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Queen of Sheba's gold mine discovered in Ethiopia
The gold mine of the Queen of Sheba has been discovered in Ethiopia, the Guardian reports.
A local prospector led British archaeologist Dr. Louise Schofield to a mysterious mine in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region. Schofield believes that this was the source of the Queen of Sheba's fabulous gold, a large pile of which she gave to King Solomon when she visited the Holy Land, as is reported in the Old Testament, the Koran, and the Kebra Nagast, one of the holy books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Sheba was probably the Sabaean Kingdom, a wealthy kingdom that included what is now northern Ethiopia and Yemen. It rose to power 3,000 years ago and controlled trade along the Red Sea, especially the profitable spice trade.
Inside the extensive mine, Schofeld found an inscription in Sabaean and a stele bearing a carved sun and crescent moon, the symbol of the Sabaean Kingdom. The remains of a temple and battlefield were found nearby. Schofield is planning to start a major excavation at the site.
This can only be good news for Ethiopia's growing tourist industry. During a road trip around Ethiopia two years ago, I was stunned by the desolate grandeur of Ethiopia's Tigray region. The main attractions are Axum, the ancient capital of a kingdom dating from 100–940 AD and considered by many to be a successor state to the Sabaean Kingdom, and Debre Damo, an amazing clifftop monastery that I had to climb up a leather rope to visit.
When I returned to Ethiopia a year later to live in Harar, I found that tourism had increased. Most of the visitors I spoke with said that Ethiopia's history was one of the main reasons they came to visit, and the Queen of Sheba was often mentioned. While Ethiopia can be dangerous just like any other adventure travel destination, most regions are safe and I've had no trouble in the more than four months I've spent in the country. Going back is my number one travel priority this year.
Hopefully this latest discovery will help inspire more people to discover Ethiopia's long history, friendly people, great food, and of course the world's best coffee.
Photo of an Ethiopian painting of the Queen of Sheba on her way to meet King Solomon courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Gallery: Tigray and the Sabaean Civilization
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Hiking, History, Africa, Ethiopia, Yemen, Budget Travel, News, Middle East
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Vicki Feb 14th 2012 8:43AM
What wonderful possibilities this newly rediscovered mine offers! Will certainly keep an eye out to read what sort of interesting finds Dr. Schofield unearths! My grand daughters and I had a big discussion about the Queen of Sheba and her role and place in history,so will be waiting for the good info with tapping toe! Best of luck to Dr. Schofield!
bigbe Feb 14th 2012 10:13AM
so why doesn't it tell more about the mine?
JUST ME Feb 14th 2012 11:20AM
BEST NOT TO DISCLOSE LOCATION, SO THAT LOOTERS WILL NOT TAKE OR DESTROY ANY ARTIFACTS
gposner Feb 14th 2012 10:13AM
Great...now Ethiopia can begin to repay us for all the money we've sent them...They can now host their own marathons...
shbkyn Feb 14th 2012 11:21AM
The Africans don't owe anybody anything. The world need to pay Africa and her people for the robbery of her resourses and people. Africans built this world, extract out slavery, America would come to a hault.
Dawit Feb 14th 2012 10:14AM
There is no so-called Tigrean civilization. Queen of Sheba was an Ethiopian queen and not a Tigrean, unless Meles like everything else wants to steal and distort Ethiopian history as he has done for the last 40 years, besides stealing the country's resources for the benefit of his wife and clan.
It's sad to see such tribal nomenclature like Tigre or any other tribal identification at the expense of Ethiopian identification.
Meles wants to destroy Ethiopian identity and eventually create a Tigrean state. He has been funneling Ethiopia's resource to Tigre for the sole purpose of creating such a state, at the same time starving the rest of the country. Now he has found another idea, that Queen of Sheba is Tigrean and a mine to create a Tigrean supremacy and hegemony at the expense of the rest of Ethiopia.
Meles, What a shameless meglomania and an Ethiopian hater. He is intoxicated in tribalism, and Tigrean supremacy.
He regards the rest of the Ethiopian tribes as cows and donkeys to be used and to be discarded when the times comes. At the same time, set them up for sectarian and religious fight so that they can leave him alone, as he continues to create and prmote tribal bufffons or chiefs among Amhara, Oromos and other tribes to do his bidding to keep us divided and in a permanent state of conflict.
wesley elmendorf Feb 14th 2012 10:31AM
great find!
MARTY Feb 14th 2012 10:49AM
ANY CONNECTION WITH THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS ''LOST TRIBE OF ISRAEL??????
Christine Feb 14th 2012 11:49AM
Good, give it to the poor, and the starveing people there. The tourist don't need one more attraction, if they can afford to go there, just tell them the history, and give it to those who really NEED IT!!!
ed Feb 14th 2012 1:34PM
I am needy....give it to me....I ain't greedy.
Ginger Feb 14th 2012 2:21PM
I hope this is the real Queen of Sheba's gold. I don't know which would be better - turning it over to museums or using it to enrich its own people. I guess since people do enjoy museums, myself included, it could benefit them greatly.
Michael Feb 15th 2012 2:48AM
What a wonderful find, I hope it will do the right people good.
Michael Feb 15th 2012 2:48AM
I hope this great find will benitit good people.
Tsegaye Asfaw Feb 15th 2012 2:48AM
I am happy to hear this. Great find. It also proofs that the queen is Ethiopian and Not Yemeni since some history books claim that she is from Yemen.
Jasmin Apr 7th 2013 10:00AM
I pray that this will help the Ethiopian people,, an not the western government,,,Ethiopia need to set a welfare system to help the poor an needed,, given training, to those that need it,,for business, and life skills,,