Mifsas Baḥri (Tigray, Ethiopia) 2013-2016. The southernmost outpost of the Aksumite kingdom in the wide Red Sea trade network. Poster notes

One tiny piece has been added to the puzzle of the Aksumite kingdom’s history during the Late Period (7th century CE and after) through our investigations of the church of Mifsas Baḥri. Four years of excavation by the Universities of Heidelberg and Mekelle’s joint research project, co-directed by Paul A. Yule and the author, and the efforts of an international team, have focused on the Mifsas Baḥri archaeological site 001. The church, its environs and the Lake Ḥashenge area were intensively scientifically investigated. The joint archaeological project of Mekelle and Heidelberg Universities, composed of an international team of experts in several disciplines, aimed to rescue the site, to involve the local community in its protection and to reconstruct the historical development of the area through the study of the archaeological materials and the landscape.