Tombs of Kings Kaleb & Gebre Meskel

Set on a small hill and offering views of the distant jagged mountains of Adwa are the monumental Tombs of Kings Kaleb & Gebre Meskel . According to local tradition, they're attributed to the 6th-century King Kaleb and his son, King Gebre Meskel. Kaleb was one of Aksum's most important rulers and succeeded in bringing southern Arabia under Aksumite rule.

Although the twin tombs' architecture resembles the Tomb of the False Door, they actually show more sophistication, using irregular-shaped self-locking stones that don't require iron clamps. The 19th-century British traveller Theodore Bent exclaimed magnanimously that the tombs were 'built with a regularity which if found in Greece would at once make one assign them to a good period'!

Of the two tombs, Gebre Meskel (to the south) is the most refined. The precision of the joints between its stones is at a level unseen anywhere else in Aksum. The tomb consists of one chamber and five rooms, with one boasting an exceptionally finely carved portal leading into it. Inside that room are three sarcophagi, one adorned with a cross similar to Christian crosses found on Aksumite coins. While this points towards an age around the 6th century, which, very interestingly, corresponds with local tradition, many believe that Meskel was actually buried at Debre Damo.

Like Meskel's tomb, King Kaleb's is accessed via a long straight stairway. Inside you'll notice the stones are larger, more angular and less precisely joined. Of those who attribute the making of the tomb to Kaleb, few accept that he was ever actually buried here. Common theory is that his body lies at Abba Pentalewon Monastery, where he lived after abdicating his throne following his return from Arabia. The tomb's unfinished state adds credence to that theory. If you feel like a long walk, have several extra sets of batteries for your torch and, most importantly, have a knack for finding secret passages, local rumour has it that there's a secret tunnel leading from here to Arabia!