Brine springs on the Malagarasi river east of Lake Tanganyika, the great salt source of the western Tanzanian interior in later centuries.
Salt was boiled here in the Early Iron Age (fifth and sixth centuries by radiocarbon, Sutton and Roberts) and again in later times; whether the springs were being worked on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Who holds it
- Title
- Not known
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
None recorded.
Charter
None known: Swahili towns had no written charters.
Council
Not recorded.
Communities
Farming peoples of the Malagarasi.
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
Salt boiling in pots; salt traded far inland.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Excavation of 1967 as remembered from the literature.
Sources and studies
- Sutton and Roberts, Uvinza and its salt industry, Azania 3 (1968) (cited from memory of the literature)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.