Chapter 3079: Trail of the Queen of Sheba
When the tripartite joint exploratory team arrived at the Obelisk Square on the outskirts of Axum, it had been blocked by a large number of Tigray State military police and tourists were not allowed to enter!
After the convoy arrived here, everyone did not get out of the car immediately. Instead, Seaman led the Israeli security personnel to conduct a thorough investigation.
It was not until they were sure that they were safe and there was no danger.
To say that this is a square is not as good as a ruin. It seems to be more accurate.
In this famous square, there are more than a dozen obelisks, large and small.
The highest of these obelisks is about 24 meters, but the lowest is only a few meters, and there is even only one pedestal left.
And there are many obelisks broken into several pieces around the square, and some obelisks have even turned into piles of stones of different sizes, and the original appearance is not visible at all.
In addition to the complete or incomplete obelisk, there are many other buildings on the square, but only a broken wall is left!
Most of the buildings have collapsed, leaving only some low walls, and even granite plinths, which are only a little bit higher than the ground.
And in the underground of this obelisk square, there are many criss-cross tunnels and some very secret underground buildings.
Compared with the obelisk on the ground and other buildings, the preservation of these underground buildings is much better, and many buildings are very intact.
Around this obelisk square, there is a high wall that encloses the entire square and separates it from the outside world.
Inside the wall are paid scenic spots, a world cultural heritage; outside the wall are several villages, where many Tigray people live.
And to the north of the Obelisk Square, there is a towering hill.
There are many hills of different heights around, and the vegetation on these hills is quite dense and lush.
Ye Tian, who got off the car, looked at the undulating hills and dense woods around the Obelisk Square, and couldn't help but frown slightly.
There is no doubt that those places are very suitable for hiding, and also very suitable for ambushes.
If someone wants to attack the tripartite joint exploration team, it is easy to find a very ideal hiding place around, staring at this side secretly, ready to do it at any time.
Because this area is very open, even if the Israelis start the investigation and make various arrangements a day in advance, it is still difficult to take care of all the places.
Those places that are ignored by them are very likely to be used by others to carry out sneak attacks in secret.
With the arrival of the tripartite joint exploratory team, many Tigray people living around the Obelisk Square have swarmed up the surrounding hills and looked down here.
No one knows whether there are some unpredictable guys hidden among these Tigray people watching the excitement.
Ye Tian took a quick look at the surrounding environment, then picked up the walkie-talkie and said:
"Sieman, the view here is too wide. There are a lot of places to hide, especially those dense forests. You must check carefully. It is best to use a small drone to carry an infrared thermal imager to check!"
"Understood, Steven, we will carefully check every wood and every hill here. There are our people on every hill around the Obelisk Square!"
"There are also Tigray people gathered on the surrounding hills to watch the excitement and see if there are any suspicious guys inside."
"Received, our people have already mixed into the crowd. If suspicious elements are found, we will report them as soon as possible!"
Seaman responded via the intercom.
While talking, the deputy mayor of Aksum and others came over here.
Seeing them, Ye Tian immediately ended the call.
Joshua and others, as well as several archaeologists and historians, also came over.
After everyone came together and discussed a few sentences, the Deputy Mayor of Axum said:
"Gentlemen, today the Obelisk Square is completely closed and does not accept any tourists. The tripartite joint exploratory team can carry out exploration operations here, provided that no damage is caused!"
"Of course, Mr. Mayor, this place is a world cultural heritage and an important symbol of Ethiopian civilization. We will take good care of every brick here and will never cause any damage!"
Ye Tian smiled and nodded and said.
"Before the exploration starts, the person in charge of the Obelisk Square will lead everyone to visit and explain."
"That couldn't be better, we can just use this to understand the situation here"
"Gentlemen, please"
With that said, the deputy mayor of Aksum made a please gesture.
Next, everyone walked towards the gate of the Obelisk Square.
The other members of the tripartite joint exploration team began to unload various exploration equipment, as well as various materials including weapons and ammunition from the vehicle, and prepare to transport them into the Obelisk Square to begin today's exploration operations.
In a blink of an eye, Ye Tian and the others had entered the Obelisk Square.
As soon as they entered, everyone saw the tallest and most magnificent obelisk standing in the center of the square.
The obelisk stands on a granite base like an Optimus Prime, pointing straight to the sky, which is quite shocking!
"Gentlemen, the Axum obelisk is different from the Egyptian obelisks you have seen before. The Axum obelisk is often carved from a single piece of granite, which is extremely difficult to make.
