A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap, xxxv 



These pillars, which Riippell calls octagonal, are really 

 square, with slightly truncated corners, in each of which 

 is a rectangular notch. Under these canopies, no 

 doubt, stood formerly statues of gold, silver, and bronze, 

 as the places where the feet were let in are still clearly 

 visible. On only one of 

 these pedestals do the four 

 pillars still remain erect, 

 though the canopy has gone : 

 this is the " King's Seat," 

 on which the emperors of 

 Ab)'ssinia are crowned. 

 Without this ceremony many 

 would refuse to recognise 

 them as such. I was told 

 that, directly after the battle 

 of Adua, Menelik visited 

 Axum privately for the pur- 

 pose of his coronation, which 

 was performed hurriedly 

 and shorn of all its ancient 

 splendour. 



Just before reaching the 

 entrance to the outer enclosure, which is now by no means 

 continuous, as it appears to have been in Salt's time, we 

 passed a number of other broken pedestals. Proceeding 

 up the valley towards the north-east, we now came to 

 the most important group of monoliths I had yet seen. 

 These stand close to the bank of a stream, which separates 

 them from the hill of grey granite from which they were 

 hewn, and among them was the largest obelisk still 



The Largest Standing 

 Monolith, Axum. 



