Kingdom of Aksum

====Stelae====
[[File:Stela aksum.jpg|180px|thumb|The [[King Ezana's Stela]], an Aksumite [[obelisk]] in [[Axum]], Ethiopia]]
The stelae are perhaps the most identifiable part of the Aksumite architectural legacy. These stone towers served to mark graves and represent a magnificent multi-storied palace. They are decorated with false doors and windows in typical Aksumite design. The largest of these towering obelisks would measure 33 meters high had it not fractured. The stelae have most of their mass out of the ground, but are stabilized by massive underground counter-weights. The stone was often engraved with a pattern or emblem denoting the king's or the noble's rank.<ref name="users.clas.ufl.edu"/><ref name="whc.unesco.org"/>

For important monuments built in the region, a particular type of granite is used called ''nepheline syenite''. It is fine grained and has also been used in historic monuments like the Stelae. These monuments are used to celebrate key figures in Axum history, especially kings or priests. These Stelae's are also called "Obelisk's," they are located in the Mai Hejja stelae field, where complex sedimentology of the land can be observed. The foundations for the monuments are around 8.5 m below the surface of the Mai Hejja stelae field. Sediments in this area have undergone a lot of weathering over the years, so the surface of this area has undergone a lot of changes. This is part of the reason for the complex stratigraphic history in this site, some previous layers under the surface of the site.<ref name="Butzer 471–495">{{Cite journal |last=Butzer |first=Karl W. |date=July 1981 |title=Rise and Fall of Axum, Ethiopia: A Geo-Archaeological Interpretation |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-antiquity/article/abs/rise-and-fall-of-axum-ethiopia-a-geoarchaeological-interpretation/B5B3D127F93D1C975C3D3C0CCD3BF773 |journal=American Antiquity |language=en |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=471–495 |doi=10.2307/280596 |jstor=280596 |s2cid=162374800 |issn=0002-7316}}</ref>