Tondidarou is a small town and megalithic archaeological site in

Niafunké Cercle Niafunké Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Tombouctou Region of Mali. The administrative center (''chef-lieu'') is the town of Niafunké. In the 2009 census the cercle had a population of 184,285. The Niger River runs for 100 ...

Timbuktu Region Tombouctou Region ( Bambara: ߕߎߡߎߕߎ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Tumutu Dineja) is one of the administrative regions of Mali. For administrative purposes, the region is subdivided into five cercles. The region is part of northern Mali that was separ ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

, northwest of

Niafunké Niafunké is a small town on the Niger River in central Mali. The town is the administrative center ('' chef-lieu'') of the commune of Soboundou in the Niafunké Cercle of the Tombouctou Region Tombouctou Region ( Bambara: ߕߎߡߎߕߎ ߘ� ...

, about 150 kilometres south-west of

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

. The site, located on the eastern bank of Lac Tagadji, was discovered by

Jules Brévié Joseph-Jules Brévié (12 March 1880 – 28 July 1964) was a French colonial administrator who became governor-general of French West Africa from 1930 to 1936, and then governor-general of French Indochina from 1937 to 1939. He promoted liberal an ...

in 1904 and is said to be "defined by three groups of stone megaliths", monoliths which are a "remarkable collection of phalliform stone monuments." ''Ancient Egypt in Africa'' refers to the site as "Diop's 'Egypt-influenced' phalliform stone circle of Tondidarou". Eugene Maes was the first to seriously document the stones at Tondidarou in 1924. It was extensively excavated in around 1980. The site is dated to 670 - 790 AD.

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Further reading