The Palace of Gǝrma Asǝfӓre in Dawǝnt: An Evidence for the Pre-17th Century Origin of Lime Mortar in Ethiopia

The origin of lime mortar in Ethiopia has been a source of controversy among scholars. This study intends to examine the origin of lime mortar in Ethiopia. Historical sources such as hagiographies of local saints, Ethiopian royal chronicles, manuscripts, archaeological evidence, oral tradition and secondary sources are consulted and meticulously examined to bridge the extant lacunae in Ethiopian historiography. Stanislaw Chojnacki suggests that the palace of Girma Asifre in Dawunt was built by King Newaye Maryam whose reginal name was Girma Asifre in the 14th c. It is hard to accept Chojnacki’s suggestion which relied on incredible evidence. The palace could have been built by Dil Na’od in the 9th c. Ku’rba (ኩርባ), the administrative center of Dawǝnt Woreda which is not far from Bahir Qega, where the debris of the palace situated, could have been a calligraphic error for Ku’bar (ኩባር), the 9th c capital of Aksumite sovereign. The palace was built of stone and lime and it indicates that lime mortar was used in Ethiopia before to the 17th century when Jesuit missionaries claim that they introduced the use of lime into Ethiopia. This is substantiated by Metsehafa MMisgana, the 16th c Gǝ’ǝz text which reports the use of lime mortar for the construction of the church of Hagere Mariam which was commissioned by Ras Səm’on.