Monolithic Stelae
Kohaito, Eritrea
3rd century A.C.E.
DESTROYED BY THE ETHIOPIAN ARMY IN 2001

Being one of the four countries that form what is called the Horn of Africa, the country of Eritrea is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south and Djibouti in the southeast. From being an Italian colony to the annexation of British in the 1940s, the modern state of Eritrea gained its independence after a thirty-year war with Ethiopia from 1961 to 1991.

Eritrea and Ethiopia are two countries that are bound together by history, culture and geography. Their ongoing disputes and disagreements on the issues of boundaries and currency are like the two brothers who have fallen into a lengthy family feud with no long-term settlements seemingly possible.   

In 1998, a border war with Ethiopia over the town of Badme resulted in death of over 19,000 soldiers & civilians and displacement of more than 750,000 people. The disputed border that is often referred as “the geographer’s nightmare” by BBC was originally fixed in 1902 by a treaty between the Italian government that had colonized the state of Eritrea and the then Ethiopian king Menelik II.

While retreating back to its original borders the Ethiopian army destroyed Eritrea’s oldest standing structure dating back to the third century A.C.E. Belonging to the pre or early Akusmite period of the 3rd century with beautiful inscriptions, it was among the oldest stelas in the region.

An eyewitness, who was among the first people to visit the site states that Ethiopian soldiers used tanks to run over the steale. The destruction of the stela was discovered only over a year later as the fear of landmines kept the people away from the deserted site of Belew Kelew near Sanafe just 15 miles from Ethiopian border.

Loss of such kinds is not only a loss of the heritage of Eritrea, but is a loss for the world heritage.