Rock-hewn churches of Lalibela
Iglesias monolíticas de Lalibela
- Date
- c. 1200 · confidence medium
- Place
- Lalibela, Amhara, Ethiopia
- Credited to
- King Gebre Meskel Lalibela (Zagwe dynasty)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Eleven churches carved from top to bottom out of volcanic tuff, each a single block with naves, columns, windows and drainage. It is subtractive architecture on an unparalleled scale.
Tradition attributes everything to Lalibela; Phillipson proposes that some structures date from the 7th-8th centuries and were reused.
What it led to
- a pilgrimage centre as a 'new Jerusalem'
- rock-cutting and drainage techniques
- the tradition of rock-hewn churches in Tigray