Monuments of Ethiopian Church Architecture in the Geralta Region: Materials of Field Research in Autumn 2020 in the Tigray Region (Ethiopia)

Abstract

The article, based on the results of field research in the fall of 2020, focuses on four churches in the mountainous Gärʽalta district in central Tǝgray. This strategically located most important role in the history of the Ethiopian state and region. There are many hard-to-reach rock-hewn churches that were centers of monastic activity. Gärʽalta’s many rock-hewn churches are well represented in the scientific literature. The focus of the work is three rock-hewn and one built churches, little studied in terms of analyzing their architectural plans and forms: Arbaʽǝtu Ǝnsǝsa (Mikaʼel) Gundo, Abunä Zärʼa Buruk, Kidanä Mǝḥrät Yaʽid, Maryam Pappasäyti. The article puts forward proposals on the typology of monuments, their dating; features characteristic of the architectural tradition of the historical period and, on the contrary, unique, inherent in the churches. Special attention is paid to the works of religious painting found in the interiors of these churches. Arbaʽǝtu Ǝnsǝsa (Mikaʼel) Gundo combines the features of two types of temples: traditional three-aisled basilicas and “open” plan basilicas. Abunä Zärʼa Buruk is an open plan temple. Kidanä Mǝḥrät Yaʽid characterizes the roughness of the forms, while retaining the common features of the three-nave plan. The temple at Pappasäyti continues to a certain extent the tradition of building church buildings in caves or in close association with rock formations. Additional relevance of the work is given by the fact that data collection in the course of field research immediately before the armed conflict in the northern Ethiopian region of Tǝgray started.