NATIONAL MONUMENTS OF ZAMBIA

By D. W. Phillipson

Introduction

 The Guide provides details of thirty-six National Monuments in Zambia which are open to the public at the present time. Details of the interest and importance of each Monument are given, together with advice on access. Ease of travel to National Monuments varies considerably: some are situated in towns or beside main tarred highways, others can only be reached by Land-Rover over difficult country, while one Monument is only accessible by boat.

The Zambia National Monuments Commission was established in 1947 to secure the preservation of sites of outstanding natural beauty and places of archaeological or historical interest. In addition, the Commission is responsible for the conduct and control of archaeological research in Zambia. The National Monuments described in this book provide a good selection of the large variety of the sites which fall under the Commission’s control.

There are so far a total of fifty-five National Monuments in Zambia and new ones are frequently declared. In particular, it is hoped that a substantial number of sites which are important in the traditional history of the Zambian people will shortly be added to the list. For various reasons several National Monuments cannot yet be opened to the public without restriction. Work on developing these sites is one of the Commission’s highest priorities and it is hoped that future editions of this Guide will include details of a larger number of sites.

All National Monuments are fully protected by law. Damage or removal of soil, stone, vegetation, wildlife or items of archaeological or historical interest are all strictly prohibited. When visiting a National Monument, please do not leave litter, camp or light a fire in an unauthorised place, or do anything which will spoil the enjoyment of future visitors. Because of the large area over which Monuments are distributed, it is sometimes not possible for the Commission to carry out inspection and maintenance work as often as it would wish. We must therefore rely to a large extent on the co-operation of visitors in reporting damage or maintenance needs. Comments from visitors to National Monuments are welcomed and should be sent to the address below.

Historical Summary

(The following brief summary of the archaeology and history of Zambia is intended only as a simplified outline to enable the visitor to National Monuments to view them in their historical perspective.)

Zambia lies mid-way between the two major areas of Africa, Kenya/ Tanzania and the Transvaal, where archaeological evidence has been recovered for the earliest stages of human development. So far, however, no sites which may confidently be attributed to this period—three million to half a million years ago—have been found in Zambia, but from the latter time onwards Zambia’s archaeological record is comparatively complete.

The Early Stone Age

The Zambian Early Stone Age was first intensively studied in the Livingstone-Victoria Falls area of the Zambezi Valley. Here, abundant Stone Age artefacts occur in the gravels laid down by the Zambezi and subsequently left high and dry by the river’s downcutting both upstream and downstream of the Victoria Falls. Comparatively undisturbed sites have occasionally been found farther from the main river channel. This material may be attributed to the past quarter million, and perhaps to the past one hundred thousand years: the sequence is illustrated in the Victoria Falls Field Museum.

Further information has recently been obtained at the Kalambo Falls near Mbala. Here the Kalambo River cuts through water-borne deposits in which are preserved successive archaeological horizons dating from the Iron Age back to the final stages of the Early Stone Age. The earliest human settlements so far investigated at Kalambo Falls have been dated to about sixty thousand years ago. Still older material is known to occur below the present water level.

The camp-sites were marked by rich concentrations of the characteristic stone artefacts of the period: fine handaxes and cleavers flaked on both sides as well as flake tools. Waterlogged conditions have ensured the preservation of wood and bark, including several probable wooden implements. Fossil pollen has formed the basis for a reconstruction of the prehistoric environment.

The Early Stone Age people of Central Africa were hunters, gatherers of wild vegetable foods and, perhaps, fishermen. They led a wandering life, perhaps rarely settling in one spot for more than a few weeks at a time. When a large animal was killed, a camp would be made around the carcass until it was eaten, when the group would move on. No more elaborate shelters than temporary windbreaks of broken branches were constructed and the people slept in the open, sometimes in grass-lined hollows.

The physical type of the people responsible for these cultures' is not well known, but skeletal remains from sites in Tanzania and in North Africa are attributed to Homo erectus and compared with the Pithecanthropus pekinensis fossils of the Far East. Much of the Old World was at this time occupied, albeit sparsely, by people at a comparable stage of cultural development.

Between sixty thousand and fifty thousand years ago a slow process of cultural change began, perhaps partly in response to environmental change and to an increase in human population. For the first time, the evidence is sufficiently complete for us to distinguish different population groupings within the archaeological record, but we are not yet able to differentiate satisfactorily between chronological and geographical or environmental factors in this change.

The Middle Stone Age

The earliest Middle Stone Age cultural stage has been termed ‘Sangoan’. Stone artefact assemblages of this time are characterised by the presence of thick, heavy pick-like tools which contrast with the more finely finished handaxes of the Early Stone Age. Flake tools tend to be larger, more abundant and more standardised into clearly defined types. Sangoan sites are more frequent than those of the Early Stone Age and often show signs of more prolonged occupation.

The area of settlement was now beginning to spread from the major river valleys and lake basins to the smaller dambos of the plateau areas and many caves were first occupied at this time. This last development may be linked with the spread of the controlled use of fire. The Sangoan is generally regarded as the first phase of the Middle Stone Age, although it retains many features reminiscent of the earlier period and may have its origins far back in Early Stone Age times.

During the later phases of the Middle Stone Age, regional variation becomes more clearly defined. In the Zambezi Valley, near Livingstone and farther downstream, picks and other large tools are superseded by various knife, scraper and spearpoint types. In the Upper Zambezi region of western Zambia small handaxes and picks seem to have been retained and the local Middle Stone Age shares some features with that from Angola.

At Kalambo Falls the artefacts are more closely comparable with the contemporary finds from parts of Zaire. In all areas we can detect a tendency towards a greater variety and specialisation in man’s cultural activities, although the hunting and gathering economy continued. Research has not yet reached a stage where we can even begin to understand the chronological and cultural inter-relationships of these regional variants.

The skull of Homo rhodesiensis, found on the Broken Hill Mine at Kabwe in 1921, almost certainly belongs to the Middle Stone Age and represents a physical type closely related to the Neanderthal men of Europe and the Near East.

By the end of the Middle Stone Age most of Zambia was subject to human occupation, with the exception of the Kalahari sand country of the far west where lack of stone must either have deterred human settlement or restricted tool-makers to the use of perishable materials.

The Late Stone Age

Industries of Late Stone Age type were present in central Zambia by about fifteen thousand years ago. These are differentiated from the preceding Middle Stone Age by the introduction of cultural traits of paramount importance, but the degree of continuity between the two stages must not be underestimated. It is now clear that many facets of Middle Stone Age culture survived into comparatively recent millennia, particularly in the Zambezi Valley.

During the Late Stone Age we find for the first time numerous human settlements on the plateaux, where caves and rockshelters frequently show signs of prolonged occupation. River valley and lakeside open sites continued to be favoured, particularly in the south.

Characteristic stone artefacts of this period are very small in size and include scraping, cutting and boring tools, many of which were used in a handle, as well as arrow points and barbs.

The introduction of the bow and arrow at this time must have revolutionised hunting. Bone tools are frequently found while bone and shell beads and fragments of ochre indicate a liking for personal adornment. Sites of this period indicate a continued hunting-gathering economy in which the techniques of food production were unknown.

Variations in stone tool types enable at least three regional groupings to be distinguished within the Zambian Late Stone Age. Those generally known as the Zambian Wilton and the Nachikufan, found respectively in the Southern Province and on the Central-Northern Province plateau, have been known for some years, while a third variant, named after the Makwe rockshelter, has recently been recognised in the Eastern Province.

Each zone has yielded evidence for a typologically-based succession of local development stages.

Human skeletal remains, notably the large and well-preserved series from Gwisho Hotsprings near Monze, indicate that the Late Stone Age industries were, for the most part, the work of people of Khoisan physical type, as are the modern San or ‘Bushmen’ of southern Africa.

The Early Iron Age

It is against the backcloth of a widespread Late Stone Age population that we must view the appearance of the Zambian Early Iron Age people. Their way of life provides a complete contrast with that of the Late Stone Age; methods of food production, both agriculture and animal domestication, were introduced, as were the techniques of metallurgy, pottery and the construction of pole and daga houses.

