Madagascar’s mysterious Teniky rock architecture: study suggests a link to ancient Persia

By Guido Schreurs, Professor in Geology, University of Bern
Chantal Radimilahy, Senior Lecturer, Archaeology, University of Antananarivo, Université d’Antananarivo

In the heart of Isalo National Park in central-southern Madagascar, at least 200km from the sea in any direction, is a remote valley with a mysterious past. This place, Teniky, can only be reached on foot, by hiking through a mountainous region dissected by steep canyons.

Part of the Teniky site has been known for well over 100 years, as we know from names and dates scratched on the rocks there. Various visitors in the 1950s and 1960s with an interest in archaeology described an amphitheatre-shaped location with man-made terraces, a rock shelter with neatly constructed sandstone walls,…

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