Landmark Africa
Church of Saint George
The Church of Saint George in Lalibela, Ethiopia, was carved down into solid rock. It sits at the bottom of a pit!
The Church of Saint George (Biete Ghiorgis) in Lalibela, Ethiopia, was not built up from stones. It was carved out of one block of red volcanic rock, inside a trench cut into the hillside. Its plan has the shape of a cross. It is one of the 11 rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, a World Heritage Site since 1978.
Biete Ghiorgis is one of the eleven medieval monolithic churches of Lalibela, hewn, as UNESCO puts it, from the living rock rather than built in a traditional way. ICOMOS describes it as a perfect monolithic church whose walls and roof were freed from the red volcanic tuff, with a remarkable cruciform plan and pointed windows. It stands apart from the two other groups, linked to them by a system of trenches.
Photo: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Church of Saint George
The Church of Saint George is in Lalibela, a village in the mountains of Ethiopia.
It was carved out of rock, all in one piece!
The Church of Saint George stands in Lalibela, in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia, about 645 kilometers from Addis Ababa. It is also called Biete Ghiorgis, the House of St. George.
It is one of eleven churches at Lalibela that were carved out of rock. It stands on its own, away from the other two groups of churches.
UNESCO's World Heritage property 'Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela' covers eleven medieval monolithic churches in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia, some 645 km from Addis Ababa. Ten form two main groups; the eleventh, Biete Ghiorgis (House of St. George), is isolated from the others but connected to them by a system of trenches.
ICOMOS, in its 1978 evaluation, places Biet Ghiorgis to the west, with one group to the north and another to the southeast, all carved in the red volcanic tuff of the hills below the modern village.
- Where
- Lalibela, Ethiopia
- Made from
- red volcanic tuff
- Plan
- cross-shaped
- World Heritage Site
- 1978 (Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela)
Carved in the Middle Ages
The churches of Lalibela were carved a very long time ago, in the Middle Ages.
Travelers wrote about them long ago, in the 1500s.
The rock churches of Lalibela are medieval. UNESCO says their building is attributed to King Lalibela, and ICOMOS says most of them date from the 13th century.
Travelers have written about these unusual churches for centuries. ICOMOS names Francisco Alvarez, who saw them in the 1500s, as one of the first.
Dates differ between the sources: UNESCO's short description calls Lalibela's churches 13th-century and attributes their building to King Lalibela, while its longer text says he set out to build them in the 12th century. ICOMOS states that most were conceived as churches from the start and date to the 13th century, though some underground rooms are older.
ICOMOS adds that Ethiopia has many rock churches, perhaps 114 to 120, of three kinds: churches built inside rock shelters, churches dug into a cliff face and monolithic churches. The monolithic type has been recognized as exceptional by travelers since the 16th century, from Francisco Alvarez onward.
Carved, not built
The builders did not stack stones to make this church.
They cut a deep trench around a block of rock, then carved the block into a church.
UNESCO explains that the Lalibela churches were not built in the usual way. They were hewn from blocks of solid rock, which were then chiseled out to form doors, windows, columns, floors and roofs. ICOMOS adds that a trench separates each block from the hillside.
The Church of Saint George is a 'perfect' monolithic church, ICOMOS says: its walls and roof were all freed from the rock. Its plan is shaped like a cross.
ICOMOS defines Ethiopia's monolithic churches as carved entirely from a rock mass that a trench separates from the surrounding mountain, standing in the open like copies of buildings with their walls and roof clearly visible, yet rising from the shade of a pit while remaining part of the mountain's mass.
UNESCO describes how the blocks were chiseled out to form doors, windows, columns, floors and roofs, and how the work was completed with drainage ditches, trenches and passages. ICOMOS singles out Biet Ghiorgis's remarkable cruciform plan and pointed windows.
Trenches and drainage
Around the churches are trenches and paths cut into the rock.
Near the churches, people live in round houses made of red stone.
The churches are linked by trenches and passages, and drainage ditches were dug around them. The Church of Saint George is joined to the others by trenches.
Near the churches, the village of Lalibela has round houses two stories high, made of local red stone. They are known as Lasta Tukuls.
UNESCO notes that the drainage ditches were filled with earth for several centuries before being cleared in the 20th century, and have been disrupted by seismic activity. Water damage has severely degraded the monuments, and most are now considered to be in critical condition; temporary lightweight shelters have been installed over some churches.