Before Christianity was introduced into Ethiopia, that is, before the fourth century AD, the Ethiopian rulers used a lot of money and manpower to build huge stone steles to establish the stele for the kings.
People erected tall obelisks in the square where funerals were held, and used Ethiopia’s oldest Gisven to record the great achievements of the kings and mark their tombs.
On these ancient obelisks, there are also many exquisite patterns and patterns carved. By studying these words and patterns, we can get a glimpse of the ancient history of the Aksum Emperor..."
The person in charge of the Obelisk Square began to explain, introducing the situation here.
While listening to this Tigray man's explanation, everyone visited this ancient obelisk square.
There is nothing about modernity here, everything remains the same.
Here, time seems to have stopped, stopping at the time of the Axum Kingdom one or two thousand years ago.
Walking on this ancient square and among these broken walls, everyone is like talking to history, like walking into the history of Aksum and into the history of Ethiopia.
While talking, everyone has come to the tallest obelisk in the middle of the square.
This obelisk stands on a rectangular granite base, with a dozen steps in front, surrounded by stone piers and guardrails, surrounding the obelisk.
When they arrived here, everyone stopped and looked up at this towering ancient building.
"Gentlemen, this is the tallest surviving obelisk in Ethiopia. It is about 24 meters high and weighs two hundred tons. It has a history of more than 1,700 years and is a symbol of Ethiopian civilization.
During World War II, the Italian dictator Mussolini ordered the obelisk to be transported to Italy and erected in Rome as a symbol of Italy's victory over Ethiopia.
In 1947, Italy promised to the United Nations to return all looted Ethiopian cultural relics. After several twists and turns, this obelisk symbolizing Ethiopian civilization was able to return,..."
...
It took about forty minutes before everyone finished the tour.
In fact, everyone only visited a few more important obelisks.
The remaining relatively small and collapsed obelisks, as well as numerous architectural ruins and underground buildings, were not visited one by one due to time.
At this time, many members, experts and scholars of the tripartite joint exploration team, as well as many exploration equipment and materials, have entered this Obelisk Square.
After the visit, Ye Tian came to the place where the three-party joint exploration team assembled.
He first got a brief understanding of the situation, and then said to everyone at the scene:
"Guys, we can start the action, explore this ancient obelisk square, which is a world cultural heritage. During the action, everyone must be careful not to cause any damage.
It's still the same as before. Everyone will scan every inch of the ground in the Obelisk Square in pairs with a pulse metal detector in pairs. If you find something, remember to notify me immediately.
The places we are going to explore today include not only the buildings above the ground of the Obelisk Square, but also the buildings below the ground. Let us first explore the buildings on the ground, and we will talk about the parts below the ground later.
The area is large and the field of vision is relatively wide. During the exploration process, everyone must take care of each other and try not to leave the sight of the adjacent exploration team. I will also arrange security personnel to follow and protect everyone.
Everyone has seen the situation around the Obelisk Square. I want to emphasize one point here. If we are attacked, we must remember that we must be concealed on the spot and don't run around! "
When the voice fell, everyone immediately responded in unison:
"Understood, Steven, we know what to do!"
Next, Ye Tian said some precautions before finishing his speech.
Later, he asked Cole and the others to deploy armed security personnel to follow the various exploration groups to ensure safety.
After the arrangement was completed, many members of the tripartite joint exploration team immediately took action.
Everyone opened the metal suitcases, took out the pulse metal detector and other exploration equipment, as well as the Kevlar body armor, and quickly equipped them.
Immediately afterwards, the various exploratory groups were dispersed, and based on the plan that Ye Tian and the others had formulated in advance, they each determined an area and launched their exploration.
Ye Tian himself brought an exploration team and several experts and scholars to the ruins in the Obelisk Square.
Those who followed along were Joshua, the Deputy Mayor of Aksum and others.
Not only them, but almost everyone in the Obelisk Square were paying attention to the movement here.
Everyone wants to see if Ye Tian can create a miracle again and bring everyone a huge surprise!
In a moment, Ye Tian and the others had come to the ruins of a collapsed obelisk, ready to explore.
This is the largest obelisk ruin in the entire square. There are dozens of obelisk fragments scattered on the ground. Meter area.
Not only that, but under these huge fragments of obelisk, there are two ancient architectural ruins and a section of winding, well-preserved tunnels.
At this point, Ye Tian first observed the situation, and then nodded to an archaeologist in the same group.
