Detail: One of the tomb's chambers contains three stone sarcophagi. This photo shows the one in the center and the one on the right side of the chamber. The sarcophagus on the right is cut into at least four pieces.

I'd love to know when, how and why the cuts occurred. For instance, if the sarcophagus was cut where it is now, how would it have been possible to achieve such clean, perpendicular cuts through sold stone with such limited clearances between the wall, on the one side, the neighboring sarcophagus, on the other, and the floor? Wouldn't the cutting have left marks on the walls and the other sarcophagus?

And, if someone was bent on removing one of the sarcophagi centuries or even millennia after the tomb was constructed, wouldn't it have been easier to go after the one in the middle?

I think this was the last sarcophagus to be installed in this chamber. I submit the combined dimensions, angles and clearances of the doorway, of the middle sarcophagus and of the chamber's walls, ceiling and floor were such that it would have been impossible - or at least too difficult - to maneuver a sarcophagus into place in one piece during antiquity.

Instead, after having been carved from a single piece of stone outside the tomb, the sarcophagus was cut into sections, brought into the chamber in pieces, and reassembled in place in antiquity. Over time, and with the cumulative effects of visitors, looters and/or archaeologists, the sarcophagus has separated into its original components.

But what the heck do I know? It's possible someone in the past few centuries found this sarcophagus in another chamber of this tomb or in another tomb, decided it would look better here, and sawed it into pieces in pursuit of his vision.

The man known variously as King Kaleb of Axum and St. Elesbaan lived during the sixth century of the current era.

He is best known for having invaded Yemen in about 520 to protect local Christians from persecution by a tribe said to have converted to Judaism. This gave King Kaleb an enduring reputation, and in the sixteenth century he became known as St. Elesbaan in recognition of his defense of the Christian faith in Yemen.

Some consider the five-year period during which Axum controlled South Arabia to have been the high-water mark of the Axumite Kingdom's power. That's another way of saying King Kaleb overextended Axum's limited reach and initiated the decline of Axum.

King Kaleb was one of the Axumite kings who issued coinage, a rarity in Africa. Wikipedia describes him as "perhaps the best-documented, if not best-known, king of Axum," because of the many ancient sources that mention him.

King Kaleb's throne name was "Ella Atsbeha" or "Ella Asbeha."

Ethiopian sources state King Kaleb eventually abdicated his throne and retired to a monastery. There is some reason to believe that the King's body was never actually interred in this magnificently constructed tomb.

For more information about King Kaleb, see his Wikipedia entry at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elesbaan

Note: I decided not to use the title "Tomb of King Kaleb of Axum" because "King Kaleb" sounds too much like a Dixieland band leader. Also, the individual in question appears to have been known by an astonishing variety of names during and after his lifetime, so why not use one of his other titles for a change?

However, if you're researching Ethiopian history or visiting Ethiopia, you're better off asking about "King Kaleb" than St. Elesbaan.