UNESCO's criterion (iii) counts the village's traditional two-story circular houses, with interior staircases and thatched roofs, as part of Lalibela's exceptional testimony to the civilization of medieval and post-medieval Ethiopia.
- Churches at Lalibela
- 11
- Distance from Addis Ababa
- about 645 km
- Windows
- pointed
- UNESCO criteria
- (i)(ii)(iii)
Looking down into the pit
In this photo, we look down at the church inside its deep pit.
Steps lead down to its doors, and orange patches cover parts of the rock.
This photo was taken on 13 November 2018. It looks down into the pit at the church, with its tall reddish walls, its windows and its doors. Steps lead down beside it, and a person in white sits near a doorway.
The Lalibela churches are still in use today.
The photograph (13 November 2018, by Sailko) looks down into the trench at Biete Ghiorgis: tall reddish walls with yellow-green and orange patches, horizontal bands, pointed windows and doorways on a stepped base, with carved steps at the left and the trench walls all around. A person in white sits by a doorway.
UNESCO describes Lalibela as a living site, home to a large community of priests and monks, and stresses the need for a management plan and stronger planning controls around the churches.
Amazing facts
-
This church was carved out of solid rock instead of being built!
The builders started with solid rock and cut away everything that was not the church, leaving doors, windows and a roof.
UNESCO notes that the churches were hewn from monolithic blocks of living rock, which were then chiseled out to form doors, windows, columns, floors and roofs.
-
Ethiopia has more than one hundred churches cut into rock!
ICOMOS says Ethiopia has a remarkable series of rock churches, about 114 to 120 of them.
ICOMOS's 1978 evaluation reports 114 rock churches according to R. Sauter, or 120 according to the Ethiopian specialist Tawelde Mehdin.
-
Near the churches are round houses with two floors!
The village of Lalibela has round, two-story houses made of local red stone, called Lasta Tukuls.
UNESCO describes the village's two-story round houses of local red stone, the Lasta Tukuls, with interior staircases and thatched roofs.
Words to know
- monolithic
- made from one single block of stone
- rock-hewn
- cut or carved out of solid rock
- tuff
- a rock formed from volcanic ash
- trench
- a long, deep ditch cut into the ground
- cruciform
- shaped like a cross
- drainage
- a way of carrying away extra water
Discovery challenge
-
In which country is the Church of Saint George?
Lalibela, home of the Church of Saint George, is in which country?
The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela are about 645 km from the capital of which country?
- Ethiopia
- Egypt
- Ecuador
Show the answer
Ethiopia
Ethiopia!
Ethiopia.
Ethiopia.
-
How was the church made?
How was the Church of Saint George made?
What makes Biete Ghiorgis a monolithic church?
- Carved out of solid rock
- Built from wooden logs
- Made of glass bricks
Show the answer
Carved out of solid rock
It was carved out of rock!
It was carved out of one block of rock.
Its walls and roof were carved free from a single rock mass.
-
What shape is the church's plan?
What shape is the plan of the Church of Saint George?
Which plan does ICOMOS call remarkable at Biet Ghiorgis?
- A cross
- A circle
- A triangle
Show the answer
A cross
A cross!
A cross.
A cruciform (cross-shaped) plan.
-
How many rock churches are there at Lalibela?
How many rock-hewn churches does UNESCO list at Lalibela?
How many monolithic churches make up the World Heritage property at Lalibela?
- 11
- 3
- 111
Show the answer
11
Eleven!
Eleven.
Eleven.
-
When did the churches become a World Heritage Site?
In which year did UNESCO list the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela?
In which year were the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela inscribed on the World Heritage List?
- 1978
- 1878
- 2008
Show the answer
1978
1978!
1978.
1978.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain the difference between building something up and carving it out.
- Describe how water can damage old buildings.
- Explain what makes a building monolithic.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think carving a building from rock would be hard?
- How can people protect old buildings from rain and water?
- Why might people want to visit places like Lalibela?
Try at home or in class
- Carve a small 'building' from a bar of soap or a block of clay, cutting away everything that is not the building.
- Find Lalibela and Addis Ababa on a map of Ethiopia.
Key vocabulary: monolithic, rock-hewn, tuff, trench, cruciform, drainage
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Advisory Body Evaluation: Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, No 18 , ICOMOS / UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- File:Lalibela, san giorgio, esterno 24.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.