Ethiopian National Museum
You’re Map Your move after reaching the Bole International Airport could possibly be the National Museum of Ethiopia. Driving from Bole and passing by Stadium, then taking the wide boulevard you will reach the circle of Aratkilo. Taking King George Street, next to the Aratkilo circle in the Northern direction is the Natural Science Campus. A few meters away in that same direction to the left of the street in Amistkilo district is Saint Mary’s Church and near the church is the National Museum of Ethiopia.
Background of the Museum
NME
The first museum in Ethiopia was opened in 1936 being part of the national library. A few presents from the royal family were set to the exhibition. The establishment of the Institute of Archaeology in 1946 has contributed a lot for the development of the museum. French archaeologists had a great role in the finding of very important historical and cultural artifacts. The museum was transferred to the lounge of today’s National Bank of Ethiopia. A step at a time the museum finally was located in where it is now. The archaeology museum that was established in 1946 had started its work by exhibiting some archaeological findings from the Northern part of the country. Following these events in 1958 the idea of establishing a national museum had been given a serious attention by the government. Therefore, the national museum started its work in public that same year. The museum houses the nation’s artistic treasures as well as many of the most precious archaeological findings such as the fossilized remain of early hominids, the most famous of which is Lucy.
The Compound of the Museum The compound of the museum is spacious. Many sculpts that give grace to the setting are erected here and there. On the gate’s check point are few uniformed federal police to check you through. A few meters away to the right side of the museum under the veranda of one of the old buildings is one of the first automobiles which entered Ethiopia during the reign of Emperor Menelik. This vehicle is of a very attractive and interesting model. For those who have never had any encounter with such pleasing things of the past this will be the best break.
Well you must understand you could not get such automobile for any great amount of dollars you would be happy to pay unless of course if not in millions. Right in front of the gate of the museum’s hall is the cannon used by Emperor Menelik at the battle of Adwa in 1896. The cannon witness that tragic war against the Fascist Italian. Even for anyone without the knowledge of the Battle of Adwa the cannon can give the déjà vu of having been to the battle fields.
Carvings and monuments In the museum are so many carvings of wood, stone, bronze, copper, cement and sand and many others materials. Numerous sand and cement monuments and carvings feed your eyes a beauty of living arts. Getting closer to them and looking in to their magnificence is all you need to do. There are many more inside the museum but the dark rooms were not able to provide enough light for our cameras and we were not able to use flashlight for it is forbidden. Cafes and restaurants Ardi café and restaurant named after the recently found bone in Afar region by archaeologists and Lucy café and restaurant named after Lucy or Dinkinesh are the two main places that you can have your meal when you start to feel a little hungry while you are inside the compound.
This throne is much closer to the word ‘residence’ that throne because of its gigantic structure. The throne is made of Cordia African Wanza (species of wood) and Ivory. It was presented to the Emperor by the Indian Community in Harar in 1985 and was looted by the Italian Fascist troops during the WWII returned in 1972. Standing by this throne you will certainly start wondering how it would feel to sit on it and feel the power of being an Emperor.
The Throne of Haile Selassie I (1930-1974)
Palaeo anthropology and pre-history artifacts collection room
Entering the Museum
Currently, the National Museum of Ethiopia has four main exhibition sections. The basement is dedicated to archaeological and paleo anthropological sections. This area shows the previously mentioned hominids. The first floor contains objects from ancient and medieval periods, as well as ceremonial objects and souvenirs from former rulers, including Emperor Haile Selassie. The second floor shows art work in a chronological order, from traditional to contemporary works. These include murals, Afework Teklie and other Ethiopian artists. Finally, the third floor has an ethnographic display. Here, the museum gives an overview of the cultural richness and variety of the peoples of Ethiopia.
Bones that bounce your mind back to your own forefathers
Paleontology
In the National Museum of Ethiopia, the paleontological collections are strongly gifted of taking your imagination and thought back to millions of years ago. These collections give you the means to understand what had happened in earth some million years ago and what is going on today; what is going to happen tomorrow and how serious the climate change of your planet is getting. The museum houses the nation's artistic treasures as well as many of the most precious archaeological findings such as the fossilized remains of early hominids, the most famous of which is "Lucy," the partial skeleton of a specimen of Australopithecus afarensis. Recently added to the basement gallery is a display on Selam, found between 2000 and 2004. Estimated to be 3.3 million years old, this afarensis specimen is considered to be the earliest child.
Lucy: ‘Dinkinesh’ To the right corner of the pale anthropological collections exhibition rooms awaits you the warm greeting of Lucy. She says to you, ‘Hi I am Lucy’ and then invites you to get to know with her world-famous ancestors.
Selam
This skeleton is the most complete human ancestor yet discovered in 1974 by Donald C. Johnson. This adult female skeleton was nicknamed Lucy after the popular Beatle’s song ‘Lucy in the sky with diamond’ But the Ethiopians prefer to call her, ‘Dinkinesh’ to mean wonderful. She is 3.2 million years old. Her brain was no longer than chimpanzee’s but she walked on two legs – a character placing her in the family tree of man. She was of a small stature standing 3.5 feet tall. Her scientific name is Australopithecus Afarensis. Unfortunately, the "real" Lucy can't be seen in Addis Ababa. Because of the rare and fragile nature of fossils, including Lucy's skeleton, molds are usually made of the originals, which are then used to create detailed copies (casts). These detailed copies are then used for teaching, research, and exhibits in institutions around the world. This is what has been done with Lucy. The "real" Lucy is stored in a specially constructed safe in the Paleoanthropologist Laboratories of the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. On display in the museum is one of the casts of the original skeleton. Visitors to the Ethiopian National Museum in Addis Ababa can see a replica skeleton laid out by itself in pieces, showing the 40 percent that was discovered. Also on display is a fascinating reconstructed full skeleton of Lucy that shows her height and stance. When she was alive, Lucy would have been about 31/2 feet tall and weighed about 60 to 65 pounds.
This model of Selam is created by an artist based on her skeleton. Selam in many Ethiopian languages means peace. She represents the earliest and most complete skeleton of a child human ancestor ever discussed in the history of palaeoanthropology. She was about 3 years old when she died and belongs to the ancient species of Australopithecus Afarnesis. Her archaeological age is 3.3 million years. And she was found in Dikika, Ethiopia. The discovery has taken a time interval from 2000-to-2004.
African Heritage
Traditional and contemporary Ethiopian art.
This amazing painting is placed on the 3rd exhibition room. World Laureate Meter Artist AfeworkTekle is the painter of this great painting. For men of artistic interest it will fix them on the very ground they stand for many moments as it is complex in idea and attractive in appearance. It was painted in 1969 with oil on canvas. The Battle of Adwa This one also is painted on canvas in the year 2003. Though young in age it is quite powerful to retell and reflect the old. A black man (Emperor Menelik?) sitting on the back of a galloping horse again will give the dĂŠjĂ vu of being in the battlegrounds of Adwa. The Skull The Skull, a painting by the same person, is quite amazing and terrifying for the dark eye sockets stare at you wherever you stand. They follow you and look in to your eyes with their dark and cold beauty. Such magnificence, we dare to pronounce, has never been depicted deep in the heart of death with such a mind-boggling art.
The Great Painting of Saint Mercury This painting probably has an equal size of one of the walls of your bedroom. It is huge. Saint Mercury riding on a horse is what you see on this painting but with a maverick manner. This 14th C. painting was brought to the museum from the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.