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 AXUM, Ethiopia (AP) - The first part of a centuries-old Ethiopian obelisk looted by Benito Mussolini's troops was returned Tuesday, arriving by cargo plane in a small wind-swept town that was once the center of an ancient and powerful kingdom.
The return of the 1,700-year-old granite obelisk ends a dispute that began in 1947, when Italy signed a pledge to the United Nations to return all the property plundered from Ethiopia.
The middle section of the 80-foot high funeral stone, taken in 1937 on the orders of the fascist dictator, was flown into northern Ethiopia at sunrise. The 58-ton piece was placed under armed guard at the airport until the two remaining pieces are flown to Axum from Rome later this month.
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