archaeography

During our fieldwork in Ethiopia in December 2007 we discovered this extraordinary place.

It is a large clandestine camp, now abandoned, that belonged to the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army). It was built by the communist government of Ethiopia in the 1980s to help out the Southern Sudanese guerrillas in their fight against the Islamic regime in the north.

The war in Southern Sudan ended in January 2005, but the camp was probably vacated around 1991, after the fall of the communist dictatorship in Ethiopia. Now the place is covered by grass and sorghum.

Our guides do not want to let us in. They fear snakes and landmines.