Aksum obelisk on the aeroplane, photo: UNESCO/N. Burke

The first and second phases of an exceptional project to reinstall an obelisk from the ancient Ethiopian city and World Heritage site of Aksum, have been completed.

The second block was installed on 25 July. The Aksum Obelisk reinstallation project is funded by the Italian government.

The first phase of the reinstallation works of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location in the ancient city was completed on 12 June 2008. The first and second of three blocks of the stele, 24.3 metres high and weighs 152 tons, have been successfully and smoothly mounted.

Placement of the third and final block will begin 30 July and be completed around 5 August 2008.

The reinstallation project is being undertaken by UNESCO contractor Croci Associati and uses an innovative high-technology approach to avoid risk to the monument and its surroundings. The inauguration ceremony will take place on 4 September.

Aksum lay at the heart of the Ethiopian kingdom between the 1st and the 13th century CE and include obelisks, giant stelae, royal tombs and the ruins of ancient castles. The World Heritage site was inscribed in 1980. In 2005, the Ethiopian and Italian governments requested UNESCO to send an evaluation team to look into returning it to the site at Aksum. The obelisk had been taken to Italy and erected in Rome in 1937.

Facts and Figures on the Aksum Obelisk Reinstallation (links to a Word doc)