At an archaeological site in Ethiopia, researchers are uncovering the oldest Christian basilica in sub-Saharan Africa. (Ioana Dumit
Of interest perhaps to those who question facts and appreciate that history is as dynamic as those who probe it. After all, this is the planet of trial and error, not to mention needing a 360-degree view of anything. Fluctuations in certainty/uncertainty factors means all is subject to change as humans expand research faculties--natural and technology-assisted--to view life from different perspectives and elevations.
Church Unearthed in Ethiopia Rewrites the History of Christianity in Africa
Archaeologists now can more closely date when the religion spread to the Aksumite Empire
Read more or scroll down for excerpt
SMITHSONIAN.COM
In the dusty highlands of northern Ethiopia, 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.
An international assemblage of scientists discovered the church 30 miles northeast of Aksum, the capital of the Aksumite kingdom, a trading empire that emerged in the first century A.D. and would go on to dominate much of eastern Africa and western Arabia. Through radiocarbon dating artifacts uncovered at the church, the researchers concluded that the structure was built in the fourth century A.D., about the same time when Roman Emperor Constantine I legalized Christianty in 313 CE and then converted on his deathbed in 337 CE. The team detailed their findings in a paper published today in Antiquity.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/church-unearthed-ethiopia-rewrites-history-christianity-africa-180973740/#gsFFSQ0607BO348c.99
Based on following:
Harrower, M., Dumitru, I., Perlingieri, C., Nathan, S., Zerue, K., Lamont, J., . . . Peterson, E. (2019). Beta Samati: Discovery and excavation of an Aksumite town. Antiquity, 93(372), 1534-1552. doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.84
