{{Short description|Archaeological site in Tigray Region, Ethiopia}} {{Infobox settlement <!-- Basic info ----------------> |official_name = Beta Samati |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |settlement_type = Archaeological site |pushpin_map = Ethiopia<!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map --> |pushpin_label_position = bottom |pushpin_mapsize = 250 |pushpin_map_caption =Location in Ethiopia <!-- Location ------------------> |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Ethiopia |subdivision_type1 = Region |subdivision_name1 = Tigray Region |subdivision_type2 = Zone |subdivision_name2 = <!-- General information ---------------> |coordinates = {{coord|14.3434|N|39.0353|E|display=inline,title}} |coordinates_footnotes = <!-- Area/postal codes & others --------> |postal_code_type = <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... --> |postal_code = |area_code = |footnotes = }} '''Beta Samati''' (or '''Betä Sämaʿti''', meaning 'house of audience' in Tigrinya) is an archaeological site near Yeha, Tigray Region, northern Ethiopia. It was an Aksumite settlement that was occupied from around 750 BC until the 7th century AD.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hunt | first=Katie | title=Archeologists unearth lost town from little-known ancient East African empire | website=CNN | date=2019-12-11 | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/11/africa/ethiopia-buried-town-discovery-beta-samati-scn/index.html | access-date=2024-02-02}}</ref>

==Discovery== In 2009, the Southern Red Sea Archaeological Histories (SRSAH) Project, which also surveyed over 80 different archaeological sites from 2009 to 2016,<ref>{{cite journal | last=Harrower | first=Michael J. | last2=Nathan | first2=Smiti | last3=Mazzariello | first3=Joseph C. | last4=Zerue | first4=Kifle | last5=Dumitru | first5=Ioana A. | last6=Meresa | first6=Yemane | last7=Bongers | first7=Jacob L. | last8=Gebreegziabher | first8=Gidey | last9=Zaitchik | first9=Benjamin F. | last10=Anderson | first10=Martha C. | title=Water, Geography, and Aksumite Civilization: The Southern Red Sea Archaeological Histories (SRSAH) Project Survey (2009–2016) | journal=African Archaeological Review | volume=37 | issue=1 | date=2020 | issn=0263-0338 | doi=10.1007/s10437-020-09369-8 | pages=51–67}}</ref> discovered the site of the town ruins under a mound adjacent to the village of Edaga Rabu ({{langx|ti|ዕዳጋ ሮቡዕ}}), located 6.5&nbsp;km northeast of Yeha, Ethiopia.<ref name="Cambridge">{{cite journal | last=Harrower | first=Michael J. | last2=Dumitru | first2=Ioana A. | last3=Perlingieri | first3=Cinzia | last4=Nathan | first4=Smiti | last5=Zerue | first5=Kifle | last6=Lamont | first6=Jessica L. | last7=Bausi | first7=Alessandro | last8=Swerida | first8=Jennifer L. | last9=Bongers | first9=Jacob L. | last10=Woldekiros | first10=Helina S. | last11=Poolman | first11=Laurel A. | last12=Pohl | first12=Christie M. | last13=Brandt | first13=Steven A. | last14=Peterson | first14=Elizabeth A. | title=Beta Samati: discovery and excavation of an Aksumite town | journal=Antiquity | volume=93 | issue=372 | date=2019 | issn=0003-598X | doi=10.15184/aqy.2019.84 | pages=1534–1552 | url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/beta-samati-discovery-and-excavation-of-an-aksumite-town/643FA872A5B2F9B5E0E765D850C4A526}}</ref>

==Excavations== thumb|Bucrania-themed ring found within the basilica at Beta Samati. In 2015, excavations of the site were funded by the Archaeological Institute of America. In 2016, the National Geographic Society funded excavations at the Beta Samati site.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ethiopia | website=SOLAR | date=2020-01-10 | url=https://sites.krieger.jhu.edu/solar/ethiopia/ | access-date=2024-02-02}}</ref>

Discoveries at the archaeological site included a basilica dating to the 4th century AD, a gold intaglio ring engraved with a bull's head, stone pendant, bucranium, stamp seal, incense burners, cow figurines, and coins depicting Kings Armah and Ezana.<ref>{{cite web | last=Brown | first=Marley | title=Early Adopters | website=Archaeology Magazine | url=https://archaeology.org/issues/online/collection/digs-ethiopia-beta-samati/ | access-date=2024-02-02}}</ref> The basilica may be the earliest known Christian building in sub-Saharan Africa. The mixing of Christian and bucranial motifs at the site suggests a complex religious tradition at this late antique site.<ref>Harrower et. al., p.1547.</ref>

==See also== * Ona culture * Matara, Eritrea * Aksum * Kingdom of Aksum * Ethiopian Christianity

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:2009 archaeological discoveries Category:Kingdom of Aksum Category:Archaeological sites in Ethiopia Category:Tigray Region Category:Archaeological sites of Eastern Africa Category:Aksumite cities