Ethio-SPaRe (acronym for Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation, Research) was a 2009–2015 research project hosted by the Hiob Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian Studies (HLCEES) of the University of Hamburg. The project documented various Orthodox Christian churches, monasteries, manuscripts, and cultural artefacts in the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. The project's principal investigator was Denis Nosnitsin. Project members also included Alessandro Bausi and others.[1]
Missions
The following missions (field research trips) were undertaken by the Ethio-SPaRe project from 2010 to 2015.[2] Over 100 ecclesiastical sites were documented in the Tigray Region. Some of these sites were documented by Western scholars for the first time, including Däbrä Maˁṣo, Däbrä Zäyt Qǝddǝst Maryam, Qəta Maryam, Məˀəsar Gwəḥila, ˁAddi Qolqwal Giyorgis, Däbri Däbrä Zakaryas Qǝddus Giyorgis (Däbri Giyorgis), and Mǝngaś Qǝddǝst Maryam. Over 2,000 manuscripts were also recorded.[3] Manuscripts were also catalogued in the Digital Oriental Manuscript Library (DOMLib) database.
1st mission
The Ethio-SPaRe 1st Field Research Trip (April–May 2010) documented the following sites.[4]
The Beta maṣāḥǝft project was initiated after the Ethio-SPaRe project was over in 2015, and included field research from 2018 to 2019. The project has documented bookmaking in Lǝggat Qirqos, Gulo Mäkäda district, eastern Tigray Region.[14]
Sites catalogued in Nosnitsin (2013)
Denis Nosnitsin's 2013 monograph Churches and Monasteries of Tǝgray catalogued manuscripts held at over 100 churches and monasteries in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Some of these churches and monasteries are as follows.[15]
The following academic workshops were held by the Ethio-SPaRe project.[16]
Ecclesiastic Landscape of North Ethiopia: History, Change and Cultural Heritage (2011)
Saints in Christian Ethiopia: Literary Sources and Veneration (2012)
The Secondary Life of Manuscripts (2013)
Manuscripts as Artefacts: Methods of their Study and Conservation (June 2014)
Manuscripts and texts, languages and contexts: the transmission of knowledge in the Horn of Africa (July 2014)
Bibliography
Books
The following academic volumes were published by Harrassowitz as a result of the Ethio-SPaRe project.
Nosnitsin, Denis (2013). Churches and Monasteries of Tǝgray: A Survey of Manuscript Collections. Supplements to Aethiopica. Vol. 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN978-3-447-06969-4.
Nosnitsin, Denis, ed. (2013). Ecclesiastic Landscape of North Ethiopia: Proceedings of the International Workshop, Ecclesiastic Landscape of North Ethiopia: History, Change and Cultural Heritage Hamburg, July 15–16, 2011. Supplements to Aethiopica. Vol. 2. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN978-3-447-10102-8.
Nosnitsin, Denis, ed. (2015). Veneration of Saints in Christian Ethiopia: Proceedings of the International Workshop Saints in Christian Ethiopia: Literary Sources and Veneration, Hamburg, April 28–29, 2012. Supplements to Aethiopica. Vol. 3. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN978-3-447-10399-2.
Bausi, Alessandro; Gori, Alessandro; Nosnitsin, Denis; Sokolinski, Eugenia, eds. (2015). Essays in Ethiopian Manuscript Studies: Proceedings of the International Conference Manuscripts and Texts, Languages and Contexts: the Transmission of Knowledge in the Horn of Africa. Hamburg, 17–19 July 2014. Supplements to Aethiopica. Vol. 4. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN978-3-447-10430-2.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2010). First Mission: April–May 2010 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 1. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2010). Second Mission: November–December 2010 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 2. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2011). Third Mission: April–May 2011 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 3. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2011). Fourth Mission: November–December 2011 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 4. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2012). Fifth Mission: May–June 2012 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 5. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2012). Sixth Mission: November–December 2012 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 6. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2014). Seventh Mission: January–February 2014 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 7. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2014). Eighth Mission: May–June 2014 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 8. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2015). Mission: March 2015 Report(PDF). Ethio-SPaRe, Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia: Salvation, Preservation and Research. Vol. 9. Hamburg: University of Hamburg.
^Nosnitsin, Denis (2013). Churches and Monasteries of Tǝgray: A Survey of Manuscript Collections. Supplements to Aethiopica. Vol. 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN978-3-447-06969-4.