Bilet and the wider world. New insights into the archaeology of Islam in Tigray

Julien Loiseau; Simon Dorso; Yves Gleize; David Ollivier; Deresse Ayenachew; Hiluf Berhe; Amélie Chekroun; Bertrand Hirsch

Journal articles

Bilet and the wider world. New insights into the archaeology of Islam in Tigray

Julien Loiseau ¹ Simon Dorso ² Yves Gleize ³ David Ollivier ⁴ Deresse Ayenachew ¹ Hiluf Berhe ⁵ Amélie Chekroun ⁶ Bertrand Hirsch ⁷

1 AMU - Aix Marseille Université

2 UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2

3 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie

4 LA3M - Laboratoire d'Archéologie Médiévale et Moderne en Méditerranée

5 Mekelle University

6 IREMAM - Institut de Recherches et d'Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman

7 Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Abstract : Recent survey and excavation have found substantial evidence for medieval Muslim communities in Eastern Tigray. Although settlement of Muslims nearby modern Kwiha was previously known based on epigraphic evidence, its exact location remained unnoticed. Fieldwork with the support of the ERC project HornEast resulted in the identification of the site of Bilet and in the first excavation of a medieval Muslim cemetery on the Ethiopian highlands, along with the survey of several other Muslim cemeteries in the area. New evidence is highlighting the flourishing of Muslim communities, connected with the wider Islamicate world, at the very heart of the Zagwe Christian kingdom.

Keywords : Ethiopia Red Sea Islam Cemetery Funerary archaeology Arabic epigraphy Connected history

Document type :

Journal articles

Domain :

Humanities and Social Sciences / Archaeology and Prehistory

Humanities and Social Sciences / History

Complete list of metadatas

https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-03086740
Contributor : Amélie Chekroun <>
Submitted on : Tuesday, December 22, 2020 - 8:05:53 PM
Last modification on : Wednesday, December 23, 2020 - 3:33:53 AM

Bilet and the wider world. New insights into the archaeology of Islam in Tigray

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Bilet and the wider world. New insights into the archaeology of Islam in Tigray

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