Ingobe Ilede (‘the place where the cow lies down’) is situated close to the confluence of the Lusitu and Zambezi Rivers. It is reached by turning east from the northern Kariba Access Road thirteen kilometers 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 Mr J H Chaplin and later, by Dr B M Fagan. Small scale investigations were also made by Dr 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 re-occupied. 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 11, by B M Fagan, D W Phillipson and S G H Daniels, published in 1969.