The 2005 return of the Aksum Obelisk to its original site in northern Ethiopia is a highly symbolic event. Its reinstallation this summer (2008) is a genuine technical feat.

© UNESCO/Michel Ravassard

The second segment approaches the first. The technicians insert the Kevlar bars in the new holes, to increase the stele’s seismic resistance.

© UNESCO/Michel Ravassard

Before and after: one of the metal bars (18 cm diameter) inserted in the stele in the late 1930s, in Italy, and one of the new ones (5 cm diameter) made of synthetic fibres inserted in Ethiopia.

© UNESCO/Michel Ravassard

A risky operation: temporary metal reinforcements used during the stele’s transport were replaced with new ones, making it possible to lift the granite blocks and place them inside the tower.


back to the article