Settled life in permanent or semi-permanent villages makes its first appearance on the Zambian scene at this time. Although it is not yet known whether the introductions of these new techniques were precisely concurrent, it is clear that their arrival was intimately connected with large-scale population movements and coincided with the arrival of negroid people who may have spoken Bantu languages. These events took place from about the second to the fourth century ad.

More than ninety Early Iron Age sites are now known in Zambia. These may be divided into a number of distinct groups, recognisable by the typology of their associated pottery. Early Iron Age people appear to have entered Zambia at roughly the same time from a primary or secondary centre of dispersal lying to the west of Lake Tanganyika or in Shaba, and to have been distinct cultural entities prior to their establishment in Zambia.

In northern and eastern Zambia the Early Iron Age population appears to have been sparse; throughout the first millennium ad the majority of the people in these areas probably retained their Late Stone Age mode of life. The Copperbelt and the Lusaka region, on the other hand, were much more densely populated by farming peoples and exploitation of the copper deposits dates from around the middle of the first millennium ad, as does the smelting and forging of iron on a substantial scale.

It is only in the Southern Province that the Early Iron Age population appears to have been dense enough largely to displace the Late Stone Age hunters. The farmers on the plateau and in the Zambezi Valley founded villages which were occupied for many generations. In all other areas of Zambia the Late Stone Age people survived until a very few centuries ago.

The date at which the Early Iron Age folk were replaced by later arrivals differs in various parts of Zambia. In the north the Early Iron Age appears to have lasted for over a thousand years, while at Kalundu in the south the Early Iron Age was superseded by the ‘Kalomo culture’ about AD 800.

Rock art

Rock paintings, widely distributed throughout Zambia wherever suitable rock surfaces exist, fall into two stylistic groups. The rare naturalistic paintings of animals, such as that at Katolola, although of little artistic merit when compared with the ‘Bushman paintings’ of Rhodesia, South Africa and Lesotho, may safely be attributed to the Late Stone Age hunters.

The much more frequent schematic designs, on the other hand, now appear to have been the work of Iron Age peoples and to be associated with ritual and religious ceremonies: at one site they can be proved to be less than twelve hundred years old. The meaning and purpose of the schematic paintings are not clearly understood.

In some parts of Zambia, particularly in the Eastern Province, it is known that white paintings, like those at Mkoma and Thandwe, were done in connection with the puberty ceremonies of certain later Iron Age peoples. The yellow, red and bichrome schematic designs may have had a similar significance to the Early and later Iron Age inhabitants of Zambia. Further detailed research will be needed before a better understanding of the schematic rock paintings can be obtained.

Rock engravings are found mainly in the North-Western Province where the most common motifs are lines, dots and loops. There is some evidence to link these engravings with the Late Stone Age. More elaborate Iron Age engravings are occasionally found in other parts of the country.

The later Iron Age

At about the beginning of the second millennium ad, appeared the first settlements of later Iron Age peoples who seem, archaeologically speaking, to be directly ancestral to many sections of the present Zambian population. On the Copperbelt and around Lusaka the later Iron Age was established by the twelfth century, and a similar date seems probable over most of the eastern half of the country.

It was among these people that immigrant groups later established the states and kingdoms whose history is preserved in the oral traditions of many Zambian societies. Little archaeological research has so far been done on this period and the later Iron Age, beyond the range of oral tradition; is at present less well understood than the Early Iron Age.

In the Southern Province, as at Kalundu, the Early Iron Age was displaced somewhat earlier than was the case further north, and the Kalomo culture’, whose relationship with other archaeological populations is so far imperfectly understood, was established by the eighth century. At Sebanzi Hill and other sites in the Southern Province, as elsewhere, a population ancestral to the modern inhabitants of the area was present by early in the present millennium.

These southern peoples remained largely distinct, in material culture and in political development, from contemporary societies north of the Kafue. In the Zambezi Valley, extensive trading contacts were established by the fifteenth century, as the Ingombe Ilede site indicates.

The later Iron Age archaeology of western Zambia remains almost completely unknown, but there are indications of greater cultural continuity from the Early Iron Age into more recent times than is the case elsewhere.

Oral historical traditions of some Zambian societies extend back for several centuries and are preserved within the context of the traditional socio-political groupings, principally the ‘tribes’, with the origins and development of which they are often primarily concerned. These traditions of origin, when taken literally, seem to indicate that many Zambian societies arrived in their present areas as a result of mass migrations from the Lunda and Luba empires of southern Zaire, mainly during the period ad 1500 to 1750.

Recent archaeological research, together with a more rigorous examination of the oral traditions, suggests that these migrations were on a very much smaller scale and in fact generally took the form of the movement of a comparatively small number of individuals who established themselves as a ruling clan or lineage over a section of the indigenous later Iron Age population. In this way, the institution of chieftainship was introduced into a region which may previously have lacked a system of centralised political authority. It is probably to such a process that states and empires such as those of the Cewa and Bemba owe their origin.

The Lozi state in western Zambia may have arisen through a comparable process, but there the position is complicated by the large number of diverse subject groups, some of which pre-date the formation of the Lozi state while others have developed or arrived more recently. Over much of southern Zambia the old system, which lacks centralised state organisation, has survived into recent times.

The Colonial Episode and Independence

During the nineteenth century a number of diverse peoples made their appearance on the Zambian scene. Portuguese traders from Mozambique reached Kazembe’s town on the Luapula in 1798. The Ngoni arrived from the south-east during the 1830s and raided extensively in the eastern half of the country before settling in the Chipata area several decades later. Kololo from the south ruled in Lozi country for almost half a century before being overthrown in 1864.

In 1851, the Scottish missionary-explorer David Livingstone became the first European to visit the upper Zambezi Valley and his explorations, continued until his death in 1873, brought the affairs of this part of Central Africa for the first time before the attention of the British Government and public. Concurrently with Livingstone’s explorations, Arabs and Swahili raided for slaves and ivory in what are now the Northern, Eastern and Copperbelt Provinces of Zambia, while Portuguese and Chikunda penetrated the middle Zambezi Valley on similar raids during the 1870s and 1880s. Traders from Angola also reached the western areas of the country at approximately the same time, while British and South African hunters, traders and prospectors began to arrive from the south in steadily increasing numbers.

By 1890, the division of Africa among the European powers was in full swing and British interests, headed by Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company, determined to forestall a Portuguese claim to the territory lying between Mozambique and Angola by establishing a British presence. The Company therefore sent its agents north of the Zambezi to seek concessions or treaties with the African rulers. As authority for these acts by a private company, Rhodes put pressure on members of the British Government and Royal Family and obtained a vaguely worded Royal Charter.

The arguments used in persuading rulers to sign concessions were often dubious or even fraudulent. Many were convinced that they were entering into a direct agreement with Queen Victoria rather than with the representatives of a commercial company, and they did not appreciate the significance of the transfer of mineral rights to the Company.

Concurrently with this process of discovery and acquisition of mineral rights a rudimentary political administration was being established. Administrative officials were sent from British Central Africa (Malawi) into the eastern half of the country, and the area was gradually welded into the territory of Northeastern Rhodesia, with its capital at Fort Jameson (now Chipata). Although originally largely administered from British Central Africa which was under the direct control of the Imperial Government in London, Northeastern Rhodesia itself formed part of the ‘private empire’ of the British South Africa Company.

In the western part of the modern Zambia the Company’s administration was established from Southern Rhodesia. This territory, Northwestern Rhodesia, had its first capital at Kalomo but this was moved to Livingstone in 1907. In 1911 Northeastern Rhodesia and Northwestern Rhodesia were amalgamated into a single territory called Northern Rhodesia with Livingstone as capital.

Northern Rhodesia remained under the control of the British South Africa Company until 1924. During this period development was minimal. Mining remained on a small scale and European settlers were few. The major achievement of the period was the cessation of the slave-trade and of inter-tribal warfare. African political advancement was totally non-existent during this period: in fact the rule of the British South Africa Company was completely autocratic until 1918, when an Advisory Council of white settlers was established without any legislative power.

In 1924 Northern Rhodesia was handed over by the Company to the British Government, and it thus became a Protectorate under direct Colonial Office rule. Shortly afterwards, large-scale exploitation of the Copperbelt mineral deposits began and gave the territory a much- needed economic optimism. This had the double effect of attracting a greatly increased number of European settlers and of increasing the political awareness of the African population.

