Sources

Ancient Churches of Ethiopia: Fourth-Fourteenth Centuries

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Ancient Churches of Ethiopia: Fourth-Fourteenth Centuries." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/ancient-churches-of-ethiopia-fourth-fourteenth-centuries.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Ancient Churches of Ethiopia: Fourth-Fourteenth Centuries. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/ancient-churches-of-ethiopia-fourth-fourteenth-centuries

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-ancient-churches-of-ethiopia-fourth-four,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Ancient Churches of Ethiopia: Fourth-Fourteenth Centuries},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/ancient-churches-of-ethiopia-fourth-fourteenth-centuries},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

David Phillipson's study is a scholarly archaeological and historical investigation of Ethiopia's ancient churches, including Lalibela, covering the fourth through fourteenth centuries and working from excavated and standing physical evidence rather than textual tradition alone. That direct archaeological grounding, checkable against the specific sites and periods it documents, is the study's real evidentiary basis. This record has not independently traced further scholarly response since 2009. Use it for established historical and archaeological facts about early Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox church buildings and sites; it is not a source on the Ge'ez script's own linguistic development, which needs a dedicated linguistic source.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

David Phillipson's scholarly archaeological and historical study of Ethiopia's ancient churches, including Lalibela, working from excavated and standing physical evidence rather than textual tradition alone across the fourth through fourteenth centuries.

Notes

David Phillipson's scholarly archaeological and historical study of Ethiopia's ancient churches, including Lalibela, covering the fourth through fourteenth centuries. Use for established historical and archaeological facts about early Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox church buildings and sites; an archaeological history, not a source on the Ge'ez script's own linguistic development, which needs a source focused on the language.

Citation

Author

David W. Phillipson

Publisher

Yale University Press

Publication Year

2009

Source Type

academic monograph

Claims Backed By This Source (166 claims)

This source backs 166 claims across the atlas. As facts: 102 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate, 2 open question. As cited relationships: 15 holds, 3 connected. Plus 42 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Alphabet Letters, 52 claims: 26 well-attested, 26 general references.
Articles, 19 claims: 15 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 connected, 2 general references.
Figures, 18 claims: 10 well-attested, 2 open question, 4 holds, 2 general references.
Open Questions, 18 claims: 14 well-attested, 2 connected, 2 general references.
Sacred Sites, 15 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 2 holds, 2 general references.
Practices, 11 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 general references.
Spread Events, 10 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 6 holds, 1 general references.
Denominations, 8 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 holds, 2 general references.
Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
Rituals, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.
Languages, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
Sacred Objects & Ritual Items, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
Regions, 1 claims: 1 general references.