Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/323

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AXUM.
315

from the difficulty of tracing them, he has omitted a large portion of the characters with which the inscription commences.

From this part of the ruins, a small gateway leads to the church, which latter still appears to be kept up with considerable attention, though the steps in front of the portico, which are evidently remains connected with some more ancient structure, are falling fast to ruin. In a wall to the right, on a narrow projecting stone, is inscribed a short Ethiopic inscription, said to be very ancient, a copy of which is here given.

ዘእብን፡ገብገብ፡
ዘበዜን

Za-eb-ne gu-be-gube za-bá-zi ne.[1]

  1. The initial and final characters are merely crosses without any particular meaning.