This is a model of a palace, and a well-fortified one at that, believed to date to the Axumite period in Ethiopian history.

The Axumite Kingdom evolved from a city-state to a regional power between the second century before the current era and the second century of the current era.

At its peak between the third and sixth centuries of the current era, Axum controlled inter-regional and Red Sea trade. Axum is believed to have traded widely, with contacts in Byzantium, Alexandria and southern Europe.

Axum began to decline in the seventh century with the spread of Islam, which severed the trade routes that had been Axum's economic lifeblood.

A remnant of the Axum Kingdom persisted in the Blue Nile region until a rebellion finished it off in the tenth century.

In the collection of the Archaeology Museum, Axum. Ethiopia.