The dominant historical theme of the next thirty-five years was the struggle for supremacy between these two factions. Settler pressure brought Northern Rhodesia, with Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Malawi), into the ill-fated Central African Federation in 1953.

Within a few years African demands for the dissolution of the Federation and for self-government of its constituent territories under majority rule became more and more powerful. Eventually, the British Government acceded to these demands: Federation was dissolved at the end of 1963 and Northern Rhodesia became independent as the Republic of Zambia on 24th October, 1964.

Recommendations for Further Reading

J. D. Clark, Prehistory of Africa, London: Thames and Hudson, 1970.

B. M. Fagan (editor), Short History of Zambia (2nd edition), Nairobi: Oxford University Press, 1968.

L. H. Gann, History of Northern Rhodesia, London: Chatto and Windus, 1964.

R. Hall, Zambia, London: Pall Mall Press, 1965.

H. Langworthy, Zambia before 1900, Lusaka: Longman, 1972.

NATIONAL MONUMENTS OF ZAMBIA

All National Monuments described in this Guide are marked on the map at the top. The number given for each Monument indicates its position on the map.

FURTHER EXCAVATIONS (1939) AT THE MUMBWA CAVES, NORTHERN RHODESIA

During the months of July and August 1939 I undertook, on behalf of the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute, a survey of some of the better known
archaeological sites of the Lusaka district. Apart from a certain amount of Late Stone Age material on the fringes of the Kafue Flats little Stone
Age material of any value or importance was found in this area, so that it was decided to proceed to Mumbwa. Our object was to obtain for the
Museum a series of implements from the various deposits in these caves and also to discover if possible whether there was any cultural distinction
between the Stone Age material in the black and red cave earths recorded by previous excavators. Our excavations revealed a number of interesting points not previously described, thus warranting a further publication on these, by now, well-known caves.

NORTHERN AND LUAPULA PROVINCES

Kalambo Falls ( Mbala District) Map position: 20

 This magnificent waterfall is reached by taking the northerly road out of Mbala and bearing left at road junctions: the route is clearly signposted. The falls lie thirty-three kilometres from Mbala on the Kalambo River, eight kilometres from the latter’s estuary into Lake Tanganyika. The Kalambo River at this point forms the boundary between Zambia and Tanzania.

At Kalambo Falls the river drops 221 metres in a sheer vertical fall. Kalambo is thus the second highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa and the twelfth highest in the world—more than twice as high as the Victoria Falls. At the lip of the falls the width varies from less than two metres in the dry season (September to November) to over fifteen metres when the river is in flood between January and March.

The river falls into a deep rocky gorge, over 300 metres in depth, which winds its way westwards to Lake Tanganyika. In the vicinity of the falls themselves the rocky walls are vertical and their ledges are one of the rare nesting places of the marabou stork. There are two further waterfalls in the gorge and in places the river flows through a secondary gorge only three metres wide with vertical rock walls over thirty metres in height.

It is difficult, in prose, to do justice to the beauty of Kalambo Falls. Dr J. Desmond Clark has described them as ‘one of the unforgettable sights of Africa ... a single perfect example of the beauty that is to be found in falling water, in a setting of unsurpassed grandeur’.

There is a cliff path along the southern side of the gorge leading to a viewpoint directly opposite the falls, and another viewpoint, with a shelter, overlooking Lake Tanganyika.

Chishimba Falls (Kasama District) Map position: 9

 These falls may be reached from the Chishimba Falls Power Station Road, which runs west from the Kasama-Mporokoso Road about five kilometres north of its junction with the road from Kasama to Luwingu. The distance from Kasama is about thirty-five kilometres.

The monument includes three successive falls, the uppermost being the Mutumuna Falls, followed by the Kevala and Chishimba Falls. On the eastern bank of the river, just above the Kevala Falls, there is a camping site, including a picnic shelter and other amenities.

The area retains much of its original natural beauty, despite unavoidable disturbance due to the construction of the power station.

Bemba people traditionally believe that the falls are inhabited by spirits, and they are under the traditional custodianship of Senior Chief Mwamba.

Chipoma Falls (Chinsali District) Map position: 7

These falls are best reached by turning west off the Great North Road approximately twenty-four kilometres south of the turn-off to Chinsali at Two Leopards. The falls are reached after following the side road for a distance of about six kilometres, keeping left at road junctions.

At the site of the monument the Chimanabwe River flows through an attractive series of rapids and cascades. Over a distance of 500 metres the total drop is of the order of forty metres but no individual fall is more than five metres in height.

Kundabwika Falls (Kaputa District) Map position: 24

Kundabwika Falls, on the Kalungwishi River, are reached by taking the Mununga Road from Mporokoso and turning left after ninety-one kilometres. The total road distance from Mporokoso is ninety-five kilometres.

Above the falls the river flows gently through a dambo (marshy valley), but in the last kilometre it has cut a steeply sloping gorge containing two small waterfalls. The main fall is some twenty-five metres high and, during the flood season, extends to a width of seventy metres. Below the falls the river flows through a small, thickly wooded gorge.

Beside the approach road to the falls is a large rock bearing an elaborate schematic painting in red. This is thought to be of Iron Age date.

Lumangwe Falls (Mporokoso District) Map position: 26

Lumangwe Falls are reached by turning north-west from the main Kawambwa-Mporokoso Road, two kilometers east of Chipembe Pontoon.

The falls, on the Kalungwishi River, are of some grandeur, being thirty meters high and over a hundred meters in width. They nourish a small rain forest. There is a pleasant sandy beach below the falls but the place is not considered safe for bathing.

There are no plans to use power of the falls for the generation of electricity.

Kasamba Stream Grinding Grooves (Samfya District) Map position: 22

 This site is situated on the western shore of Lake Bangweulu beside the village of Chief Kasoma Bangweulu, which lies two kilometres south of Samfya Boma. An outcrop of rock on the shore of the lake bears a large number of artificial grinding grooves, oval in plan and crescentic in section. Inside most of the marks can be seen small striations running parallel to the long axis.

The origin of these marks, which are similar to those in Rhodesia, Zaire, Ghana and other parts of Africa, is a subject of discussion. It has been suggested that they were formed by grinding and polishing stone axes, or alternatively that they were used for sharpening metal tools, or for crushing gritty rocks to mix with pottery clay.

An Early Iron Age date is now considered probable. Similar grooves occur beside streams in many parts of the Northern, Luapula and Copperbelt Provinces, but the site at Samfya has the largest known concentration.

The site is maintained by Samfya Rural Council on behalf of the Monuments Commission.

Niamkolo Church (Mbala District) Map position: 28

 The church lies on the shore of Lake Tanganyika about two kilometres to the east of the port of Mpulungu. It was built by the London Missionary Society in 1895-96 and is the oldest surviving stone-built church in Zambia. Its fifteen-metre tower has for long been a landmark for boats using the port of Mpulungu.

A Mission was established at Niamkolo by the London Missionary Society in 1880, but was abandoned five years later owing to the unsettled conditions in the area brought about by the activities of Arab slave raiders. Two years later, in 1887, the missionaries returned and reopened Niamkolo Mission. In May, 1893, Alfred J. Swann negotiated the purchase of the church site and the corner-stone of the building was laid on 29th August, 1895. Construction was completed in the following year.

The task of building the church was undertaken by Adam Purves who had joined the Mission as an industrial helper and teacher. It is probable that he was also the architect. The design consisted of a main hall, measuring nine by twenty-four metres externally, and a three-storey tower four and a half metres square and some fifteen metres high.

The walls, about three quarters of a metre in thickness, comprised two thin skins of roughly-dressed sandstone (quarried by Purves on the Mission estates) with mud or ant-hill bonding; the gap between these skins was filled with rubble. An illustration in the London Missionary Society’s Chronicle for 1902 shows that the whole building, including the tower, was roofed with thatch.

In 1908, the unhealthy surroundings of Niankolo, resulting in a high incidence of sleeping sickness, caused the inhabitants to be moved some fifteen kilometers inland into the hills. Shortly afterwards it is  recorded that the buildings of the then abandoned Mission were burned; a charred beam from the church suggests that it suffered a similar fate. The structure subsequently fell into decay but repairs were made in 1962. The church remains unroofed but the walls have been restored to their full height with cement pointing and capping.

