Tiya Stelae Field

Tiya is a row of thirty-six stelae standing in a field in the Gurage highlands, most of them carved on one face with symbols: swords, plant forms, discs and figures that have been read as marking the sex and status of the person buried beneath, though nobody has established what the system actually means. Excavation found burials of individuals aged between roughly eighteen and thirty, dated to somewhere between the tenth and fifteenth centuries. The stelae are part of a much larger group of megalithic sites across southern Ethiopia, several hundred of them, of which Tiya is the best preserved and the one inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980. The site is small, fenced and takes half an hour, on the road south from Addis Ababa.

What to look for

• The stelae row - thirty-six carved stones standing in line.
• Carved symbols - swords, discs and plant forms whose meaning is unknown.
• The burial context - the graves the stones were raised over.
• Highland farmland - the Gurage country around the fenced site.

When to go

October to March for the roads and clear weather. The site is open daily and the visit is short. It is usually combined with Adadi Mariam and Melka Kunture on a day trip from Addis Ababa.

Practical notes

The site is small: a fenced row of stones in a field, and half an hour covers it. Interpretation on site is minimal and the meaning of the carvings is genuinely unknown, so guides offer speculation. The stones are weathered and some carvings are faint.

Nearby

Adadi Mariam lies north; Melka Kunture is on the same road.