Ancient relics plundered from Tigray can be bought on eBay

A flood of ancient Ethiopian relics for sale online has raised suspicions about links to the reported plundering of churches and monasteries during the 14-month conflict in Tigray.

Centuries-old manuscripts, Bibles and scrolls are being offered to collectors for as little as a few hundred pounds.

A flood of ancient Ethiopian relics for sale online has raised suspicions about links to the reported plundering of churches and monasteries during the 14-month conflict in Tigray.

Centuries-old manuscripts, Bibles and scrolls are being ­offered for as little as a few hundred dollars on sites including eBay, months after heritage ­experts warned of “cultural cleansing” of the northern ­Tigray region.

Hagos Abrha Abay, a philologist, was in Tigray at the outbreak of the civil conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more, and has recorded damage to scores of ancient sites where artefacts were destroyed or looted. Since returning to Europe, he and colleagues have monitored trends in internet sales.

“It is hard to know if the Ethiopian artefacts we are seeing have been taken from Tigray without looking at them, but there have been more popping up almost every day over the last six months,” the expert in Ethiopian and Eritrean manuscript culture said.

Suspect items include unique Bibles and scrolls published on vellum, hundreds of years old and hand-painted and penned in the ancient Ge’ez language. Prices start from about $1500 ­depending on condition, though experts rank them as “priceless”. Intelligence suggests Sudan is being used as a trafficking route out of Tigray to dealers in ­Europe and America.

After being contacted by The Times, eBay removed a number of Ethiopian artefacts with no evidence of provenance from its side. Would-be buyers have not responded to questions.

The online market said: “The sale of illicit antiques is prohibited on eBay, in line with UK and international laws.”

Activists in the diaspora are compiling a spreadsheet with the growing list of suspect items on eBay and Etsy, another e-commerce site based in the US.

Alarm over the destruction and looting of priceless artefacts by Ethiopian troops and those from neighbouring Eritrea have marked the conflict that began in November 2020 in Tigray.

When clashes broke out in Axum, Ethiopia’s holiest city, the devout raced towards danger at the church where they believe the Ark of the Covenant is ­secured. Hundreds of civilians, including priests, were killed by pro-government forces in and around the Church of St Mary of Zion within weeks of the war starting.

Dr Hargos and his colleagues are also trying to establish the whereabouts of the vividly illustrated Garima Gospels, one of the Christian world’s greatest treasures. Carbon dated to ­between AD330 and 650, the gospels were housed in an area that was under siege for months and where nearby holy sites were shelled, burnt and looted.

Tigray has been largely cut off from the world since Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister and winner of the 2019 Nobel peace prize, deployed his army against the region’s leadership, triggering a humanitarian crisis. Last month, the UN’s World Food Program said nearly 40 per cent of people in Tigray were suffering “an extreme lack of food”, with fuel shortages forcing aid workers to deliver medicines and other crucial supplies by foot.

The Times