Good News Monument (Mbala District) Map position: 16

This site, which lies on the Lufubu (or Lofu). River some three kilometres from its mouth into Lake Tanganyika, is not served by a motor road and the only convenient means of access is by boat.

The monument was erected in 1945 by Robert Yule to commemorate the launching on this site of the Good News, the first steamship to sail on Lake Tanganyika.

The story of the Good News goes back to 1880 when E. C. Hore of the London Missionary Society was searching for a site at the southern end of Lake Tanganyika on which to assemble a steel steam-powered vessel for use by his Society. Hore found Niamkolo (see page ) ‘in every way a desirable locality’ but the area was so disturbed by Arab slave raiders that he considered it impracticable to assemble the boat there and chose the Lufubu site.

A most interesting account of the assembling of the Good News is given in Alfred J. Swann’s book Fighting the Slave Hunters in Central Africa, published in London in 1910. The ship was originally built in England, delivered to Quelimane at the mouth of the Zambezi and sailed to the northern end of Lake Malawi, porterages being required on the Shire River.

At Karonga it was dismantled and carried in sections overland to Lake Tanganyika, a distance of over four hundred kilometres. The boat-building party reached the Lufubu in July, 1883, and the first sections of the Good News arrived in September. The vessel was launched in 1885.

The Good News remained in service for many years. Her hull is now beached at Kituta Bay, east of Mpulungu, and her propeller is preserved in the Tanganyika Victoria Memorial Institute, Mbala.

Von Lettow-Vorbeck Monument (Kasama District) Map position: 36

A monument at the north end of the Chambeshi River bridge on the main road from Mpika to Kasama marks the spot on which General von Lettow-Vorbeck, Commander of German forces in East Africa during the First World War, surrendered to Mr Hector Croad, District Commissioner at Mpika, thus bringing hostilities to an end on 14th November, 1918.

The war in Europe had ended three days earlier, on 11th November, but von Lettow-Vorbeck, marching southwards into Northern Rhodesia from German East Africa (now Tanzania), was not aware of this. On being informed by Croad of Germany’s surrender, he agreed to cease hostilities, to march back to Abercorn (Mbala), and to hand over his prisoners to the British authorities there.

Incorporated in the monument is an 1890 breach-loading field gun of the type used by the German army during this campaign.

CENTRAL PROVINCE

Bell Point, Lunsemfwa Wonder Gorge (Mkushi District) Map position: 2

This site is best reached from Mkushi Boma via Old Mkushi. The 160-kilometre route is clearly signposted. The Bell Point area is very remote and the journey should not be attempted in vehicles not in the best condition. Four-wheel drive vehicles are advised for the last section of the approach road, which is only passable in the dry season.

Bell Point immediately overlooks the junction of the Lunsemfwa and Mkushi Rivers, and lies about six kilometres south of the southern boundary of Lunsemfwa Power Area. It is a site of great beauty where both rivers have cut narrow gorges over 300 metres into the Karroo sedimentary rocks and presents one of the finest and most spectacular views to be found in Zambia.

The name 'Bell Point' (after a Miss Grace Bell) was given to the area by E. Knowles Jordan who, in about 1913, was probably the first European to reach it.

Kundalila Falls (Serenje District) Map position: 25

The access road to Kundalila Falls is in excellent condition and leaves the Great North Road at Kanona. The falls are thirteen kilometres east of the main road and are situated in an area of great scenic beauty, famed for its wild flowers, where the Kaombe River falls some sixty-five metres, breaking into many thin veils of spray. A path leads to the foot of the falls, where visitors may swim in a deep natural pool.

Visitors are encouraged to camp at Kundalila. Sanitation is provided and the caretaker will provide wood for fires. A charge of 25n per car per night, payable to the caretaker, is made for use of these amenities.

Nsalu Cave (Serenje District) Map position: 30

The cave is reached by turning west off the Great North Road thirty kilometres north of Kanona, then south after a further fourteen kilometres. The road from the Great North Road to the cave is signposted and in good condition but visitors axe advised not to proceed from Nsalu to the Livingstone Memorial (pages 34-5) by the direct route.

Nsalu cave is kept locked, but the rock paintings can easily be seen from outside the fence. Visitors wishing to enter the cave must be accompanied by the caretaker, Mr Thomas Mambwe, whose home, clearly signposted, is on the approach road nine kilometers from the Great North Road. A fee of 25n per party is payable to the caretaker for this service. A guide-leaflet giving full details of the site is available from the caretaker.

The cave opens two-thirds of the way up the north-west side of Nsalu Hill and about fifty metres above the plateau surface. It is a large semicircular cave, about twenty metres wide, ten metres deep and up to eight metres high.

Archaeological investigations have shown a long prehistoric occupation of the site. Excavations conducted by Dr J. Desmond Clark in 1949 demonstrated that the site was probably first inhabited by Middle Stone Age folk perhaps as long ago as 20,000 years or more. The majority of the remains discovered were of Late Stone Age type and these may demonstrate a prolonged occupation by these hunting peoples from around 12,000 years ago until about ad 1000.

At that time the Late Stone Age people were gradually being replaced by Iron Age farmers and traces of both Early (first millennium ad) and later Iron Age occupation are found at Nsalu. Two decapitated human skeletons found buried in shallow graves in the cave probably belong to the later Iron Age.

The greater part of the blue quartzite walls of Nsalu Cave is covered with schematic rock paintings, and displays a larger and more varied collection of these paintings than any other site so far discovered in Zambia.

The earliest paintings are yellow and include fine delicate grids, parallel lines, ladders, concentric circles and elongated loops, but thick line paintings in yellow are more frequent and may have been painted with the finger.

The next oldest series, overlying the yellow, is drawn in a claret to rust-red paint and is characterised by line drawings probably also executed by means of a finger dipped in paint. The main designs are parallel lines, several forms of grid, loops and a large, inverted semicircular design forming a bridge-like motif. Belonging to this stage also are certain boat-shaped designs and concentric circles, some with internal radiating lines.

Overlying the red paintings are bichrome designs in red and white. The commonest motifs consist of two parallel lines in white with a red line filling the space between them. In other designs only white paint was apparently used. These motifs take the form of short parallel lines both vertical and horizontal, loops and carefully executed lines of fine dots.

The latest paintings in the cave are in a dirty white to grey pigment and represent a break with the earlier geometric paintings. Both style and technique are distinctive and these drawings have a fairly recent appearance for the fat, with which the pigment was mixed, still gives it body and has formed a halo round some of the signs.

The paint is thick and has been clumsily applied either with the finger or some kind of broad brush. Besides crude copies of some of the earlier paintings there are ‘trees’, sun motifs with rays, anthropomorphic designs, a snakelike motif and three figures which resemble stretched-out hides.

It is now thought that most, if not all, of this schematic art is the work of Iron Age peoples and dates from within the last 2,000 years.

David Livingstone Memorial (Serenje District) Map position: 12

 This monument lies 100 kilometres west of the Great North Road and can be reached by one of two roads. The northern approach road leaves the Great North Road thirty kilometres north of Kanona; while the turn-off for the southern (Mkuku) road is about thirteen kilometres south of Kanona. The Mkuku road is in the better condition and, in the dry season, is usually suitable for the larger type of private car. The more northerly route should not be attempted by vehicles of other than Land-Rover type.

The memorial marks the place where David Livingstone, explorer David Livingstone first set foot on the continent of Africa on 14th March, 1841, but it was just over ten years later, on 4th August, 1851, that he crossed the Zambezi River at Mwandi and arrived for the first time in what is now Zambia.

By 1853 he was back north of the Zambezi, heading westwards through the Barotse Valley to the coast of Angola. After a few months in Loanda he set out again to cross the continent from west to east. It was on this journey, on 16th November, 1855, that he became the first European to seethe great waterfall of Mosi-oa-Tunya, which he renamed Victoria Falls in honour of his Queen. Six months later he reached the East Coast and set sail for England.

Between 1858 and 1864 he made a comprehensive exploration of the lower Zambezi and of Lake Malawi. On his last African journey, starting in 1866, he travelled up Lake Malawi and westwards to Lakes Tanganyika, Mweru and Bangweulu. He then traversed parts of what are now Zaire and Tanzania, where he was met by Henry M. Stanley at Ujiji, before setting off southwards in an attempt to reach the copper-mining area of Katanga (Shaba).

