusew fort, not older than 200 years, its external enclosure
appears to have overbuilt the walls of a previous fortification.
27. A group of round terraces.
28. A modern Church site north of Wefuh, placed near structures to be evaluated.

Sites isolated from the main four groups

29. In Addis Ababa built town area, ruins of a medieval Church have been identified during the
excavation works for the new St. Mary Church in the CMC area of eastern Addis.
30. Just south of the Bole Airport, along the north side of the Bulbulla, or Bole river, a medieval
site composed of two rock hewn Churches, one had a preserved “tabot” of St. Tekle
Haymanot and another “tabot”. A second rock hewn chamber or set of chambers access has
not been reopened nearby, both have not been, like most here, investigated at all.
31. Voyager Theophile Lefebvre, visiting Sahle Selassie's siege on the Wodela hill top plain, n.4
in the Wechacha-Menaghesha group, paused with his horses, ten minutes from Filwuha in
now central Addis Ababa by the earthed columns of a Church after some nipple shaped hills.
This was in 1830 ca. The area is roughly identified. The ruins not yet.
 32. The “Lost Tower” on Amora Gedel, Debre Zeyt. Visited by Hartwig Breternitz, it appeared
in 2007 to be somewhat akin to the Wefuh Amhara fort, it has been destroyed since by local
peasants looking for stones for a field partition. See a site satellite views over time video.

Suggested intervention steps, in order of priority

First priority

Absolute priority should be given to the Pentagonal Fortress and Town up Entoto, the
“Barara” site. Due to its absolutely outstanding historical and archaeological value, high
tourist potential, and its extremely endangered state. This is an area capable of being proven to
have been not only a major medieval site, which is a clear fact, but an Ethiopian Capital.
It is a site capable of attracting within just three years up to 300.000 tourists, nearly three
times the present ticket sales in Lalibela, by far our most visited tourist site of any kind.

• Rubbish should be cleaned, measures found to avoid its reaccumulation. One day with locals
will suffice, some seven or eight volunteers or paid workers needed and a small lorry.
• Ivy and thrown rubble clearing off the internal structures of the inner fortress structures.
• Proper mapping of the whole site.
• Seven first soundings. Archaeological evaluations of samples, dating of structures from
wood remnants, limes, pottery and other. Micro-Raman investigation and dating of found
coloured plastered stone inner wall bits. Ornated stones evaluation and styling.
• Detailed study, artistic style recognition and dating of the Entoto Mariam “tabot” that bears
a dedication by Dawit, Emperor of Ethiopia, to St. Mary.
• Excavation of found tombs.

Second priority

• Preparation of an open air museum, concepting of activities like concerts and “son et
lumiere” events.
• Use of existing structures, e.g. the Fascist and present Police Station as a roofed museum of
Medieval Shoa. Possibly, also the abandoned unfinished mill and villa off the town doors as
visitors' and researching scholars' reception centres and site entry-gate exposition centres.
• Investigation and dating trials of the connected Washa Mikael hamlet found this year, n.2 on
the Entoto list. Its connection with Washa Mikael, in History and in a visit tour, together
with the short tract of large stones wall found on the lookout point to the Church South East.
• Inspection and investigation of the unnamed group of apparently isolated sites above,
excluding the last, now lost Amora Gedel Tower.

Third priority

• Use of the Kalu, Talian Meda, Wefuh forts that are convenient for outings and cultural
activities including concerts. The last is ten kms off the new motorway in Debre Zeyt.
• Preparation of site brochures, online and printed. Formation of local guides.
• Blueprints for potential investors: guidelines and architectural advice for lodges and services
• Soft loans for archaeological/historical sites investors of all kind, if directly related to site
preservation and promotion. E.g., developers of site lodges, horse and mountain bike renting
and vacation centres in the area. A photo guide by professionals is in need.
• Encouragement to further studies, on other sites, including by lodging scholars near them.
Wefuh. Dejazmacc Segen Mulusew fort, external enclosure on an older precinct.

Pentagonal fortress ramparts, yellow flower topped at New Year, 2006 Eth. Calendar

Prof. Marco Viganò, Misrak Kirs Ass. Addis Ababa, Sept. 11th 2014, New Years' Day.