# Beta Samati
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{{Short description|Archaeological site in Tigray Region, Ethiopia}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Beta Samati
|image_skyline =
|imagesize =
|image_caption =
|settlement_type = Archaeological site
|pushpin_map = Ethiopia
|pushpin_label_position = bottom
|pushpin_mapsize = 250
|pushpin_map_caption =Location in Ethiopia
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia)
|subdivision_type1 = [Region](/source/Regions_of_Ethiopia)
|subdivision_name1 = [Tigray Region](/source/Tigray_Region)
|subdivision_type2 = [Zone](/source/Zones_of_Ethiopia)
|subdivision_name2 =
|coordinates = {{coord|14.3434|N|39.0353|E|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes =
|postal_code_type =
|postal_code =
|area_code =
|footnotes =
}}
'''Beta Samati''' (or '''Betä Sämaʿti''', meaning 'house of audience' in [Tigrinya](/source/Tigrinya_language)) is an archaeological site near [Yeha](/source/Yeha), [Tigray Region](/source/Tigray_Region), northern [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia). It was an [Aksumite](/source/Kingdom_of_Aksum) settlement that was occupied from around 750 BC until the 7th century AD.[{{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}}]
==Discovery==
In 2009, the Southern Red Sea Archaeological Histories (SRSAH) Project, which also surveyed over 80 different archaeological sites from 2009 to 2016,[{{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}}] discovered the site of the town ruins under a mound adjacent to the village of Edaga Rabu ({{langx|ti|ዕዳጋ ሮቡዕ}}), located 6.5 km northeast of [Yeha](/source/Yeha), Ethiopia.[{{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}}]
==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](/source/Archaeological_Institute_of_America). In 2016, the [National Geographic Society](/source/National_Geographic_Society) funded excavations at the Beta Samati site.[{{cite web | title=Ethiopia | website=SOLAR | date=2020-01-10 | url=https://sites.krieger.jhu.edu/solar/ethiopia/ | access-date=2024-02-02}}]
Discoveries at the archaeological site included a [basilica](/source/basilica) dating to the 4th century AD, a gold [intaglio](/source/Intaglio_(printmaking)) ring engraved with a bull's head, stone [pendant](/source/pendant), [bucranium](/source/bucranium), [stamp seal](/source/stamp_seal), [incense burner](/source/incense_burner)s, cow figurines, and coins depicting Kings [Armah](/source/Armah) and [Ezana](/source/Ezana).[{{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}}] The basilica may be the [earliest known Christian building](/source/list_of_oldest_church_buildings) in sub-Saharan Africa. The mixing of Christian and bucranial motifs at the site suggests a complex religious tradition at this [late antique](/source/Late_antiquity) site.[Harrower et. al., p.1547.]
==See also==
* [Ona culture](/source/Ona_culture)
* [Matara, Eritrea](/source/Matara%2C_Eritrea)
* [Aksum](/source/Aksum)
* [Kingdom of Aksum](/source/Kingdom_of_Aksum)
* [Ethiopian Christianity](/source/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
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Beta Samati](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Samati) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Samati?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.