Skirting the eastern side of Lake Bangweulu he was badly delayed by floods, much of the area being under more than a metre of water. During the whole of this time Livingstone was suffering from dysentery and in his weakness he frequently had to be carried through the swamps. The last entry in his diary, dated 27th April, 1873, reads ‘knocked up quite’. Becoming still weaker on 29th April he was carried to Chitambo’s Village, a few kilometres beyond the flooded area. On 1st May, while kneeling in prayer, he died.

Following Livingstone’s death, his followers removed his heart and viscera and buried them in a metal box at the foot of an mpundu (Parinari curatellifolia) tree. The body was smeared with salt inside and out and exposed to the sun for fourteen days. They then wrapped up the preserved body and carried it over 1,500 kilometres to the coast at Bagamoyo, whence it was transported to England and buried with national honours in Westminster Abbey.

Shortly after the death, an inscription was carved on the mpundu tree: Livingstone May 4 1873 Souza Mniasere Uchopere. A cast of this inscription, which gives the names of three of Livingstone’s followers, is now preserved in the Livingstone Museum, Zambia, while the original is in the Museum of the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Not long afterwards, Chitambo’s Village moved away and since then the area has remained lonely and deserted. The tree, dead and rotting, was cut down in 1902 by order of the Administrator Robert Codrington and a Trust Fund was raised by the Royal Geographical Society which shortly afterwards erected the present monument.

Fort Elwes (Mkushi District) Map position: 14

 This fort lies near the Zaire border some forty kilometres north-east of Mkushi. The track leading to it from Mkushi Boma is in extremely poor condition and enquiries concerning the state of the road should be made in Mkushi before the journey is attempted. Four-wheel drive vehicles are essential.

Fort Elwes was built in 1896-97 by a party of European prospectors sent out by Rhodesia Concessions Limited to search for alluvial gold and other minerals in the Muchinga Escarpment and adjacent country lying to the west of the Luangwa Valley. At this time British forces were planning an attack on Mpezeni’s Ngoni near the modern Chipata and it was feared that the Ngoni might be driven westwards into the prospectors’ area. The fort was erected by Frank Smitheman to provide a refuge for his party in case of such an eventuality.

Fort Elwes is sited at an altitude of some 1,600 metres above sea level on a pass through the Irumi Hills leading into Shaba. It is a rectangular structure of massive dry-stone walls almost two metres thick in places and originally over three metres high. There were abutments at each corner and a raised walk-way along the inside of the walls. The only original entrance was an underground passage under the wall. Remains of internal structures of pole and daga are still visible.

Being overlooked by hills, the fort could not be held against an enemy armed with modern weapons but would prove virtually impregnable against spearmen or archers.

Rhodesia Concessions withdrew their prospectors in 1898 and the fort was then abandoned. The origin of the name ‘Elwes’ is not known.

A magnificent view may be obtained from the site.

Big Tree, Kabwe Map position: 3

This unusually large and magnificent fig tree, situated in the centre of Kabwe, was the meeting place of the townspeople during the early days of the settlement there.

For several years the shade of the tree was used for assembling donkeys and carrier caravans for journeys to the north and north-east at the time when Broken Hill (now Kabwe) was the rail-head for most of Northeastern Rhodesia.

Nearby, on the lawns in front of the Municipal Offices, stands a monument commemorating the discovery in 1921 at Broken Hill Mine of the world famous Middle Stone Age skull of ‘Broken Hill Man’ {Homo rhodesiensis).

No. 394, Lusaka Map position: 6

The Monument is situated in the Chilenje suburb of Lusaka and the turn-off from Burma Road is clearly signposted.

Chilenje House No. 394 was occupied by Dr K. D. Kaunda from January, 1960, to December, 1962, and was the centre from which the future President of the Republic led the struggle for Zambia’s Independence.

Three houses are included in the protected area. Nos 394 and 395 have been restored as nearly as possible to their 1962 condition by the demolition of improvements effected since that date. House No. 394 has been redecorated in its original colour scheme and much of the furniture and personal effects used by the Kaunda family at that time has been replaced in the original positions. House No. 395 contains displays illustrating the history and growth of Lusaka from the earliest times and the political development of Zambia. House No. 393 is the caretaker’s residence.

The Monument was officially opened by His Excellency the President on 23rd October, 1968. It is open to the public daily except on Monday afternoons and Tuesdays, from 1000 hours to 1300 hours and from 1400 hours to 1700 hours. An illustrated guide-book, Historical Notes on Political Development in Zambia is on sale.

EASTERN PROVINCE

Thandwe Rockshelter (Chipata District) Map position: 35

 The rockshelter is situated in the Thandwe Hills which lie to the south of the old Great East Road thirteen kilometres east of Kazimuli. The nine-kilometre route to the site leaves the new Great East Road at Kasukanthanga, thirty-five kilometres west of Chipata, and is clearly signposted.

Thandwe rockshelter is kept locked. Visitors wishing to enter the rockshelter must be accompanied by the caretaker, Mr T. Siwo, whose house, 200 metres from the site, is clearly signposted. A fee of 25n per party is payable to the caretaker for this service. A guide-leaflet giving full details of the site is available from the caretaker.

At Thandwe archaeological deposits have accumulated on the floor to a depth of one and a half metres. Excavations conducted by Mr D. W. Phillipson in 1970 have shown that the site was first occupied by huntergatherer peoples of the Late Stone Age little more than 2,000 years ago. The small stone tools used by these people are similar to those found at other Eastern Province sites of the same period, notably at the Makwe rockshelter in Katete District.

About ad 300, two humans were interred in the rockshelter. They may safely be attributed to the Late Stone Age. The skeletons were found in tightly contracted positions in graves neatly walled in with blocks of stone. Accompanying one burial were two skulls of warthog and the skull of a young baby. At the head of the other stood a triangular slab of rock forming a ‘grave stone’. This stone now rests on the surface of the ground, directly above its original position.

Perhaps about 1,200 years ago the first Early Iron Age people arrived in the Thandwe area, bringing with them knowledge of farming methods, of pottery and of metallurgy. The Late Stone Age folk obtained pottery from the newcomers but in other ways probably continued their traditional way of life undisturbed for several centuries longer.

A few centuries after their arrival the Early Iron Age peoples were replaced by a later Iron Age population; and about 500 years ago the Late Stone Age occupation of the rockshelter came to an end. The later Iron Age inhabitants used the rockshelter for iron working and for initiation ceremonies: they were almost certainly responsible for the rock paintings.

The site contains a large number of rock paintings. The earliest are a series of bichroma tic zoomorphic designs in the southern half of the site. These are overlain by an extensive series of crudely schematised pictures done exclusively in dirty white paint, which extends into the western part of the shelter.

Varying states of preservation indicate that the execution of these designs extended over a long period. Earliest are probably the patterns of lines and dots on the right-hand side of the main painted area. Somewhat later are the large dotted zoomorphic figure resembling a leopard skin, and other designs, including some anthropomorphic ones, to its left. Superimposed on these are the most recent paintings which include schematic circular designs and a representation of a motor car.

All the paintings at Thandwe are attributed to later Iron Age and were probably done within the last 500 years or so. They are thought to be connected with initiations and other religious ceremonies. Some of the white designs are said to have a sexual significance. The painting of a motor car indicates that the tradition of rock painting has continued into the present century.

Katolola Rock Paintings (Chipata District) Map position: 23

 Katolola lies to the east of the Chipata-Chadiza Road, fourteen kilometres from Chipata, and the route from the main road is clearly signposted.

At the base of Katolola Hill are two painted rockshelters. The first, which is little more than an overhang of the granite rock, bears a remarkable naturalistic painting of an eland, almost two metres in length, sketched in thin purple lines. The dewlap and mane are clearly indicated but the legs are disproportionately small. Because of weathering the head is no longer visible. Of particular interest is the fact that the eland has been painted over, and is thus clearly later than, a large schematic grid.

