Emily Chan
Many years ago, a mysterious group of people lived in southern Madagascar. They built numerous stone chambers and terraces that were carved into cliff sides.
The architecture is unlike anything else in Madagascar and the East African coast. It is unclear who exactly built these structures and why.
The site is now known as Teniky, and it stretches across 75 acres in the Isalo National Park. It was discovered over 100 years ago.
A new study has suggested that a Zoroastrian community in Madagascar constructed the site of Teniky around 1,000 years ago. This conclusion was reached following the first detailed excavations of the site in 2021 and 2022.
In the 1940s, French naturalists Alfred and Guillaume Grandidier visited the site. They speculated that it was constructed by shipwrecked Portuguese sailors as they trekked across the island looking for a port.
Later, during the 1960s, a trench excavation uncovered a fragment of a Chinese jar dating back to the 16th century. Since then, the site has not been explored in depth due to its inaccessibility—until now.
“Arriving at the site requires a strenuous walk of nearly 20 km [13 miles] across a rugged terrain. All the equipment and food has to be carried to the site. It also has to be mentioned that archaeological research in Madagascar always requires collaboration with local institutions and authorizations from different ministries (which is sometimes challenging),” said a study author and archaeologist named Dr. Schreurs.
Throughout the excavations at Teniky, a variety of structures were found, including pillars, chambers, carved stone benches, and dozens of circular and rectangular stone niches.
The archaeologists also came across man-made terraces, rock-cut boulders, stone basins, tombs, and ceramic shards from China and Southeast Asia. The shards date back to the 11th and 13th centuries.
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