New Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia

Location

The site is located east of the small town of Kon and below and to the west of the built church of Maryam Däbrä Tsion. The site presently includes two new rock churches: Gäbrǝˀel and Śəllase. The latter is still being excavated.

 

Site Description

(by Tarn Philipp)

The ambition of the sole craftsman, Abba Memberu Emagne Admassie is comparable to that of master craftsman Gäbrämeskel Tǝsämme at the nearby Ambager Complex. Abba Memberu Emagne Admassie hopes to carve fourteen churches at Däbrä Tsion and envisions the site to become a place of pilgrimage. He has carved a total of four churches to date; two at Däbrä Tsion and two elsewhere. The first was Gäbrǝˀel Däbrä Tsion (July 2011 – February 2014 Gregorian Calendar), the second was Kidanä Məḥrät near Erget Ber (March 2014 – July 2016 Gregorian Calendar), the third was Gäbrǝˀel Yedoga Abuna Gäbrä Mänfäs Qǝddus near Taja (September 2016 – January 2017 Gregorian Calendar) and the fourth is Śəllase Däbrä Tsion, which was started in November 2017 (Gregorian Calendar) and is still underway.

Abba Memberu Emagne Admassie’s tool set includes two types of pick axe; one with a sharp, flat end and one with a pointed end, a hammer and a chisel. An axe is occasionally employed for harder rock and a shovel and wheel barrow are used to remove slag. All the tools are sharpened by the craftsman over a charcoal fire. Abba Memberu Emagne Admassie is also a farmer but when carving, typically does so for an eight-hour day. He doesn’t work on fasting days or throughout much of the rainy season. He employs top-to-bottom excavation and first clears a space roughly 1.5m high. He then adds columns, arches and any details before excavating further. He makes use of natural light near the entrance but uses a torch deeper within the rock. Precise vertical lines are achieved by hanging a piece of string with a stone tied to it. This enables him to mark out columns and doors before carving them. Abba Memberu Emagne Admassie prefers to complete each portion in its entirety before advancing further or deeper, as he has found that the exposed rock gradually hardens and so becomes more difficult to work.

 

Gäbrǝˀel, Däbrä Tsion

Gäbrǝˀel Däbrä Tsion has two entrances. That to the south is for women and that to the north is for men and priests. The south entrance includes a small antechamber and is reached by a 10m long carved trench. The antechamber is for the most part a natural cave with an uneven floor and roughly domed ceiling, but the wall includes carved niches believed to have been the work of Abune Moussie in the 6th century. Two roughly formed entrances give access from this space to the church.

The church is irregular, has an unusual layout and lacks sophistication. The qəne maḫlet runs north south through the middle of the church from the entrance on either end. The main body of the church includes three free standing columns which form two bays to the west and three to the north. The two bays to the west serve as the qǝddǝst and are unusually separated from the mäqdäs. The north wall includes a window in the west bay and the entrance, which rises abruptly within the church, in the central bay. The mäqdäs is raised from the qəne maḫlet and occupies the east part of the church. The mäqdäs is rather wide and has three arched entrances from the central church and a fourth entrance from the north east bay. The intermediate space within the right entrance from the natural cave gives access to the mäqdäs from the south. The east wall of the mäqdäs is said to be arched and the mänbärä tabot is of wood.

The columns range from rectangular to cruciform in plan. Arches occupy almost all positions but few are supported by bracket capitals. The two bays of the qǝddǝst include blind arcading of recessed aksumite arched windows. This motif is repeated above some of the arches in these bays. The ceiling is more or less flat throughout. There are three symbolic circular indentations on the ceiling of the qəne maḫlet in the centre of the church. The indentation to the north represents Adam, the middle Eve and that to the south, the Devil. Although the church was completed in February 2014 (Gregorian Calendar) it only received a tabot in July 2018 (Gregorian Calendar). Sheets of plastic have since been laid above the church in an effort to prevent water from leaking into the north of the church and potentially causing damage.

 

Śəllase, Däbrä Tsion

Although half incomplete at the time of this visit (August 2018), Śəllase Däbrä Tsion reflects the growing skill and competence of the craftsman. The church lies north east of Gäbrǝˀel Däbrä Tsion and is carved into the south east rock face. Śəllase Däbrä Tsion includes a sheltered entrance from the south. At present the church is two bays in width and three bays in depth. There is only one freestanding cruciform column, however, a second column to the north will soon be freed from the rock. Arches are sprung from the columns and supported by pilasters on the walls and the roof is flat throughout. The church is 5m wide, 8m deep and 1.8m high, but will be expanded to the north and east to include four free standing columns and then excavated a further 1.5m to form a church 3.5m in height. Śəllase Däbrä Tsion is expected to be completed around March 2019 (Gregorian Calendar).

 

Getting There:

From the junction in Gašäna, take the road south to the small town of Kon. In Kon, take the dirt road on the left, opposite the bank. After about five minutes, there is a right turn. Take this and continue for ten minutes. The church is visible on a small mountain to the left and is a forty-minute walk from the roadside. There is no clear path and it is necessary to cross several fields (swamped in the rainy season) to reach the foot of the mountain. A five-minute ascent brings one to the church.

 

Date(s) Visited: 20/21 August 2018