A short distance to the north-east is a second rock face on which are painted several elaborate schematic designs, including large and carefully executed groups of concentric circles and grids. From one large grid emerge two horizontal ladder motifs below which are dots of red paint forming a design resembling rain falling from a cloud. The whole rock face is pitted with scars caused by stones being thrown at the paintings: patination shows that these scars are ancient. Evidence from other sites suggests that this stone-throwing may have formed a part of traditional rain-making ceremonies.

In Central Africa the schematic (Iron Age) rock paintings are nearly always later in date than the naturalistic ones which are thought to have been the work of the Late Stone Age hunters. The Katolola site is of particular interest as it demonstrates a chronological overlap between the two styles.

Both of the Katolola rockshelters are now fenced but the view of the paintings is not obstructed.

Mkoma Rock Paintings (Katete District) Map position: 27

 Mkoma Rockshelter is situated on the Zambia National Service’s Farm to the north of the Great East Road, sixty-four kilometres west of Chipata. The five-kilometre route from the main road is clearly signposted. The shelter is situated on the east side of a small rock outcrop with a spacious almost horizontal overhang.

At this site there are two groups of rock paintings, both of which have been disfigured by vertical stripes where the paint has been washed off by rainwater running down the rock face. High on the underside of the overhang are a number of bichrome designs in dark purple and white paint. These include an elaborate knot-like grid and a motif resembling a comet with a long spreading tail.

In a lower position on the rear wall of the rockshelter is an extensive series of white paintings, including schematised anthropomorphic and zoomorphic designs and representations of metal tools.

Both groups of paintings at Mkoma are thought to be of Iron Age origin, the white schematised designs being the more recent. Study of these paintings has proved of considerable value in discovering the stylistic sequence of the Eastern Province rock art, of which a detailed account will shortly be published.

Mkoma Rockshelter is fenced but the view of the paintings is not obstructed.

COPPERBELT AND NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCE

Lake Chilengwa (Ndola Rural District) Map position: 5

This crater-like lake lies near the top of a ridge of schist, sixteen kilometres east of Ndola and three kilometres west of the Zaire border. It is reached by turning east off the Ndola-Bwana Mkubwa Road five kilometres south of Ndola and then north just before Chiwala Secondary School is reached: this road is currently being reconstructed.

The lake was formed as a result of the schistose rock collapsing into a large underground sinkhole in the under-lying limestone. The lake is roughly circular with a diameter of some 450 metres. The sides are steeply sloping and the water level is thirty-four metres below the surrounding ground, while the greatest depth of the lake is twenty-one metres.

Lake Chilengwa is one of several comparable crater-like lakes in the Ndola region. Most of these are traditionally held in reverence by local people, and Chilengwa is no exception.

Hippo Pool (Chingola District) Map position: 18

Lying astride the main Chingola-Chililabombwe Road, this area of over 400 hectares on either side of the Kafue River is a popular recreation area for tourists and residents of the Copperbelt. Administered by the Forest Department, the area is one of considerable natural beauty and contains, in addition to the Hippo Pool, a group of hot springs.

Nyambwezu Falls (Mwinilunga District) Map position: 31

The site is reached by turning south from the Solwezi-Mwinilunga Road 204 kilometres from Solwezi. Thirteen kilometres from the main road a poor track turns west and leads, after two kilometres, to the falls.

Situated on the river of the same name, the Nyambwezu Falls are approximately twenty metres high and are of some beauty. The main interest of the site, however, lies in a rockshelter close to the lip of the falls. To reach the shelter it is necessary to cross the river on rocks a few metres back from the lip of the falls.

The walls of the rockshelter are decorated with prehistoric engravings, formed mainly of simple lines and pits, of a type of which several examples are now known from the North-Western Province of Zambia and from adjacent areas of Zaire. There are signs of Late Stone Age occupation around the site.

Chifubwa Stream Rock Engravings (Solwezi District) Map position: 4

This site may be reached from Solwezi by taking the track which leads from the centre of Solwezi in a southerly direction past the Solwezi Club House. The Chifubwa Stream lies six kilometres along this road, and the shelter is just above the water level in the Chifubwa Gorge immediately below the parking place.

The shelter was first described in 1928 by Messrs Tweedy and Barnard. On the walls of the shelter they noted schematic engravings, consisting almost entirely of lines, pits and inverted ‘U’ motifs, some still showing evidence of having once been painted, all well weathered and covered with lichen. The engravings were executed by pecking or rubbing the comparatively soft granite-schist with a pointed quartz ‘engraving tool’ until grooves or pits of the required depth were produced.

Excavations showed that many more engravings had been covered by the deposition of a thick layer of sand and earth on the floor of the rockshelter. In 1929 the Italian Scientific Expedition visited the shelter and recorded that some one and a half metres of sterile deposit covered the lower half of the engravings, under which was a single occupation layer containing quartz tools of Late Stone Age type.

In May, 1961, Dr J. Desmond Clark made a complete record of the engravings and carried out further excavations in an attempt to discover when and by whom the engravings had been made. Under the thick layer of sterile sand were found signs of Late Stone Age occupation. The lower levels of the sand contained scattered pieces of charcoal which have been dated by the radio-carbon method to between 6,500 and 6,000 years ago.

This site thus provides some evidence for the possible association of schematic engravings with the Late Stone Age inhabitants of Zambia. Rock engravings in Zambia are usually only found in the North-Western Province, and are rare. Painted engravings are not known from any other site in the country.

These unique rock engravings have recently suffered some irreparable damage at the hands of vandals. The site is therefore kept locked and the engravings must be viewed from outside the fence.

Slave Tree, Ndola Map position: 34

This very old mupapa (Afzelia quanzensis ) tree, on which two species of wild fig are parasitic, stands in Makoli Avenue, Ndola.

It appears that Swahili traders, including Chipembere, Mwalabu and Chiwala, who arrived in the area during the 1880s, erected a stockade on part of the site of the modern Ndola, and that this tree provided a shaded meeting area within the stockade. Councils of war were held there and groups of up to seventy captives from the surrounding population were occasionally sold there to Mambundu traders from Angola. The majority of the captives were, however, not sold but were shared out among the Swahili and kept to fight for them.

The slave trade was abolished during the first decade of the present century, with the establishment of the British colonial administration. (Ndola Boma was founded in 1904.)

The plaque at the foot of the tree reads:

‘This plate has been placed on this mupapa tree to commemorate the passing of the days when, under its shade, the last of the Swahili traders, who warred upon and enslaved the people of the surrounding country, used to celebrate their victories and share out their spoils. ’ The Slave Tree features in the coat of arms of the City of Ndola.

Collier Monument, Luanshya Map position: 10

The Collier Monument is a copper obelisk approximately six metres high, set up in the immediate vicinity of the original outcrop at Luanshya where, in June, 1902, the prospector William Collier discovered the first copper at what is now the Roan Antelope Mine.

The story of this discovery is well entrenched in Copperbelt mythology. It relates how Collier, following the dambo of the Luanshya River, one evening came across a herd of roan antelope and, after a short stalk, succeeded in shooting a bull. When the animal fell, its horns rested on a rock which was stained green with copper.

Full investigation and development of the orebody did not commence until 1925. Unlike the copper deposits at Kansanshi, Bwana Mkubwa and in the Kafue Hook region, prehistoric exploitation of the Luanshya ores had been only on a very small scale, but it is interesting to note that Iron Age settlement of the Luanshya dambo dates back to the very early centuries AD.

Dag Hammarskjoeld Memorial (Ndola Urban District) Map position: 11

The memorial lies in the Ndola West Forest Reserve and is most conveniently reached by turning south-west from the main Ndola- Mufulira Road at a point ten kilometres from Ndola. The memorial marks the site of the aeroplane accident in which Dag Hammarskjoeld, former Secretary-General to the United Nations Organisation, was killed on 18th September, 1961, while on a mission attempting to bring peace to the Congo Republic (now Zaire).

At the crash site a simple memorial garden has been established by the Dag Hammarskjoeld Foundation and at the centre of this is a small cairn to which it is hoped that many of the countries of the world will add a specimen of their national stones.

SOUTHERN PROVINCE

Chirundu Fossil Forest (Gwembe District) Map position: 8

The area selected for proclamation lies immediately to the south of the Lusaka-Chirundu Road, twenty-one kilometres from Chirundu, at the corner of the north Kariba Access Road, and is in the centre of a much larger area over which fossil wood can be found.

