New Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia

Location

Maryam Mäwča is located atop a small mountain west of the Gärˁalta Range running south from Gʷəḥ. The new church is carved to the south of a neglected built church. Still further south and beyond a small outcrop, is an ancient rock church where priests still gather. The ancient church was abandoned prior to completion and is only one and a half bays in depth and less than two meters in height. The small entrance, which is raised a meter above the ground, indicates the top-to-bottom sequence of excavation that was employed.

Church Description

(by Tarn Philipp)

Maryam Mäwča is carved into the north west rock face and white-orange slag covers the area in front of the church. The façade includes two rectangular entrances separated by two square windows. One entrance is to the north aisle, the other to the south aisle. The windows, which appear square on the facade are arched on the internal elevation, and occupy the two central bays. The church is four bays in width and three bays in depth. The central mäqdäs extends still further east. Rather than forming a nave and aisles, five columns are arranged to define a large space immediately in front of the mäqdäs. This space is effectively two bays in width and depth and forms the qǝddǝst. Three steps rise east of the qǝddǝst to the mäqdäs, which includes three arched entrances. The qǝddǝst is surrounded by the qəne maḫlet on the north, south and west. The mäqdäs is rectangular and does not include a rock-hewn tabot.

All five columns are square in plan and align with one another. Flat beams cross the north, south and west bays but only that from the south column is received by a pilaster on the west wall. Flat beams also run between the columns to signify the qǝddǝst. The shafts of the columns in the west bay include a carved goblet on the central column and a cross on the outer columns. The north aisle extends an additional bay east to form a raised storage chamber. The ceiling is flat throughout but carved in several bays. The qǝddǝst ceiling includes a large recessed circle that diminishes three times to form a stepped dome. The ceiling of the four west bays includes similar features. The two bays to the north include a recessed rectangle that steps three times while that to the south includes a protruding cross within a recessed rectangle. The remaining bay includes a recessed four-sided triangle. Maryam Mäwča may be understood as the precedent for both Abba Libanos Koya and Giyorgis Manacheka.

Getting There

The church is a thirty minute drive south of Ḥawzen on the road to ʿAbiy ʿAddi. Maryam Mäwča lies south east of the road. The corrugated iron roof of the old built church is just visible from the roadside. However, there is no clear path and it takes about thirty minutes to reach the church.

Date(s) Visited: 22 July 2016, 21 September 2018

Co-ordinates: 13° 48’ 29’’ N, 39° 12’ 27’’ E