Across the internet’s bustling virtual marketplaces, a distressing trend has emerged as the relics of Ethiopia’s rich heritage find themselves tangled in the web of online trade. Reports of ancient artifacts, once safeguarded in the sacred halls of Tigray’s churches, have been surfacing on platforms like eBay.
Scrolls, manuscripts, and sacred bibles, each a testament to Ethiopia’s storied past, have been listed for a pittance, raising suspicions of looting amid the turmoil of the Tigray conflict. The story of these auctioned-off holy artifacts unfolds against the backdrop of a nation ravaged by violence, displacement, and famine.
Stories of Christian manuscripts being removed from ancient sanctuaries, some centuries old, coincide with reports of historic Muslim sites falling victim to plunder. Professor Michael Gervers of the University of Toronto has recounted tales of devastation across Tigray’s cultural landscape, including a ransacked Muslim tomb in the village of Negash.
Besides the shelling of the hilltop Amanuel church, the fallout of other cultural desecrations has been on full display for all to see in the Shire region, where it is believed that over 800 Ge’ez manuscripts have been pillaged. A Belgian expedition captured footage of a tank laden with spoils.
Philologist Hagos Abrha Abay has chronicled the destruction and looting of Tigray’s ancient sites. “It is hard to know if the Ethiopian artifacts we are seeing have been taken from Tigray without looking at them, but there have been more popping up almost every day over the last six months.”
As concerns mount, digital activists have rallied to compile a dossier of suspect items from eBay and Etsy listings in an effort to stem the tide of cultural hemorrhage. However, these activists’ time and resources are limited, and how many sales have already occurred is unknown.
Following coverage published by the British newspaper The Times, eBay began purging its platform of artifacts that lacked sufficiently detailed information about their origins, stating that the sale of such items goes against their terms of service, which are intended to adhere to international law.
Meanwhile, international experts have sounded the alarm over the perilous state of other religious artifacts, particularly within the sacred confines of the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.
Rumored to safeguard the fabled Ark of the Covenant, which is said to contain the Ten Commandments, the church’s preservation is in danger amid these intense outbursts of conflict. Since 2020, the church grounds have been inaccessible to outsiders due to violence between the military and the local population, and its condition is not known.
The war-torn nation grapples with its myriad challenges, and the urgency of the humanitarian crisis cannot be overstated. Millions in Tigray languish from severe food insecurity and are in dire need of outside assistance. Although efforts have been made to supply aid, each attempt has done little to alleviate the suffering.
As the conflict continues, the fate of Tigray’s cultural legacy hangs in the balance, a stark reminder of the fragility of human history and those people who find themselves woven between each thread.
