Ugandan Archaeological Sites

Uganda’s archeological sites are a popular tourist destination and are revered and considered to be among the most important because it is believed that they were created by divine force.

The majority of Uganda’s archaeological sites and earthworks are connected by embankments made of rock and dirt taken out of the trench. These locations still contain prehistoric and modern relics, providing evidence of Uganda’s early historical activity. Stated differently, they serve as proof of the Iron and Stone Ages.

Uganda is home to numerous archeological sites that are dispersed around the country. These sites include the following:

Bigo Bya Archaeological Earthworks, Mugyenyi

Built on a tiny hill, Bigo Bya Mugyenyi Archaeological Earthworks is a set of 10 square kilometer archaeological earthworks with an inner royal enclosure. The site’s purpose is to guard Mugyenyi’s cattle. Bigo Bya Mugyenyi is known for its numerous ditches, some of which reach depths of up to five meters. These ditches are considered to be among the most important and vast earthworks that the Chwezi are claimed to have excavated.

bigo bya mugenyi

Oral traditions state that the Chwezi people, sometimes called the Bachwezi, had a brief reign headed by Ndahura and Wamala. The Chwezi are credited with introducing the Ankole-watutsi, or long-horned cow, which eventually took over the Great Lakes Region’s economy.

An outer trench system encircles the ridge and meets the banks of the Katonga River to the north and south. The Bigo Bya Mugyenyi Archaeological Earthworks date to the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries A.D. Four enclosures that open to the north and south make up the inner trench system.

According to oral legends, the Chwezi built the earthworks to defend the easternmost point of the Chwezi Empire from the Luo settlers who had recently arrived from South Sudan. Bigo, which means “Fort of the Stranger” in Bigo Bya Mutenyi, became the capital once the king himself relocated there. It is reported that the earthworks were dug out by Mugyeni, the prince of Chwezi.

Uganda’s Munsa Earthworks

The second-largest earthworks in Uganda, the Musa earthworks are known for their astoundingly deep tunnels, which are believed to have been built as defense structures around the Bikegete Hill. This is a well-known granite outcrop. This hill is a well-known granite outcrop that is covered in caverns and tunnels.

The Runyoro phrase Mu-ensa, which means “place of trenches” and is filled with tunnels and caverns, is the source of the name Munsa.

Earthworks munsa

The Runyoro phrase Mu-ensa, which translates to “place of trenches,” is where the word Munsa originates.

Oral tradition based on archeological evidence and Munsa’s historical connections to the Chwezi people indicate that the earthworks and occupancy at Bikekete Hill date to the fourteenth century.

The ruler of Munsa lived within Bukekete Hill in a cave big enough to accommodate fifty people, according to archaeologists and traditional convention. The earthworks surrounding the palace, which are approximately 7 meters wide by 3 meters deep and excavated in the shape of a V to protect the rocky royal stronghold, are also said to be fortifications. The v shape makes it difficult for enemies and attackers to cross.

Recent archaeological research at Bukekete Hills claims to have found a complete clay furnace used for smelting iron and creating glass beads. An other clue to a possible trading connection with the coastal Swahili was the discovery of a royal burial, with one skeleton buried beneath another that had been inverted. It was customary for a monarch to be buried beneath one of his living servants so that the latter might look after his master.

Earthworks Ntusi

The trench system is absent from Ntusi Earthworks, making it a distinct earthworks site. Instead, it has a sizable basin surrounded by mounds that are frequently referred to as dams. On this site, there are additional mounds as well; some of them date back more than the ditch systems at other earthwork sites. Situated in southwest Uganda lies the Ntusi Earthworks, also referred to as the Ntusi Late Iron Age archeological site.

Ntusi earth works

The male and female mounds of the Ntusi Earthworks site are the most well-known. The word Ntusi, which means mounds, refers to a number of scraping depressions that surround the hamlet, the deepest of which is the 20-meter-deep Bwogero depression. The dip is 150 meters away from the male mound and is thought to have been a part of a vast irrigation system, remnants of which can still be seen today.

Excavations conducted at the Ntusi Earthworks have revealed the mounds to be significant rubbish heaps that were deposited over 300 years during the first half of the second millennium AD. The mounds contain massive piles of bones, pottery shards, and other waste products.