The next moment, the archaeologist from Columbia University began to introduce the situation:
"Guys, the obelisk ruins you see now were once the most magnificent obelisk in Ethiopia and the largest monolithic building known in the world.
This obelisk is 33 meters high, weighs hundreds of tons, and has a total of 13 floors. Its history is longer than the 24 meters high obelisk in the center of the square. It is said to date back to BC.
It's a pity that this magnificent obelisk has already collapsed and turned into the ruins in front of everyone. On the fragments of these obelisks are carved many of Ethiopia's oldest Giss.
By studying these ancient texts, we may be able to find clues about Solomon’s treasure. At the same time, we can also learn about the situation of Aksum before and after AD."
Hearing the introduction of the archaeologist, everyone nodded.
After he finished the introduction, Ye Tian said:
"Nick, you come and scan this ruined ground to see if there are unknown metal objects buried here. Several experts and scholars and I will study these obelisk fragments!"
"Okay, Steven"
Nick nodded in response, and the other subordinate nodded.
Afterwards, everyone started to act separately.
The exploration team took the pulse metal detector and began to scan the ruined ground.
Ye Tian and several archaeologists and palaeographers came to the different obelisk fragments, squatted down and began to study, to see if they could find something.
It didn't take long for everyone to discover something.
"Steven, look at these patterns and decorations, they have obvious Arabic cultural style. They are very similar to some ancient stone carvings we saw in Yemen before. They have a lot in common.
Combined with the long history of this obelisk, it is certain that in BC, Arabs crossed the sea from across the Red Sea and gradually penetrated into northern Ethiopia.
These newcomers have brought better agriculture, architectural art, and changeable trade to the local area, as well as new religions. At this stage, Aksum’s economy and culture have undergone significant development.
In related legends, the ruled area of the Queen of Sheba covers the southern Arabian Peninsula and northern Ethiopia, and Aksum is one of the legendary capitals."
An archaeologist from Columbia University pointed to several ancient patterns and words on the fragment of the obelisk and said.
Following the direction of his fingers, Ye Tian looked at the patterns and words, then lightly nodded.
"Yes, these ancient patterns and characters are indeed very similar to the stone carving patterns we found in the ruins deep in the Yemen desert, with obvious Arab cultural colors.
The ancient ruins in Yemen are very close to the other capital of the legendary Sheba Kingdom, Marib. The same style of stone carvings appears in these two places, and there must be a connection."
While talking, a paleographer who was not far away looking at another fragment of the obelisk, suddenly said with excitement:
"Steven, come and take a look. This fragment of the obelisk seems to mention the Queen of Sheba, and it seems to depict some deeds of the Queen of Sheba in Aksum's time!"
Hearing this, Ye Tian immediately raised his head and looked over there.
The others at the scene are the same, looking over there one after another, everyone is excited.
After that, Ye Tian stood up and walked over there, and the others immediately followed.
Within a few steps, everyone has come to the paleographer.
Seeing Ye Tian coming, the paleographer immediately pointed to a few lines on the fragment of the obelisk in front of him and said:
"Steven, look at these ancient scripts. They are older than the oldest Gisven in Ethiopia. To be precise, they are closer to ancient Semitic than Gisven.
We have just analyzed these ancient texts, and we can basically conclude that the content recorded in these ancient texts is exactly about some deeds of the Queen of Sheba in Aksum's time.
There are several recurring texts, which have also been discovered many times in the ruins of the legendary Queen of Sheba’s bath. After careful comparison, we made this judgment."
Just as the paleographer introduced ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Ye Tian was also carefully observing these ancient characters, as well as the patterns and decorations carved on this obelisk fragment.
Although he couldn't understand these ancient words between ancient Semitic and Gisven, he couldn't understand their precise meaning!
However, he could see from which era these words came from, when they were carved on this obelisk, and how long the history is!
After observing for a moment, he nodded and said:
"If the contents of these ancient written records are really related to the Queen of Sheba, remember her deeds in Axum, then it is basically certain that Axum is the capital of the Kingdom of Sheba, at least one of the capitals!
By extension, if Aksum was the capital of the Kingdom of Sheba, then after Menelik I escaped from Jerusalem, he might return here with some of Solomon's treasure, hiding the treasure here! "
Before the words were over, everyone on the scene suddenly beamed with excitement.
Several Ethiopians who were at the scene, especially representatives of the religious circles, had a glimmer of worry in their eyes!
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