The teams from the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have successfully reinstalled Ethiopia's 1,700-year-old Aksum Obelisk to its original location, said a U.N. press release on Friday.
The reinstallation of the obelisk, one of the most iconic monuments in the East African country, was completed Thursday after the third and final block was mounted in place.
It returned to its original site six decades after Italian soldiers carted the obelisk off to Rome during Benito Mussolini's invasion in 1937.
UNESCO said locals living near the Aksum World Heritage site in northern Ethiopia, close to the Eritrean border, greeted its reinstallation with joy and musical concerts. An inauguration ceremony has been slated for Sept. 4.
The Aksum Obelisk, which is 24 meters high and weighs 150 tons, is the second largest stela or upright stone slab or tablet on the Aksum World Heritage site. It has become a symbol of the Ethiopian people's identity.
After mediation by UNESCO, Italy decided to return the obelisk in April 2005, and paid for the dismantling in Rome and subsequent transport and reinstallation.
Source: Xinhua
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