Sections of tree trunks up to two to three metres in length are exposed here as a result of the erosion of the soft red sandstones which are of Karroo or Secondary age. Scattered over the area are sparse Middle and Late Stone Age industries, indicating that these people sometimes made use of fossil wood for making stone implements.

The fossil trees belong to the Karroo period and are approximately 150,000,000 years old.

The Law prohibits the removal of specimens as souvenirs or for any other purpose and visitors are most earnestly requested to obey this requirement.

Victoria Falls Field Museum, Livingstone Map position: 13

The site of the Field Museum, together with the area covered by the car park beside it, is one of six areas within the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park which have been proclaimed National Monuments. While the other five areas have remained undeveloped, the Field Museum has been built around an actual excavation through the Pleistocene gravels of the Zambezi River.

In addition to the preserved section which forms the main attraction of the Field Museum, there are displays showing how the Victoria Falls may have originated and how the prehistoric stone implements represented in the gravels have developed with successive cultures and the lapse of time. The Museum is open daily, except on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 1030 hours to 1730 hours. Admission is at the rate of lOn per adult; 5n per child.

The Victoria Falls Stone Age sequence, studied by Dr J. Desmond Clark from 1938 to 1950, was one of the cornerstones on which knowledge of Africa’s prehistoric past was built up. The Zambezi Valley in the vicinity of the Falls has been inhabited by man since the Early Stone Age.

Abundant finds of his stone tools have been made, both on the sites of his riverside settlements and from the gravels laid down on the bed of the river into which erosion often carried the debris of the settlements. As the Zambezi slowly cut down into its present channel, its former courses were abandoned and the gravels previously on the bed of the river were left high and dry on its banks.

Likewise, as the Victoria Falls have cut back through the gorges to their present position, similar gravels have been left on the lips of the gorges, on what was formerly the river bed. Study of these deposits and the prehistoric implements which they contained enabled Dr Clark to isolate several distinct Stone Age cultures and to establish their chronological sequence: this story is summarised in the displays at the Field Museum.

An account of the formation of the Victoria Falls and of the prehistory and history of the region, as well as other topics of interest to the visitor, will be found in the book Mosi-oa-Tunya: a Handbook to the Victoria Falls Region, edited by D. W. Phillipson, which is to be published in 1973.

Gwisho Hotsprings (Lochinvar National Park) Map position: 17

The springs are situated on the southern edge of the Kafue Flats in Lochinvar National Park, one kilometre west of the Lodge which is reached by a good, signposted road from Monze, some forty kilometres distant.

The site was the scene of extensive excavations in 1960 by Dr Creighton Gabel and in 1963-64 by Dr Brian Fagan and Mr Francis van Noten. Low mounds beside the springs were demonstrated to have been inhabited during the third and second millennia bc by groups of Late Stone Age people.

The results of the excavations have been of very great importance in the investigation of the Central African Late Stone Age. Many human skeletons were discovered and a wide range of organic remains was exceptionally well preserved, making possible a detailed reconstruction of the hunting and gathering economy of the site’s prehistoric inhabitants.

 A display of finds from the site has been installed at the Lodge at Lochinvar, and detailed accounts of the excavations have been published under the titles Stone Age Hunters of the Kafue by C. Gabel, and The Hunter-Gatherers of Gwisho by B. M. Fagan and F. van Noten.

Sebanzi Hill (Lochinvar National Park) Map position: 33

Sebanzi Hill is situated in Lochinvar National Park, one kilometre west of Gwisho Hotsprings.

On the summit of the hill is the site of an Iron Age village which was inhabited for most of the past 1,000 years. Excavations conducted by Dr B. M. Fagan and Mr D. W. Phillipson in 1963-64 yielded information on a long sequence of occupation by peoples ancestral to the modern Tonga.

A display of finds from the site has been installed in the Lodge, and an account of the excavations published in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute for 1965.

Ingombe Ilede (Gwembe District) Map position: 19

Ingombe Ilede (‘the place where the cow lies down’) is situated close to the confluence of the Lusitu and Zambezi Rivers. It is best reached by turning east from the northern Kariba Access Road thirteen kilometres south of its junction with the Lusaka-Chirundu main road, whence the route to the site is clearly signposted.

The low ridge of Ingombe Ilede is now occupied by Pambazana Village and by a pump-house for the supply of water to surrounding villages. It was during the construction of the latter, in 1960, that rich archaeological finds were first encountered. Excavations were conducted by the late Mr J. H. Chaplin and, later, by Dr B. M. Fagan. Small- scale investigations were also made by Mr D. W. Phillipson in 1968.

The site appears to have been an Iron Age village from about ad 700- 1000, and about ad 1400 it was reoccupied. Excavations have vividly illustrated the richness of this later settlement. The pottery of these inhabitants of Ingombe Ilede was of a much higher quality than that of their contemporaries in other parts of the country.

Trading contact with the East Coast is demonstrated by the presence of vast numbers of imported glass beads. The dead were buried with beads of gold, probably from the Rhodesian mines, and with copper currency crosses, from either Shaba or Rhodesia.

A monument has been erected at Ingombe Ilede to commemorate the discoveries, but apart from this there is little for today’s casual visitor to see. A full account of the excavations is available in Iron Age Cultures in Zambia, volume II, by B. M. Fagan, D. W. Phillipson and S. G. H. Daniels, published in 1969.

Kalundu Mound (Kalomo District) Map position: 21

The mound lies astride the Great North Road about three kilometres north of Kalomo. It marks the site of an Iron Age village and the three- metre accumulation is the result of the collapse of huts and the deposition of domestic refuse during an occupation which lasted for many centuries.

The site was originally discovered during the realignment of this section of the Great North Road and has since been excavated, by Mr R. R. Inskeep in 1957 and by Dr B. M. Fagan in 1962. As well as pottery and metal objects, a large amount of evidence was obtained which enabled the mixed farming economy of the inhabitants to be reconstructed in some detail. Hunting also played an important part in the lives of the Iron Age inhabitants.

The first settlement of Kalundu was by people of the Early Iron Age, perhaps as early as ad 300. The later occupants belonged to what is known to archaeologists as the ‘Kalomo Culture , dated to about ad 800 to 1300. . .

The most detailed publication of the Kalundu excavations is by B. M. Fagan in Iron Age Cultures in Zambia, volume I, published in 1967.

Old Drift Cemetery, Livingstone Map position: 32

This cemetery is now almost the only surviving trace of the first European settlement of Livingstone. It is situated on the bank of the Zambezi, about one and a half kilometres upstream of the entrance to the Mosi-oa-Tunya Zoological Park.

The presence of an urban settlement in this area is owed to two major factors: the line of the main entry-route from the south into the then Northwestern Rhodesia, and the proximity of the Victoria Falls. Prior to the construction of the railway all goods imported into Northwestern Rhodesia were carried by ox- or mule-drawn wagons and ferried across the Zambezi at the point, some nine kilometres upstream of the Victoria Falls, where the river is at its narrowest for some distance.

The northern end of this crossing, known as the Old Drift or Sekuti’s Drift (after the Toka chief whose village was then nearby), soon became the first European settlers’ town in Northwestern Rhodesia. The first settler, F. J. Clarke, arrived in 1898 and set himself up as a trader, hotel-keeper and forwarding agent. By 1903 the European population had grown to sixty-eight, including seventeen women and six children. There is, unfortunately, no record of the number of Africans attached to the settlement. The British South Africa Company established an administrative post nearby.

The site of the Old Drift settlement was flat, marshy and malarial, being only a metre or so above high water level. In most years some twenty per cent of the settlers died and in 1903 the figure was considerably higher. Many of these early settlers were buried in the Old Drift cemetery.

The railway from Bulawayo reached the south bank of the Zambezi at the Victoria Falls in April, 1904, and work began almost immediately on the construction of the bridge, which was officially opened in September, 1905.

As soon as work began on the bridge it was apparent that, with the completion of the railway, the Old Drift would fall into disuse and that the only argument for retaining the Livingstone settlement in that unhealthy spot would fall away.

By the end of 1904 a new township had been laid out on the present site of Livingstone and by the end of the following year the Old Drift was deserted.

