There are over 120 rock-hewn churches in the Tigray region. Most of these are very different from the monolithic churches of Lalibela, which remain attached to the ground only at the base. The churches of Tigray are either built into pre-existing caves or are only partially separated from the surrounding rock. Part of the appeal of these churches are their precarious and often improbable positions, high up in cliff faces.
Until the mid 1960s, the churches were barely known outside the region and many questions still remain as to their place in history. Some scholars have suggested that their remote locations were to protect them from raiding Muslims. Although local traditions usually attribute the churches to the 4th century Kings of Abreha and Atsbeha, or to 6th century rulers, most historians would date them to the 9th to 15th centuries, suggesting an artistic, cultural and technical link between Axum and Lalibela at that time.