Tiya (archaeological site)

According to Joussaume (1995), who led archaeological work at Tiya, the site is relatively recent. It was dated to a time period between the 11th and 13th centuries CE. Later dating places the stelae's construction some time between the 10th and 15th centuries CE. However, the building of megaliths in Ethiopia is a very ancient tradition, with many such monuments predating the Common Era. The menhir or stelae at the site, "32 of which are engraved with enigmatic symbols, notably swords," likely mark a large, prehistoric burial complex. A German ethnographic expedition had visited the site in April 1935, and had found at one hour's journey to the south of the caravan camp the stone monoliths with sword symbol, which had been seen earlier by Neuville and Père Azaïs. Surface finds at Tiya contained a selection of Middle Stone Age tools (MSA) that are technologically similar to tools found at Gademotta and Kulkuletti. Because of a unique production process that uses what are called “tranchet blows”, Tiya tools might also belong to the same time span as these other two sites. Additionally, archaeological excavations at Tiya have yielded tombs. == Gurage stelae ==

s with engraved figures in Tiya. field in Tiya. Tiya is one of nine megalithic pillar sites in the Gurage Zone. As of 1997, 118 stelae were reported in the area. Along with the stelae in the Hadiya Zone, the structures have been identified by local residents as Yegragn Dingay or "Gran's stone", in reference to Ahmad ibn Ibrahim. The stelae at Tiya and other areas in central Ethiopia are similar to those on the route between Djibouti City and Loyada in Djibouti. In the latter area, there are a number of anthropomorphic and phallic stelae, which are associated with graves of rectangular shape flanked by vertical slabs. The Djibouti-Loyada stelae are of uncertain age, and some of them are adorned with an analogous T-shaped emblem. == Research ==

Little research has been done at Tiya, and there are several difficulties in understanding these types of sites from an archaeological standpoint. First, it is difficult to determine the identity of the megalith builders given just the megaliths themselves. Second, archaeologists have been preoccupied with reconstructing ethnic histories through oral historical accounts, yet these are unavailable or uninformative in many cases. ==See also==