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Maximum precautions must be taken for every action - works conducted on an archaeological site are irreversible. Scientific
procedures, in accordance with universally recognized methods, were recommended.
To ensure a thorough understanding of the context, the archaeological team conducted excavation work on Ambatovy’s current sites
by targeting places along the pipeline (Ampitamalandy and Ambavalanomby). Surface collections during the preliminary phase were
supplemented by on-site control surveys, during which stratigraphy was necessary. Ultimately, thanks to the works conducted by
Ambatovy, one hundred sites were discovered and thousands of artifacts were brought to Toamasina for study and analysis.
Laboratory Analysis
Once construction was complete the artifacts were treated in order to preserve them. The systematic registration of all collected
artifacts during the construction phase began in a room dedicated for this purpose at CEREL, University of Toamasina.
Artifacts discovered during excavation work were inventoried, classified, stored and made available to researchers seeking tangible
support for their ongoing research.
Artifacts found were not always anthropogenic. Animal bone and plant fossils of significant scientific value were discovered, in which
cases, external areas of expertise, including paleontology, paleobotany, and palynology, were necessary.
Physical and chemical analysis of the artifacts were conducted at Ambatovy’s laboratories. An agent hired specially to complete this
work. Analyzes were improved by the collaboration with the Geology Department at the University of Antananarivo.
National and international experts defined the chronological phases of the sites. This work ended with a joint validation session to
establish the date of a dozen sites that proved to be challenging.
Finally, all these artifacts, which witness thousands of years of Madagascar’s history, have been treated and documented in order
to establish a first summary. This document aims to integrate these artifacts into the general context of Madagascar’s past with a
particular emphasis on the eastern region.
