The Cliff Dwellers of Bandiagara
High on a sheer cliff in Mali, small houses and granaries are tucked into caves that seem impossible to reach. The Dogon say the people who built them could fly.
What was reported
The Bandiagara Escarpment is a sandstone cliff about 150 kilometres long in Mali, home to the Dogon people. In its face, often far above the ground, are clusters of small mud-brick buildings built into caves and crevices.
The Dogon say these belonged to the Tellem, a people who lived there before them. The Tellem, they say, were small and could fly, or used magic ropes, to reach their homes. The Dogon still use some of the caves for burials.
Explanations offered
Archaeologists have found that the Tellem lived there from about the 11th to the 16th century, and probably reached the caves with ropes and by climbing routes that have since eroded. They may have moved away or merged with the Dogon. The cliffs are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- When
- About the 11th to 16th centuries
- Where
- Bandiagara Escarpment, Mopti, Mali
- Witnesses
- The Dogon, and archaeologists
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.