Teniky

Enigmatic architecture at an archaeological site in southern Madagascar

Bibliographic Data

ID6042351
AuthorsGuido Schreurs (0000-0002-4544-7514, University of Bern, corresponding author), Tristan Allegro (University of Lausanne), Margaux Rouvinez (0009-0008-8671-1626, University of Lausanne), Chantal Radimilahy (0000-0002-6358-3157, Institut des Civilisations et Musée d’Art et de l’Archéologie), Judith Raharinoro (0009-0008-7457-7239, Institut des Civilisations et Musée d’Art et de l’Archéologie), Nelas Fanny Sabe (0009-0006-3492-2937, Institut des Civilisations et Musée d’Art et de l’Archéologie), Jean-Aime Rakotoarisoa (Institut des Civilisations et Musée d’Art et de l’Archéologie), Lahatra Rakotomavo (0009-0008-2422-0901, University of Antananarivo), Ny Antso Rakotondrazafy (0009-0004-6313-9269, University of Antananarivo), Njara Randrianarivelo (0009-0008-0857-8057, Institut des Civilisations et Musée d’Art et de l’Archéologie), Sönke Szidat (0000-0002-1824-6207, University of Bern)
Year2025
Volume60
Issue1
Pages61-104
Publication date2025-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAzania Archaeological Research in Africa (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0067-270X • E-ISSN: 1945-5534
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0067270x.2024.2380619
OpenAlexW4402448019
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited42

Teniky is an isolated inland archaeological site in the Isalo massif of southern Madagascar, with enigmatic rock-cut architecture that is unique in all of Madagascar and the wider East African coast. In the first half of the twentieth century visitors described archaeogical structures within a fluvial cirque (i.e. an amphitheatre-shaped valley formed by fluvial erosion), which included man-made terraces, rock-cut niches in the steep cliffs and a rock shelter delimited by walls consisting of carved sandstone blocks. Our investigations at Teniky have led to the discovery of further archaeological structures beyond the cirque. These structures include further terraces, rock-cut niches, stone basins and carved sandstone walls on a hill 2.5 km to the west, as well as sandstone quarries and dry stone walls in the valley in between. AMS radiocarbon dating of charcoal found during excavations at the newly discovered rock-cut niches and carved sandstone walls indicates that they were constructed in the late first millennium/early second millennium c. tenth to twelfth century AD. Pottery sherds at Teniky include Chinese and Southeast Asian ceramics dating to broadly the eleventh to fourteenth centuries, concordant with the radiocarbon ages. The presence of imported ceramics indicates that those living at Teniky participated in Indian Ocean trade networks in medieval times, despite being over 200 km from the nearest coast. The closest stylistic parallels to the enigmatic rock-cut architecture at Teniky are found in present-day Iran, particularly in the Fars region, where rock-cut niches dating to the first millennium AD or earlier have been attributed to Zoroastrian communities. We tentatively interpret the rock-cut architecture at Teniky as part of a former necropolis made by settlers with Zoroastrian origins. More archaeological research is required to test this hypothesis and to address questions such as: where and when did these settlers first arrive on the coast of Madagascar; why and when did they move inland; how did they live and how did they interact with other populations on the island; and why and when was the site deserted

Ancient history · Archaeology · Geography · Architecture · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

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