Metera

Among the most beautiful historical sites in Eritrea, Metera is a small hamlet and notable archeological site in Eritrea's Debub Region. Between the 10th and 9th centuries CE, two big and successful kingdoms emerged here: the D'mt and the Aksumite kingdoms. The National Museum of Eritrea has petitioned the Ethiopian government to recover artifacts removed from the site since Eritrea's independence. However, the attempts have so far been in vain.

The archaeological site has already revealed evidence of numerous stages of occupation, including at least two different significant towns dating back over 1000 years. The topmost layers date from the fourth to the eighth centuries and are associated with the Aksumite Empire. This city was an ally or part of the great commerce empire based in Aksum, the capital to the southwest. Metera appears to have been one of a line of cities along the trade route that extended from Aksum to its port city, Adulis, the massive ruins of which may be found near Zula, southeast of Massawa on the Red Sea coast. Keskese is 8 kilometers (5.0 miles) north of Matara.

Here is Hawulti, a pre-Aksumite or early Aksumite era obelisk.

Address: Emba Metera, Eritrea