Tiya archaeological site
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How it came to be
Tiya lies in the Soddo region south of Addis Ababa and is among the most important of the roughly 160 archaeological sites found there so far. It has 36 monuments, 32 of them carved stelae covered with symbols, most of which are hard to decipher. The stelae probably marked a large burial ground, and excavations have uncovered tombs.
Tiya is one of nine sites with megalithic pillars in the Gurage Zone. The stelae of the area are anthropomorphic, phallic or neither, and the flat stones at Tiya carry swords, plant-like emblems, a standing figure with arms akimbo and a T-shaped sign. Local people call them Gran's stones after Ahmad ibn Ibrahim, known as Gran, but they were made centuries before his lifetime.
Who raised the stones is still unknown. The research led by Roger Joussaume placed the site in the 11th to 13th centuries AD, and later dating put the stelae somewhere between the 10th and 15th centuries. Middle Stone Age tools have also been found on the surface. Tiya was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1980.
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