Evidence for the History of Early Solomonic Ethiopia from Tämben. Part I: Gäbrəʾel Wäqen

This research note presents some of the preliminary results of two recent fieldwork trips to the Qwälla Tämben wärädä-district, located in the Central Zone of Tǝgray. The visits enabled us to gather some new documentation that will be of value for research on the history of early Solomonic Ethiopia. The evidence presented in these series of contributions will be of interest to scholars focused on the foundation and decoration of Ethiopian churches during the fifteenth century. The first contribution of the series discusses the figure of a male saint carved on the wall of the church of Gäbrǝʾel Wäqen, which is located on the eastern slope of the mountain mass of Däbrä ʿAśa and was reportedly established by the Šäwan monk abunä Danəʾel