It is a syenite stele, 23 meters high and weighing over 100 tons. It was erected around the 4th century in the city of Aksum, the capital of the empire. Probably at the end of the 10th century, the stele was overturned and broke into five pieces. In 1937 it was looted by the fascist occupiers and taken to Italy. In 2005 it returned to Ethiopia, was restored to its original location and unveiled in 2008.
