Petit Grotte Rock-cut niches Sandstone wall View of fluvial cirque | |
  Shown within Madagascar | |
| Alternative name | Tenika |
|---|---|
| Region | Ihorombe |
| Coordinates | 22°18′09.47″S 45°18′27.20″E / 22.3026306°S 45.3075556°E |
| Part of | Isalo Massif |
| History | |
| Material | Sandstone, conglomerate |
| Founded | c. 10th–12th centuries CE |
| Cultures | Zoroastrian settlers (proposed), Sakalava, Bara |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 2021, 2022, 2024 |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | Rock-cut architecture |
| Architectural details | Niches, terraces, pillars, benches |
Teniky[a] is a geological and archaeological site located in the Isalo Massif, a mountainous formation in Madagascar's southwestern Ihorombe region. The site is notable for its unique rock-cut architecture, which is unlike any other found in Madagascar and the wider East African coast. The enigmatic complex spans nearly 8 square kilometres (3.1 sq mi), and contains precise stone walls, quarries, terraces, niches, rock-cut boulders and stone basins.
Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found at newly-discovered man-made structures at the site found them to date to the 10th–12th centuries CE. Shards of Chinese and Southeast Asian pottery found at Teniky date to the 11th–14th centuries CE. A 2024 study of the rock-cut niches at Teniky identified their closest architectural parallels as first-millennium Zoroastrian niches in Iran, particularly in the Fars region, suggesting that the site may have been a necropolis constructed by settlers of Zoroastrian origin.
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