While I am a bit late in responding to the article published on September 9, 2012, I found myself obliged to do so in order to correct some factual errors.

The author of the article referred to Tiboda as an Amazigh city, despite it being 8,000 years old. The concept of a city did not exist at that historical period which is called prehistory or before humans learned to write. Tiboda, thus, belongs to the Modern Stone Age when humans did not have cities but established settlements called Ancient Settlements.

While I am a bit late in responding to the article published on September 9, 2012, I found myself obliged to do so in order to correct some factual errors.

The author of the article referred to Tiboda as an Amazigh city, despite it being 8,000 years old. The concept of a city did not exist at that historical period which is called prehistory or before humans learned to write. Tiboda, thus, belongs to the Modern Stone Age when humans did not have cities but established settlements called Ancient Settlements.

Additionally, there is no proof that Tiboda is of an Amazigh origin as this term is a modern one. Even the term ‘Tamazight’ is modern and academically means ‘old Libyan language.’

Even more peculiar, the author claimed that a US research center discovered Tiboda’s existence, which is completely untrue. Tiboda was discovered through satellite images taken by a research center in Delaware University to carry out research that I proposed.

The rooms he described in the article are also inaccurate. There were rather corridors and spaces that might have served as living spaces, but studies have not yet confirmed this. There are not any urns or Tijani columns in Tiboda as it has not been historically or archeologically proven that humans established any column of that sort in the prehistoric era. 

I explained to the author that we know very little about this place due to the scarce studies or historical sources that talk about it. I also explained scientifically the reason behind the sinking of Tiboda based on academic reports issued by a seismology center in Cecilia, Italy.

What I find strange is that the author mentioned, quoting amateurs in the field, that the Greek Historian Herodotus described Tiboda’s population as ‘lotus-eaters’. However, Herodotus wrote his famous book in the fifth century BC, which means that the time difference between Tiboda and Herodotus is more than 5,000 years.

The author also described mosaics that are found on the shore in front of Tiboda settlement and the luxurious villas that the area is famous for. Nevertheless, I do not understand why he would link the Romanian mosaics with a settlement that belongs to a prehistoric era. Anyone interested, even remotely, with history, should be aware of the assumptive nature of such facts; the mosaics are not related to the settlements. The area located on the shore was searched and no mosaics or villas were found.

The article also suggested that Tiboda was affected by the Capsian Culture, which is also strange. No one, who has even the slightest knowledge about history, can make such predictions without research, excavations and verification of laboratory test results, which have not yet been conducted in Tiboda.

Only geological reports about the history of earthquakes and tsunamis in the Mediterranean and how much the coasts of North Africa were affected by them are available regarding the settlement. There are also some satellite images, a sketch of the site and research that has not been yet completed.

In my opinion, the article did not follow academic methodology in narration and information verification. With my response, I hope to correct some misunderstanding and misconceptions.

Shawki Ibrahim Muammar

Professor of Ancient History