Study of church architecture in Ethiopia is a new arrival on the scene. It was as recently as 1966 that a Roman Catholic priest reported the existence of large numbers of churches carved out of rock in the mountains of Tigray in the north of Ethiopia, unknown to western visitors. This discovery showed a variety of styles and construction methods with churches built out of stone and wood, churches carved out of solid rock in a variety of styles, and then the growth of the round churches with a central sanctuary. They are difficult to date – especially rock churches. It has been established by researchers such as David Buxton and David Phillipson that the best approach is to observe and record the architectural features, regardless of the way in which the church was constructed. This has been a fruitful approach and this book follows the same method. The basis of the study is the basilica, which was a meeting hall in classical times that became adapted to Christian worship. This form of church is found throughout the Christian world. The author first describes what a basilica is, then shows how the design developed through successive periods – with sections describing the churches of the fourth to seventh centuries, most now ruined; the churches of the eighth to twelfth centuries, which include built, rock hewn and semi-monolithic (a mixture of built and carved); then the churches of the twelfth century, especially the churches built by the Zagwe dynasty at Lalibela. As well as text, there are many photographs and plans of the buildings, giving a full and at times spectacular picture of the churches. These illustrations, with their accompanying text, demonstrate how the churches developed in style. They make clear how the basic basilica type changed, with distinctive building methods, mathematically proportioned dimensions, and the inclusion of baptisteries, sanctuaries and pastophoria. This establishes an architectural and a liturgical history, which persists through the incredibly varied construction styles, using both stone and other building materials and also fitting these in to caves and other natural features. The story comes to an end in the twelfth century, when the round church with a central sanctuary became the usual style of architecture. There is a need for a successor volume to trace the history of the round church and see whether this form continues the history into the present day. Now however, as the final comments show, there is a revival of the basilica form in large modern churches.