The production of wine in Ethiopia can be traced to the early centuries of the first millennium A.D. The historian Richard Pankhurst observed that early references to Axumite wine can be found in one of the stele erected by the 4th century ruler Ezana. Aksumite viticulture is also attested to by carvings on the base of the great 3rd century obelisk at Axum. The traditional honey wine tej has also long been widely popular.