Qohaito

Qohaito was an important ancient city in what is now Eritrea's Debub area. It was a pre-Aksumite hamlet that grew prosperous throughout the Aksumite period. The city was built on a high plateau at the edge of the Great Rift Valley, over 2,500 meters above sea level. As of 2011, the stone ruins at Qohaito had not been explored. Adulis, an old harbor city, is directly to the east, while Matara is to the south.

The presence of rock art near Qohaito appears to date back to the fifth millennium BC, and the village is believed to have persisted until the sixth century AD. Mount Emba Soira, Eritrea's tallest peak, is nearby, as is a small successor hamlet.

Qohaito is frequently identified as the town Koloe recorded in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Greco-Roman text from the late first century AD. As a stop on the trading route between Adulis and Aksum, the village thrived. Crops are assumed to have been interlaced with town buildings. These ancient structures included the pre-Christian Temple of Mariam Wakino and the Sahira Dam, which may have been pre-Aksumite as well.

The ruins of Qohaito were discovered in 1868. However, they were mistakenly recognized as a "Greek depot" at the time. Matara, about 15 kilometers south of Senafe, is a similar site that was excavated in the 1960s.

Most visitors come to witness the Adi Alauti cave and the almost 7,000-year-old rock art inside. Archaeological digs are still ongoing, therefore significant new finds could be made at the site.

Address: Debub Region, Eritrea