Kalemba Rockshelter
Archaeological site in Zambia
The Kalemba Rockshelter is an archaeology site located in eastern Zambia, at coordinates 14°7 S and 32°3 E. Local tradition recalls the use of the rock shelter as a refuge during the time of Ngoni raiding in the 19th century. The site is known for various rock paintings as well as advanced microlithic use.
History of research
The Kalemba rockshelter is an archaeological site located in eastern Zambia, discovered in 1955 by R. A. Hamilton and then reported to the former Rhodes-Livingstone Museum. But it wasn't until 1971 that the site was excavated by D.W. Phillipson. Over 30 meters in height, the rock shelter is formed by an outcrop of granite gneiss. Facing the Chipwete valley, on the north-west side the rockshelter has a height of 4.5 meters, maximum, and extends 7 m (23 ft) through an open area for protection. The flat surface is located near the north-east side of the rockshelter; closed off on all sides, it has a steep rocky headland on the main hillside. The north and south-west of the rockshelter provide an extension of floor living space as well as a decent vantage point that overlooks the upper Chipwete valley. A second, smaller, less protected shelter has a floor of 6 by 12 m (20 by 39 ft) and adjoins, at the southwest end of the main shelter. Entrance from the north end of the main shelter or from the hills at the southern corner allows for easy access to both rock shelters.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Kalemba Rockshelter” as archaeological site in Zambia. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as archaeological site in Zambia. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q25047513. Authority coordinates are -14.117, 32.050. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1955 and 1971.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kalemba Rockshelter” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.