The Use of Decision Making Multi-Media Components in Elucidating the Construction Methods of the St. George Church in Lalibela, Ethiopia

A Microsoft Windows-based multi-media graphical system offers new insights into the construction methods of St. George's Church, a UNESCO-listed 12th-century monolithic hypogea in Lalibela, Ethiopia. The system simulates two proposed engineering approaches—MEOI (Measure, Excavate, Outside, Inside) and MSOI (Measure, Simultaneous excavation, Outside, Inside)—allowing learners to virtually reconstruct the church using ancient or modern tools, varying labor forces, and volcanic tufa of different hardness levels. By providing interactive exploration of dimensions, material properties, and construction decisions, the system bridges historical gaps in engineering knowledge while inspiring sustainable modern construction techniques inspired by ancient methods.

Ridgill, B., Tan, A., Tan, F., & Yang, J. THE USE OF DECISION MAKING MULTI-MEDIA COMPONENTS IN ELUCIDATING THE CONSTRUCTION METHODS OF THE ST. GEORGE CHURCH IN LALIBELA, ETHIOPIA. 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--29017