Builders in the Ethiopian highlands created a palace nearly 2,800 years ago whose walls were theoretically strong enough to support a structure up to 16 stories high, according to a new engineering study.
Researchers analyzed Grat Be’al Gibri, a monumental palace at Yeha in northern Ethiopia dating to around 800 B.C. The building measured about 60 meters by 60 meters, or 197 feet on each side. Researchers describe it as the largest known palace-like structure from the early first millennium B.C. in South Arabia and East Africa.
Only parts of the ground floor survive, but archaeological evidence has long suggested the palace had several stories. Ethiopia has also produced evidence from much earlier periods of human history, including discoveries at a 100,000-year-old archaeological site in the country.
Evidence of a towering palace
Researchers have investigated Grat Be’al Gibri for more than a century. Excavations revealed a massive podium about 20 feet high and a monumental entrance with six sandstone pillars that reached about 33 feet. The palace also had foundation walls more than 7 feet thick. An internal staircase provides further evidence that upper floors once existed.
Earlier digital reconstructions proposed five main stories and three smaller, recessed levels above them, creating an eight-story building. Other ancient societies also constructed large palace complexes using carefully planned building systems, including the Bronze Age palace at Agios Vasileios in Greece. The new study tested whether the surviving walls at Yeha could actually support such a structure.
Timber strengthened massive stone walls
Builders combined locally quarried stone and clay mortar with wooden beams placed horizontally inside the walls. The timber included African olive and Cordia africana.
Wood played an important structural role in many early building traditions. In ancient Greece, for example, builders commonly used timber in temples before stone construction became dominant, with archaeological evidence showing a long history of wooden elements in ancient Greek architecture.
Researchers created 3D models of representative wall sections at Yeha and tested them using finite-element analysis, a technique used in modern structural engineering. The results showed that an eight-story reconstruction remained well within the walls’ structural limits. Under conservative assumptions about the building materials and additional weight, the models indicated that the wall system could theoretically support as many as 16 stories.
Researchers stressed that the finding does not mean the palace actually reached that height. Instead, it shows the remarkable load-bearing capacity of its construction system.
Fire may explain the palace’s collapse
The analysis also suggests ordinary structural loads were unlikely to have caused the building’s failure. Archaeological evidence shows the palace suffered a major fire, and charred timber remains inside its masonry. Researchers said burning could have weakened the wooden reinforcement and reduced the walls’ ability to support upper floors. Future studies could model the fire’s effects in greater detail.
Similar timber-reinforced construction later appeared in Aksumite architecture and Ethiopian churches. Evidence from other ancient sites also shows how careful planning allowed builders to create complex monumental structures, including the 3,300-year-old Melathron of Gla in Greece.
The findings suggest Grat Be’al Gibri was part of a long architectural tradition in which builders used stone, clay and timber together to create large, multi-story structures.
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