The Obelisk of Aksum, believed to have been built in the 4th century by King Ezana, was one of many such designs believed to be markers for burial chambers. The practice was also likely a religious one as there were often altars built beneath them, and it declined after Aksum converted to Christianity.

Ezana’s pillar survived many different conflicts to survive to the present, most recently the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 when it was carted back to Italy (it was returned in 1947!)