Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site, Adadi Mariam and Tiya » Venture Ethiopia - Tours and Travel

Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site, Adadi Mariam and Tiya

Delve into Ethiopia's early history from the stone age through to rock-hewn churches and the mysterious medieval stelae field of Tiya.

  • See artefacts excavated from across Ethiopia at the Melka Kunture museum
  • Visit an open-air excavation and a prehistoric animal butchering site
  • Step back in time at the Adadi Mariam rock-hewn church
  • Explore the mysterious stelae field at Tiya

One of the most important pre-historic sites in Ethiopia, Melka Kunture was occupied intermittently for 1.8 million years from the Early Stone Age into the New Stone Age.

Built during the 12th or 13th Centaury, Adadi Mariam is the southernmost of Ethiopia's rock-hewn churches still in existence.  Local tradition associates it with King Lalibela's visit to the area in 1106, and there are certainly similarities between it and the famous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

The mysterious stelae field at Tiya is a place that invites much speculation.  Recently restored and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, nobody really knows who carved the stelae, or why, although recent excavations suggest that they act as grave markers dating from about 700 years ago.  It has been suggested that the site at Tiya marks the boundary between Christian and pagan religions in medieval Ethiopia.

Map of Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site, Adadi Mariam and Tiya