Ancient architecture unearthed in Madagascar

A recent study has unveiled the remarkable archaeological site of Teniky, located in Madagascar's Isalo National Park, showcasing mysterious ancient architecture carved into the rocky landscape.

The research focuses on Teniky, a remote archaeological site in the Isalo massif in southern Madagascar, situated over 120 miles from the nearest coast, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media. 

This site features unique rock-cut architecture that is unlike anything else found in Madagascar or along the East African coast. The study reveals that Teniky is "much larger" than previously believed, containing many previously undocumented archaeological features, as noted by lead author Guido Schreurs, a geologist from the University of Bern in Switzerland. In the early 20th century, visitors to the Teniky site in Isalo National Park noted archaeological structures within a fluvial cirque, which is a valley shaped by river erosion. These included man-made terraces, rock-cut niches in the steep cliffs, and a rock shelter defined by walls made of carved sandstone blocks.

During his fieldwork in southern Madagascar in the 1990s, Schreurs learned about the rock shelter, often referred to as the Grotte des Portugais. According to legend, in the 16th century, a Portuguese ship sank off the Malagasy coast, and its crew crossed the island in search of a safer route where other Portuguese ships traveling to India might pass. It is said that they built stone walls during their stay in Isalo National Park.  

However, after attending a 2010 exhibition that showcased photographs of the Grotte des Portugais, which featured an intricately carved stone wall and entrance, Schreurs began to question whether the Portuguese had actually constructed this wall. "Why would they take the time to build such a nice wall if they were just passing through?" he pondered. Further research led him to a publication from a 1963 magazine by the Tourism Office of Madagascar, which not only included images of the sandstone walls at the rock shelter but also documented the rock-cut architecture at Teniky.

This prompted Schreurs to seriously reconsider the notion that all these structures were built by the shipwrecked Portuguese crew. The researcher later examined high-resolution satellite images of Isalo National Park and discovered, in late 2019, additional structures—rectangular and linear features, including man-made terraces—located over a mile west of the previously known archaeological sites, such as the Grotte des Portugais. In 2021, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Schreurs successfully conducted an initial reconnaissance mission to Teniky, collaborating with Malagasy archaeologists and guides from Isalo National Park. This expedition uncovered previously unknown rock-cut structures and intricately carved sandstone walls.  

In 2022, Schreurs returned to the site with a team of Malagasy and Swiss archaeologists to perform excavations and document the findings. During this work, they discovered pottery shards and small pieces of charcoal, which were dated using radiocarbon methods at the University of Bern. The latest study reveals that the Teniky site is significantly larger and contains more archaeological structures than previously recognized, including terraces, stone walls, stone basins, and rock-cut features.  

The research also provided insights into the age of these structures, suggesting that the sandstone walls and rock-cut architecture were built approximately a thousand years ago, around the 10th to 12th centuries, indicating that the site was inhabited during that time. Most likely, the structures within the fluvial cirque date to the same period. "We now know that the shipwrecked Portuguese did not create the structures at Teniky in the 16th century," Schreurs stated.

By Naila Huseynova