Caves at Semwama Hill

The Semwama Hill caverns are a network of shelters and caverns in western Uganda, southeast of Bitegete in Kakumiro Village. The locals have always revered this flat-topped granite rock. The natives used to be able to seek sanctuary in these caverns from the intruders.

The two major chambers, or waiting rooms, of Ebidongobo, the most accessible cave of all, are occasionally utilized by cattle as an overnight shelter. It is reported that Kateboha of Munsa once held council with his elders and counselors in this cave, sitting above them on the flat surface of stone in the main chamber. Within these chambers is an ancient shrine called Chwezi Shrine, where offerings of seeds, leaves, and straw are made and seen.

The Semwema Caves

From the cave’s entrance, you can use crude ladders to scramble up a series of rock chimneys to enter one or two locations, and then climb a nearly vertical rock wall to the hill’s summit.

Garama Cave: (Uganda’s Underground Caving Route)

Garama Cave is a 342 meter long and 14 meter deep cave located in Kisoro – Mgahinga National Park. It is 3 kilometers from Ntebeko and sits beneath the park’s northern plateau. Garama Cave is located in an area that was formerly agricultural, but in the past, it was in a forest. The Batwa people utilized the cave as a council chamber and a place to hide after raiding their neighbors.

The Batwa, often referred to as the Twa people, are the oldest residents of interlacustrine Africa. Their diminutive size sets them apart from other Ugandan groups.

The best cave in Uganda for subterranean caving is Garama Cave.

Stone Age Site: Nsongezi Rock Shelter

One of the most significant Stone Age sites in Uganda is Nsongezi Rock Shelter, which is made up of several excavations that have produced many stratified ceramic shards ranging in age from approximately AD 1000 to the 19th century.

The late Stone Age site of Kansyoke Island, which borders Nsongezi Rock Shelter, is situated near the Kagera River.

Caves of Amabere Ga Nyinamwiru

Situated a short distance west of Fort Portal Town, the Amabere Ga Nyinamwiru Caves, which means “breasts of the mother of a slave,” are actively supported by stalactites and stalagmites that converge in the center. Anybody who touches these structures, so the local legend goes, will either become lost in the caves or suffer bad luck. The living stalactite structure that resembles two breasts is known as Amabere ga Nyinamwiru.

 Amabere Ga’nyinamwiru

Nyinamwiru, as per the old traditions, was the daughter of a king. Her beauty made it impossible for any man to leave her alone, and she was constantly beset by marriage proposals from unfit candidates. Bukuku: The king severed Nyinamwiru’s breasts in an attempt to lessen her allure, but this proved insufficient to turn off her fans; in the end, he concealed her in the caverns. The Tembuzi King, Isaza, impregnated her while she was in the cave, and she gave birth to Ndahura, who would go on to start the Chwezi dynasty. She nourished the baby with hazy limestone “milk” that flows from her breasts, resembling stalactites, because she was born without breasts.

Nyero Rock Paintings 

If you are interested in archaeology or human antiquity, the Nyero Rock Paintings are the best place to come. The paintings are monochromatic, with just red or white used in each piece. There are three distinct panels within a few hundred meters of one another. The most striking is the second panel, which spans a six-meter-tall rock face and is accessed through a narrow fissure between two enormous rocks. Three zebras are painted in the upper right corner, and there are at least forty pairs of red concentric circles that are partially or completely visible on the front as a single acacia pod.

The two enormous canoes, the longest of which is almost 1.5 meters in length and is transporting people, are the most striking examples of the panel’s realistic figures. Group 1 is simpler, consisting of six sets of concentric circles and a few acacia pod figures.

Nyero Rock Paintings 

According to legend, the paintings at Nyero Rock date back at least 300 years. Other locations where these paintings can be found include Kaberamaido, Karamoja, Pallisa, Ngora, Kakoro, Obwin Rock, Nshenyi, Lolui Island (Lake Kyoga), and Dolwe Island (Lake Victoria).

The Nyabingi Cult, Kibero Salt Gardens, Nakayima Tree, Sempaya Hot Springs, Kasubi Tombs, Mparo Tombs, Jinja Kaloli Caves, Ngarama Cave, and Nyakasura Cave are among the other archaeological monuments in Uganda in addition to the ones already mentioned.