The great cemetery of the Classic Kisalian culture in the Upemba depression, on the lakes of the upper Lualaba, with graves rich in copper ornaments, ironwork, ivory and fine pottery that show a ranked society with leaders, in Pierre de Maret's dating of about the tenth to the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
On 1 January 1200 the Kisalian villages along the lakes and the river are flourishing; the Luba kingdom that later claimed this land is centuries away.
Who holds it
- Title
- Not known
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The leading men buried with copper, ivory and ceremonial axes, unnamed.
How things stand that morning
Flourishing.
Charter
None known: Swahili towns had no written charters.
Council
Not recorded.
Communities
Kisalian villagers, ancestors in some sense of the later Luba.
Fairs and markets
No fairs; trade follows the monsoon season (ships arrive with the north-east kaskazi from about November and leave with the south-west kusi from about April).
Militia
Not recorded.
Trade and crafts
Fishing, farming, copper from the south (the Copperbelt), ironworking, ivory.
Where the sources disagree
- Coordinates approximate (by Lake Kisale). Phase dates as remembered from de Maret's work; the Wikipedia page on the depression gives only general dating.
Evidence: Excavated cemeteries with radiocarbon dates (de Maret).
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, Upemba Depression (occupation since the fifth century; over 55 radiocarbon dates)
- de Maret, Fouilles archeologiques dans la vallee du Haut-Lualaba (1985, 1992) (cited from memory of the literature)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.