Church Unearthed in Ethiopia Rewrites the reputation for Christianity in Africa
Archaeologists now can more closely date once the religion distribute to your Aksumite kingdom
A team of archaeologists recently uncovered the oldest known Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa, a find that sheds new light on one of the Old World’s most enigmatic kingdoms—and its surprisingly early conversion to Christianity in the dusty highlands of northern Ethiopia.
A worldwide assemblage of researchers discovered the church 30 miles northeast of Aksum, the main city regarding the Aksumite kingdom, a trading empire that emerged into the very first century A.D. and would carry on to take over much of eastern Africa and western Arabia. Through radiocarbon dating items uncovered during the church, the scientists figured the dwelling was built within the 4th century A.D., a comparable time whenever Roman Emperor Constantine I legalized Christianty in 313 CE after which converted on their deathbed in 337 CE. The group detailed their findings in a paper posted today in Antiquity.
The development regarding the church and its own articles confirm Ethiopian tradition that Christianity attained a date that is early a place almost 3,000 kilometers from Rome. (more…)
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