The Seven Stone Cities
The account
The formations are said to be the ruins of cities built by Phoenicians or by visitors from another world.
What investigators found
The shapes are the result of sandstone erosion over millions of years, and the paintings were made by ancient Indigenous peoples.
The story
In northern Piauí, Sete Cidades National Park contains clusters of rocks that resemble walls, towers, arches and even faces. The formations were grouped into seven cities, and many of the rock faces bear ancient paintings. In the 1920s, Austrian professor Ludwig Schwennhagen argued that the site was the work of Phoenicians, and later, authors associated with the ancient astronaut theory suggested the presence of visitors from beyond Earth.
Geologists explain that the shapes were created by rain, wind and temperature changes acting on layers of sandstone, which wear away unevenly and produce curious figures. The paintings, studied by archaeologists, are the work of human groups who lived in the region thousands of years ago. The mystery is a natural one, and no less beautiful for it.