A monument beside Riverside Drive some five hundred metres east of the cemetery marks the site of the old river crossing.

 A detailed account of early Livingstone is given in the book Mosi-oa- Tunya: a Handbook to the Victoria Falls Region, edited by D. W. Phillipson, which is to be published in 1973.

Nkala Fortified Camp (Namwala District) Map position: 29

The camp lies on the top of Nakalomwe Hill, just outside the borders of the Kafue National Park. It is best approached from Ngoma Lodge which is some thirteen kilometres to the south-west of the hill.

The stone-built camp was originally built as a police fort in 1901 by Captain Hamilton and Lieutenant Warringham. It appears that it became the civil administrative post for Ila country from 1903 to 1904. At this time it was on the mail runners’ route to the Kafue Hook copper mines and had its own Post Office.

It was originally intended that the Cape to Cairo Railway would pass through Nkala on its way from Livingstone to the copper mines. The post was closed in 1904 and the administration moved to Shaloba. Namwala Boma was opened in 1906.

The plan of the fort can easily be traced from the ruined walls surrounding the top of the hill. There is a fine view from the site.

Administrator’s House, Kalomo Map position: 1

This house, built in 1903-4, was the residence of the British South Africa Company’s Administrator of Northwestern Rhodesia until the capital was transferred to Livingstone at the end of 1907. It is situated close to the road from the township to Kalomo Boma. It is believed to have been the first brick Government house to be built in Northwestern Rhodesia and it remains in good condition and little altered from the time when it was occupied by the Administrator, Robert Coryndon.

The house is now the residence of the District Governor, Kalomo, and is not open to the public.

A monument erected on Kalomo Green beside the Great North Road bears an inscription giving a brief history of the town.

Fort Monze And Cemetery (Monze District) Map position: 15

The fort and cemetery lie one and a half kilometres apart and sixteen kilometres to the west of Monze: the road to the site leaves Monze at the southern end of the town and is signposted. This road is passable in the dry season only.

Fort Monze was one of the earliest colonial police posts established in this country. Major Harding and a force of British South Africa Police established the fort in about 1898 near the then village of Chief Monze. It appears that the police went to this area at the invitation of Chief Monze to control the activities of Europeans who came to buy cattle after the Matebele Rebellion. From this fort Major Harding went on a patrol among the Balia to enforce payment of tax. The fort was finally demolished by F. W. Moseley, Acting Compiler of Census, in  The site then became a civil station until this was finally removed in.

 All that remains is a small rectangular earthwork inside which a commemorative monument has been erected.

The cemetery contains graves of the BSA police party which established the fort, among them that of William Harding, the Commanding Officer. The memorial cross was erected in 1903-4.

The above clip is Kundabwika falls - April 2019

Kalombo falls and Archaeological site

Kalambo falls is not only known in Africa as the second deepest fall, but also as a cultural site rich in archaeological resource. It measures 221 metres deep and uninterrupted waterfalls. The falls is situated on the edge of the Tanganyika Rift Escarpment near the Southeastern corner of Lake Tanganyika at the altitude of 1150m and are about 35 kilometres north of Mbala District in northern Zambia.

The site has a number of seasonal streams, which flow into Kalambo River. The prominent stream is the Kansama, which flows from the west and joins the Kalambo at the last 'bent' before the fall. The rocks (geology) are mostly sandstone, quartzite and shales belonging to the Katanga/Kundelungu system of the pre-Cambrian age through which have been introduced sandstones, dolorites and porphyries. The falls is located at an elevation of about 1390 metres above sea level on latitude 08º 35' South and 37º 14' East. The physiograghy of the Kalambo falls National Monument is dominated by undulating landscape of scarps and valleys.

The lush green vegetation of ferns, elephant ear grass (Colocasia antiquorum) and the wild bananas clinging to the black shale rock that underlies the quartzite in the gorge are supported by water spray at the bottom of the falls. The Kalambo River meanders through interlocking spurs in the north-east direction for 8 km before making a small delta with Lake Tanganyika.

The average slopes of the hill and minor slopes within the monument area are predominantly slopes of over 16%. It is associated with orthic-dystic LEPTOSOLS soils.

The climate of the site is seasonal with a wet season from November to April and dry season from May to October. The wet season has a mean monthly temperature of 19.7º C with mean maximum temperature of 36º C, which occurs in months of September and October. The minimum temperatures are experienced in June/July and averages 10º C.

The Kalambo falls lie just within the rain shadow of Lake Tanganyika. However the mean annual rainfall is 1200mm with 75% of it coming in the months of December to March. Rainfall statistics for the last twenty months (1981 to 2000) show that the maximum rainfall recorded during the period was in 1986 (1700.5mm) while the minimum recorded during the same period was in 1992 (687.0mm).

The relative humidity is low during the dry season except during early morning hours. During the rainy season humidity is quite high. Wind directions are predominantly East to South - East except during the rain season when they are quite variable with north to north-west direction most frequent.

There are rock paintings nearby and important evidence of occupation going back more than 60,000 years.

https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5426/

Archaeologically, Kalambo Falls is one of the most important sites in Africa. It has produced a sequence of past human activity stretching over more than two hundred and fifty thousand years, with evidence of continuous habitation since the Late Early Stone Age until modern times. It was first excavated in 1953 by John Desmond (J.D.) Clark who recognized archaeological activity around a small basin lake upstream of the falls. Excavations in 1953, 1956, 1959, and 1963 allowed Clark to make conclusions about the multiple different cultures inhabiting the area over thousands of years of time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalambo_Falls

Journal of African Archaeology Vol. 13 (2), 2015, pp. 187–214187
Excavations at Site C North, Kalambo Falls, Zambia:
New Insights into the Mode 2/3 Transition in
South-Central Africa
Lawrence Barham, Stephen Tooth, Geoff A.T. Duller, Andrew J. Plater & Simon Turner

https://pure.aber.ac.uk/ws/files/29024098/_21915784_Journal_of_African_Archaeology_Excavations_at_Site_C_North_Kalambo_Falls_Zambia_New_Insights_into_the_Mode_2_3_Transition_in_South_Central_Africa.pdf

Geoarchaeological analysis of an acheulean site at Kalambo Falls, Zambia

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/gea.3340070102

Moto Moto Museum

Museum in Mbala

This museum in a 1970s modernist building is well worth a visit if you’re in the area. It has a large and diverse collection, much of which details the cultural life and history of the Bemba people. Items on display include old drums, traditional musical instruments and an array of smoking paraphernalia. Particularly noteworthy is an exhibition detailing how young Bemba women were traditionally initiated into adulthood. It includes a life-size, walk-in example of an initiation hut, with background info.

Other exhibits cover everything from the lives of hunter-gatherers to the early economic activities of the Bantu, and Zambia during the slave trade and during the two world wars. There’s also a display on rock art, including a map pointing out the country’s key sights. The only drawback is that it’s quite dark so exhibits are not displayed at their best and some are without sufficient explanation.

The gift shop sells baskets, sculptures and masks. To get here, follow the road north out of town for about 500m and turn left just before the prison. The museum is about 3km from the main road.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/zambia/mbala/attractions/moto-moto-museum/a/poi-sig/1282678/1328045

https://zambiathroughmylens.com/moto-moto-museum-my-trip-to-mbala-northern-zambia/

Zambia: Mbala's Lake Chila Where The Germans Dumped Their Guns

27 April 2000

The Times of Zambia (Ndola)

By Martin WamunyimaLusaka — Lake Chila in Mbala is no more than a kilometre long and 800 metres wide. Though small, it is of interest to historians because on its bed lies a collection of historic military weapons that have been there for more than half a century. The arms were dumped into the mini-lake at the end of the first world war after soldiers from Germany East Africa (Tanzania) surrendered belatedly to the Northern Rhodesia rifles.

A number of these guns were fished from the lake seven years ago by Zambian commandos who were on a training exercise but it is believed a lot more remain below. Director of Moto Moto museum, Stanford Siachoono, whose organisation is keeping the recovered arms, however, says lack of funds had stalled the recovery process. Apart from the arms that were dumped into this lake, Mbala is historically significant in terms of the first world war because it saw a lot of hostilities between the warring sides, being on the border of the two British and German colonial territories.

https://allafrica.com/stories/200004270043.html